Human Trafficking, Dr H.S Gour University

Human Trafficking: A SavageSlap Against Humanity

Submitted By: Sonal Gupta*

Prakhar Saxena*

*student at School Of Law,Dr. H.S. Gour University, Sagar

Submitted To:

Department of Law,

Allahabad University.

Declaration

I/We declare that the work submitted by me/ us for

this seminar is a result of my/our own effort. I/ We

affirm that there is no plagiarism and copying,

either partially or entirely, from someone else's

works, without giving proper credit and

acknowledgement to the source(s)/author(s).

Author

Co-Author

Sonal Gupta

Prakhar Saxena

C/O Mr. Bharat Pinjwani

Nandan Enterprises, Shankar Garh,

Indra Nagar, 5 Civil Lines Makronia, Sagar (M.P.)

Sagar (M.P.), 470001 Sagar, (M.P.), 470001 Mobile No. +91-9630862974 Mobile No. +91-7898111486

HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A SAVAGE SLAPAGAINST HUMANITY

*Sonal Gupta

*Prakhar Saxena

INTRODUCTION

Women form half of the human beings inhabiting planet Earth..At conception we start life as equals, but at birth we are immediately treated differently, based on whether we are male or female. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges that men and women are not the same but insists on their right to be equal before the law and treated without discrimination. Gender equality is not a ‘women's issue' but refers to the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunitiesof women and men, girls and boys and should concern and fully engage men as well as women.Since human rights are the rights of all human beings, male and female alike, human rights also include women’s rights. Thus women’s rights form the basis of

all human rights. By the same token, if men are not willing toextend human rights to their mothers, the women who bore and nurtured them; their daughters, products of their own loins; and their wives, the women who bear and raise their treasured sons, how can they extend human right to men of another family, tribe, language, race, ethnic tradition, or nation? Ifa society does not hold justice and equality for all women in the highest regard, neither will it hold justice and equality for the many varieties of men in high regards. Thus women’s rights form the basis of all human rights Women’s rights belong to women as members of the human family, and, as such, are not dependent either on a woman’s marital status or on thenumber or sex of the children she has borne.

It is clear that it is the human rights of women that we see most widely ignored around the world, from female infanticide,sexual slavery and rape as an act of war, to exclusion from education, health and the right to compete equally for jobs .One of the most heinous crimes against women is human trafficking. This is a issue of human right. Human traffickingcan also be consider as slave trading. Trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon. Sex trafficking is more than an issue ofcrime or migration; it is an issue of human rights, a manifestation of persistent gender inequality and the subordinate status of women globally. Around the world most trafficked people are women and children of low socio-economicstatus, and the primary trafficking The demand aspect of sex trafficking remains the least visible. When demand is not analyzed, or is mentioned rarely, it becomes easy to forget that people are trafficked into the sex industry to satisfy not the demand of the traffickers, but that of the purchasers,who are mostly men. The insatiable demand for women and children in massage parlours, strip shows, escort services, brothels, pornography and street prostitution is what makes the trafficking trade so lucrative.". These women after transferred to new areas, find themselves surrounded by an unfamiliar culture and language without identification

documents, fearing for their lives and the lives of their families.Acrime that has been classified by the United Nationsas the third most profitable crime in the world — human trafficking.

Trafficking is a crime and should be dealt with by using legalpowers to investigate and prosecute offenders for trafficking and any other criminal activities that are committed. Victims may be exploited and trafficked by organised criminal group, by husbands, boyfriends, family members or other operators. Trafficking both for commercial sexual exploitation and for non-sex based exploitation is a transnational and complex challenge as it is an organized criminal activity, an extreme form of human rights violation and an issue of economic empowerment and social justice. According to UNESCAP, trafficking needs to be seen as “involving human rights violations as well as constituting a violation of human rightsin and of itself”. At the same time trafficked persons should be seen as victims and not perpetrators of crime. Prostitutionis a historically “created” phenomenon and not a universal, itis inevitable, and necessary social evil.

In ancient India, there was a practice of having Nagarvadhus, "brides of the town". Famous examples include Amrapali1, state courtesan and Buddhist disciple, described in The Devdasies, who performed in temples, were described as "temple prostitutes". Kanhapatra is venerated as a saint in the Varkari sect of Hinduism, despite spending most of her life as a courtesan. Binodinidasi  started her career as a courtesan, and later became a Bengali theatre actress. Good In Goa, a Portuguese colony in India, during the late 16th and17th century, there was a community of Japanese Slaves, consisting of young Japanese women and girls brought or captured and treated as sexual slaves by Portuguese traders and their South Asian lascar crewmembers from Japan.1 Vaishali Ki Nagarvadhu by AcharayaChatursen and Vasantasena, a character in the classic Sanskrit story of Mricchakatika, written in the 2nd century BC by Sudraka.

During the Britishers rule in 18th and 19th century in india, atthe time of the East India Company, it was fairly common for British soldiers to visit frequently at the local Indian nautch dancers. Likewise, Indian lascar seamen taken tothe United Kingdom used to visitfrequently at the local British Prostitutes there. In the 19th and early 20th century, thousands or even millions of women and girls from Continental Europe and Japan were trafficked to British India,where they worked as prostitutes servicing British soldiers and local Indian men.

The first internationally recognised definition of human trafficking was formulated by the United Nations in the Palermo Protocol adopted in December 2000. It defines human trafficking as: The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position ofvulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs (The Palermo Protocol Article 3 paragraph (a).

Many nations misunderstand this definition, overlooking internal trafficking or forms of labor trafficking in their national legislation, and often failing to distinguish trafficking from illegal migration. Most often left out of interpretations of this definition is involuntary servitude, aform of trafficking that does not require movement. The TVPA defines "severe forms of trafficking," as:”Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a

person for labour or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.Thesedefinitions do not require that a trafficking victim be physically transported from one location to another.

In particular, the control measures that are imposed on the procured women are examined; such measures comprise different sets of rules, violence and the threat of violence, and the so-called debt bondage. Human trafficking is considered to be a violation of human rights, a problem of organised crime and a problem of global inequalities. According to the OSCE, humantrafficking is especially rooted in discrimination of vulnerable groups, transnational criminal activities, weak rule of law and corruption.

Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, “the phrases 'trafficking in persons' or 'human trafficking' have been usedas umbrella terms for activities involved when one person obtains or holds another person in compelled service. The TVPAdescribes this compelled service using a number of different terms: involuntary servitude, slavery, debt bondage, and forced labour.

Experts consider human trafficking to be an unintended side effect of globalisation due to the unequal distribution of wealth which results in supply and demand of trafficked persons. The demand is constituted by the wealthy societies requesting cheap labour; the supply is constituted by people hoping to increase their living standards.

On the basis of the definition given in the Trafficking in Persons Protocol,

it is evident that trafficking in persons has three constituent elements;

The Act (What is done)

Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons

The Means (How it is done)

Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception,abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim

The Purpose (Why it is done)

For the purpose of exploitation, which includes exploiting theprostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs.

People falling victims of human trafficking often come from countries dominated by poverty, lack of job opportunities, gender inequality and instability. These factors make them more vulnerable to human trafficking. The victims are often lured by traffickers who befriend them with alleged jobs in wealthier countries and increased living standards. Only to late do the victims find them self being forced into dangerous, illegal or abusive work.

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon of transnational crime. This indicates that human trafficking affects more or less every country in the world. Precise data and numbers of trafficked victims and their country of origin do not exist due to lack of knowledge on the global phenomenon. However, data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Database on Human Trafficking Trends documents that human are trafficked from more than 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries*. Human Trafficking is a low-risk, high-profit business, and because it is so difficult to detectsince the criminal activity related to human trafficking can be hidden within other criminalities. Since it is fairly easy to conceal, the activities within human trafficking has risen dramatically.

Analyzed as a market, human trafficking includes both supply and demand forces. On the supply side, poverty, corruption, lack of education, and the eternal human yearning for improving one's life make people vulnerable to the lures of trafficking. We are, and must continue, making significant efforts to address these "push" factors. At the same time, we cannot ignore the demand side of the equation.

A person may travel of his or her own volition to another location within his or her own country or abroad and still fall into a state of involuntary servitude later. The movementof that person to the new location is not what constitutes trafficking; the force, fraud or coercion exercised on that person by another to perform or remain in service to the master is the defining element of trafficking in the modern usage. The person who is trapped in compelled service after initially voluntarily migrating or taking a job willingly is still considered a trafficking victim.

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO)

In June 2004, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan approved the UNDPKO Position Paper on Human Trafficking and United Nations Peacekeeping. The policy, coupled with the UN's Code of Conduct on Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse promotes a "zero-tolerance" approach to sex abuse and human trafficking by UN peacekeepers. UN enforcement of this policy has been challenged by ongoing allegations of sexual exploitation committed by UN peacekeepers. In late 2004, an internal investigation revealed that dozens of peacekeepers serving on a mission to the Congo had committed sex abuse crimes against refugees, including many minors. The UN's Code of Conduct now includes a prohibition on patronizing prostitutes and establishes curfews for UNDPKO personnel.

*U.S. Dept. of State!(2009).Trafficking!in!Persons!Report!(U.S.!Department!of!State!Publication!11407).!Washington,!DC

India’s trafficking pattern’s indicate that 90% of traffickingin person is domestic (i.e. interstate and intrastate trafficking), with only 10% taking place across international borders. In addition to being a source for trafficking, India is also a destination and transit country.

Based on case study and NGO interviews, the diversity of India’s state and territory leads trafficking in persons to differ greatly based on characteristics of a given region. NGOs indicate that trafficking was prevalent in destination state because of high inflows of migrants, high demand for sexworkers, generic gender/ caste issues, lack of community responsibility for social security and welfare, and absence ofa legal framework. For transit area, the main reasons cited were infrastructure and naturally, location between source anddestination states. Notably, poverty was not mentioned as primary trafficking influence in destination or transit regions.

It is reported that young girls and women are being

trafficked across well-beaten paths within South Asia and

further beyond. From just two routes- Nepal to India and

Bangladesh to Pakistan- an estimated 9,000 girls and women are

trafficked annually. Trafficking is taking place in these cases by a

variety of means such as promises of jobs or marriages, and at

times, even by physical violence and abduction. In India, most

women enter prostitution for reasons which tend to be

primarily economic, while some have a base in custom and

tradition at times like the Bachra community in Madhya

Pradesh. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children is

particularly high in beach tourism destinations like Goa.

Some pertinent, interrelated issues need to be considered

for effective strategies, namely invisibility of the problem

of trafficking in women and children owing to its illegal

nature, vulnerability of the women and child victims,

especially due to their gender and age, use of women and

children as economic commodities to be exchanged or sold by

strong trafficking syndicates, lack of proper and timely

prosecution, lack of legislative measures addressing regional

trafficking in women and societal attitudes condoning

trafficking in women and young girls and hence causing

stigmatization.

NATURE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The nature of human trafficking is such that reliable data

are scarce for several reasons. First it is difficult to

determine the extent of trafficking because it transcends

borders and relates to migration figures. Second, the most

reliable data pertains to those people who actually report the

crime to the police or other authorities. This extremely small

subset is not representative of the large population of

trafficked persons. The issues stemming from the

underreporting of crimes are amplified in the face of corrupt

and poorly trained police and judicial officials. The capacity

of the stakeholders, such as police and judicial officials,

differs from one state to another and even between districts

within the same state. More inclusive data sets that contain

information about trafficked victims known to NGOs and other

organizations is unrepresentative. These data are influenced

by the presence of NGOs in certain areas, the number of NGOs,

where they have outreach, their target groups, and the size of

their staff. Third, many related human rights abuses and

issues lie very close to human trafficking. For example, in

India, bonded labour remains a major issue, and the line

between those that have been trafficked and those who migrated

by choice and ended up in bonded labour is very hard to

ascertain through observation. It is also difficult to

classify individuals by their stage in the trafficking

process, be it as persons at risk of being trafficked, current

victims of trafficking, or former victims of trafficking.

This study began with a reduction in geographic focus so as toallow for sufficient depth of research into the selected states and target those states with greater or more representative problems. The scope narrowing was done by statebecause existing data and government policies are naturally ordered by state. After an initial survey of India’s states and territories, nine were selected for study: Andhra Pradesh,Bihar, Chattishgarh, Goa, Delhi, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Selection was based on the following criteria:

1. A pervasive and increasing trend toward Trafficking In Persons: TAP can potentially have the most impact in religions where the problems are greatest and increasing.

2. State and local governments that are receptive to Trafficking in Persons intervention: This criterion was suggested by us because of the difficulties associated with establishing inroads in locations where there is little government support for anti-Trafficking in Personsefforts.

3. Representation within the group of source, transit, and destination points for trafficking: To determine where authorities can be most effective, it was important to analyse opportunities for intervention at all stages of the trafficking process, from sources to destination.

4. Sufficient secondary data available for each state: In the absence of field research, it was crucial that sufficient information in English be available about eachstate’s trafficking problem, the NGOs working there, and government anti-Trafficking In Persons efforts.

Representation within the group of a variety of dynamics

that could potentially be influencing the rate of Trafficking

In Persons: For instance, some states experience increased

levels of Trafficking In Persons because of natural disasters,

while others experience Trafficking in Persons due to extreme

poverty.

DYNAMICS OF TRAFFICKING

This section presents findings on the dynamics of trafficking in India gleaned from the literature review, state profiles, NGO interviews, and the legal framework analysis. In addition to identifying the root causes of Trafficking in Persons in India, Part 3 identifies the impacts of trafficking, the barriers to protecting victims and prosecuting offenders within the legal framework, and discusses local dynamics at a state level that influence a region’s susceptibility to certain forms of Trafficking in Persons.

Factors such as economic development and vulnerability to natural disasters highly impact TIP patterns from region to region. Issues like poverty increase individuals’ vulnerabilities to the manipulations of traffickers and social norms [e.g. sexism towards women and girls] allow communities and families to subject their loved ones to the scourge of trafficking, sometimes voluntarily. Trafficking creates long-lasting social, economic, and health impacts. India’s legal framework is severely flawed. Instead of

protecting victims and prosecuting offenders, more often than not, victims are prosecuted and offenders, protected.

While this section draws on several analyses, a special noteabout the literature is warranted. Given that the characteristics of human trafficking are impacted by local economic, social and regulatory environments, studies often have small sample sizes or lack evidence-based assumption and result. Moreover, the literature was disproportionately focused on Indian women being trafficked for the purposes ofsexual exploitation, which does not accurately reflect the diversity of the trafficking experience in India. The Trafficking Thematic Group [2003] identified two reasons forthis:

1. It is easier for organizations addressing the Traffickingin Persons issue to raise funding for `moral outrage’ reasons, especially if underage girls are involved;

2. The sex trade is more visible and easier and easier to examine for signs of trafficking than other forms of Trafficking in Persons. This is especially true for formsof labour that may draw a very fine line between trafficking and voluntary migration.

While the literature lacks empirical robustness, it nonetheless provided valuable perspective on the state of Trafficking in Persons in India. Finally, this research, while having ambitious goals, is not an evaluation of the problem of Trafficking in Persons worldwide; it is an evaluation of Trafficking in Persons in India. The findings of this section reflect this focus.

As an introduction to the dynamics of trafficking in India, it is essential to grasp the overwhelming diversity of Indian states and territories.

LEGAL PROVISIONS

Constitution of India- Article 23 “Right against

Exploitation” prohibits the trafficking of human beings and

provides that any contravention of this right shall be an

offence punishable by law.

Article 39 (e) and (f)- Directive Principles of State

Policy declares that the State policies should be directed

towards securing that the tender age of children is not abused

and that childhood and youth are protected against

exploitation and material abandonment.

In the light of the Constitutional provisions, the

Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act was

enacted in 1956. It was amended in 1986 and re-titled as

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act to widen the scope so as to

cover all persons, whether male or female, who are exploited

sexually for commercial purposes. Further, crimes involving

children and minors were made more stringent by enhancing the

period of imprisonment, along with appointment of Trafficking

Police Officers to investigate crimes having inter-state

ramifications within the country. The Act prohibits

prostitution in its commercialized form without making

prostitution an offence per se. Section 26 (b) of the act

states “Prostitution means the sexual exploitation or the abuse of a person

for commercial purpose and the expression ‘prostitute’ shall be construed

accordingly”. ‘Stringent’ punishment is prescribed for those

inducting children below 16 and minors, (16 to 18) for the

purpose of prostitution. As far as the judicial structure is

concerned, Central or State Governments are empowered to

consult High Courts and establish special courts for speedy

trial of crimes under this Act. Some discretion is also

provided to Presiding Officers of both specific and other

courts to try cases summarily. Finally, the law provides for

the appointment of Special Police Officers in specific areas

to deal with crimes under the Act in that area. To assist the

Special Police Officer, the State Governments are empowered to

associate a non-official advisory body consisting of not more

than 5 leading social workers of that area, including women,

to advise them on the implementation of Act.

Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act,

‘neglected child’ includes a juvenile who lives in a brothel

or with a prostitute or frequents a place used for

prostitution or who is likely to be abused or exploited for

immoral or illegal purpose. A prostitute’s child is

automatically a neglected child and the Magistrate has been

given powers to segregate the child from the mother.

The Indian Penal Code Sections 375 (Rape); 377 (Unnatural

practices); 354 (Molestation and outraging the modesty of

women); 372 and 373 (Selling and procuring persons for the

purpose of prostitution and trafficking); 361 (Kidnapping);

366 (Kidnapping and abduction for immoral purpose); 366-A

(Procuring of girl under 16 years); 366-B (Import of girl

under 21 years from foreign country or J&K for immoral

purpose; – Pedophilia (No specific law but can be covered

under various sections of IPC); Local laws banning

Devdasi/Jogin cults.

Trafficking has been defined by the UN General Assembly in

1994 as ‘the illicit and clandestine movement of persons across national and

international borders, illegally from developing countries with the goal of

forcing women and girl child into economically oppressive and exploitative

situation for profit of recruiters, traffickers and crime syndicates’. The

United Nations has recognized trafficking as a form of slavery

and violence against women. In 1949, the United Nations

General Assembly passed the Convention for the Suppression of

Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the

Prostitution. The convention states that “prostitution and the

accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are

incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger

the welfare of the individual, the family and the community.”

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 defines

“severe forms of trafficking in persons” as follows:

A. Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is

induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the

person induced to perform such act has not attained 18

years of age,

B. The recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision,

or obtaining of person for labour or services, through

the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of

subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt

bondage, or slavery.

Myths And Facts About Trafficked And Prostituted Women And Girls-

The first and for most myth is that “Prostitution safeguards women from “good families”. In fact, the majority of the men

who seek the services of prostituted women view women in general as well as women in their families as gratifying objects. They often are sexually abuses and violent with womenin their own families as well. Research data says that 82% of buyers of prostituted sex interviewed in three different red-light areas reported that they were violent with their wives at least once and they did not think that the violence was wrong (survey conducted in 2004 by cents of relief and apneaap).

Second illusion as a myth is that “Prostitutes enjoy what theydo”; in fact most women are induced or forced into sex trade, under conditions of near or absolute slavery. If prostituted women saw this as a lucrative option they would not desperate to prevent their daughters from having to enter prostitution. Whereas research data shows that 97% of sex workers are spending at least 45% of their income to educate their daughters to protect them from prostitution.

Next myth as a curse for this civilized society “These women” can never be rehabilitated. When we treat them as ‘criminals’,and we do rehabilitate criminals, then why not them. In fact with appropriate measures the victims can be rescued, repatriated and reintegrated into society. Whereas rehabilitation in the district of murshidabad in West Bengal state, from which are 23% of Kolkata prostitutes, the government of India, under the scheme of support to training and employment programme (stet), sanctioned an integrated training and generation project in the silk yarn production sector.

In India most propound myth is that Prostitution is the “world’s oldest profession” and a necessary evil. In fact we need to say that ‘Prostitution is the world’s oldest oppression of women and girls’. And the reality which bites isthat many of the brothels in Mumbai still has the license numbers given by the British saying Welcome House X. the brothels in Agra and Sonagacchi, Kolkata and Kamptipura red-

light area in Mumbai also came up to provide sex to British soldiers and clerks.Shame for us is that it is still practiced.

And modern society myth is this “adult women should be free tomake her own choice even if the choice is to be a ‘prostitute’”. There is one simple question arises ‘who chooses such a miserable life?’ It would be more accurate to say that a prostituted woman complies with the extremely limited options available to her. Moreover, given the substantial risk of physical, sexual and psychological injuries women face in prostitution. In reality it is the harmto and exploitation of the person, not consent of the person that is the governing international standards.

And most common myth is that ‘Poor women can earn a lot of money through prostitution’. In fact, the majority of women’s time in prostitution is spent in debt bondage. At the end of day, women are left with disease- ridden bodies, children and no savings. In reality a whole chain of traffickers, from recruiters, to transporters, to pimps and brothel managers, ensures that a woman gets a very small cut of her earnings.

Why Prostitution Should Be Illegalized?

Many who wants Prostitution as a legalized business says that legalization brings the sex industry under control. Whereas experience in various countries which have legalized prostitution has shown that by legalizing prostitution the problem actually expands. In addition to prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and sadomasochist centres, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography have increased have generated enormous profit for the sex industry and the state but not for women trafficked in prostitution. And still there are such saying’s that “Legalization will dignify the women in prostitution”. In casethey forgot that it is not the age of Amarpali or Saints, thisis the age of pimps and peeps. But in reality legalization does not dignify the women, but only legitimize the sex

industry. There no protective body made for their protection saying’s moreover like ‘Women in prostitution will be better protected if prostitution was legalized’.Studies of victims ofcommercial sexual exploitation show that prostitution establishment- legal or illegal- did little to protect them. Astudy that interviewed victims of trafficking in five countries showed that 80% of them had suffered physical violence from pimps and buyers.The sexual exploitation and violence in prostitution is viewed as sex and often tolerated as part of the so- called job.

And speaking in medical sense ‘Prostituted women would be protected against infectious disease in a legalize system’. Infact a legalized system of prostitution often mandate health checks and certification for women.

Surprising But True facts

India is one of the world’s largest hub in prostitution-related human trafficking and forced labour, this according toa recent report released by the US Department of State. More than 1.2 million children in India are caught up in human trafficking as child prostitutes. Worse still, as many as 100 million people in India—soon to be the world’s most populous country—are involved in trafficking-related activities. Authorities believe 90 per cent of human trafficking in India is "intra-country”, centred in the poorest states like Orissa,Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. 

“Human trafficking and gender discrimination in India are becoming rampant. They need to be checked. Trafficking includes men, women and children who are forced into commercial sex work and sexual exploitation, forced and exploitative labour, marriage and forced marriage, adoption, organ transplantation, begging and mafia-controlled begging and drug peddling,” said Madhu Chandra, a New Delhi-based Christian social activist, research scholar and regional secretary for the All India Christian Council (AICC).

Women and children from lower castes and Dalits are the most affected one, and are victims of violence and discrimination in their own villages.

Sex tourism involving underage girls remains a highly profitable business, a billion-a-year industry in 2009, with a30 percent increase from previous years. Mumbai is the leadingmarket.

A fair-skinned minor—as young as eight—can fetch about US$ 2,500 a night, whilst a dusky-skinned child is sold for about US$ 2,000 per night.

Victims are denied for food and water if they do not perform with the clients, and beatings are a regular part of a child prostitute’s life.

The situation reveals how fragileis India as a nation. “Civil societies and the authorities have to find appropriate ways torespond to the issues,” said Fr Gregory Monterio, a social worker for the Calcutta Archdiocese.

CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING IN INDIAApproximately 150,000 women and children are trafficked from South Asia every year and most of them from, via and to India.Trafficking in children for commercial sexual exploitation is one of the primary manifestations of commercial sexual exploitationof children in India, which exists on a large scale and in many forms.Trafficking of girls for marriage is prevalent, especially in the States of Punjab and Haryana, as highlighted in a study conductedby local organisation SaktiVahini; another study revealed a well-established market in Uttar Pradesh for ‘purchased’ Bangladeshiwives. Although the Indian Child Marriage Restraint Act set the minimum age of marriage for women at 18, theDepartment ofHealth Survey (DHS) stated that 33.8 percent of the girls aged between 15 and 19 are currently married.

Lack of legal documents/identification makes trafficking victims highly vulnerable to threats of apprehension by authorities,extortion, detention, prosecution and deportation.

The specific legislation in India dealing with trafficking is the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (1986). However, this Act onlyrefers to trafficking for prostitution and therefore does not provide comprehensive protection for children. The substantive law

in India is the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860. The IPC addresses issues of the buying and sale of minors, importationof girlsetc. Existing rape, assault and abduction laws can also be used to address the abuse of women and girls in brothels. The GoaChildren’s Act (2003) is the only Indian statute that provides a legal definition of trafficking and is child–specific.Initiatives undertaken by the Indian Ministry to improve the protection of children include:

Establishing Child Line: This 24-hour phone service can be accessed by a child in distress or an adult on his/herbehalfby dialling the number 1098. Child Line provides emergency assistance to a child and is based upon the child’s need.Through this service, a child is referred toan appropriate organisation for long-term follow-up and care.

UJWALA Scheme: Launched by the Ministry in 2007-08 for the benefit of women and girls in difficult circumstances, with specific focus on the special needs of trafficking victims.

Kishori Shakti Yojana: A holistic initiative supporting the development of adolescent girls (11-18 years) to promoteawareness of health, hygiene and nutrition, as well as link girls to opportunities for learning life skills, returning to school and developing a better understanding of their social environment.

Scheme for rescuing trafficking victims: This scheme is to address trafficking in women and children for commercial sexual exploitation through small pilot projects.

Who Gets Trafficked?Children, especially those from poor families, are most vulnerable to trafficking. The National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) Action Research Study conducted in 2005 foundthat a majority of trafficking victims belong to socially deprivedsections of society, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, etc. Children from drought-prone areas and placesaffected by natural or human-made disasters are also more likely to fall prey to traffickers. The NHRC estimates that almosthalf of the children trafficked within India are

between the ages of 11 and 14; they are subjected to physical and sexual abuseand kept in conditions similar to slavery and bondage. Debt bondage is one of many strategies used by exploiters to keepchildren in constant servitude.

Children from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked into India and through India to Pakistan and the Middle East. Though theexact numbers are not known, it is estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepalese girls are trafficked into India for sexualexploitation every year. In recent years, there have also been cases of trafficking of girls from India to Bangladesh for childmarriage. Many of these girls eventually end up being sexually exploited in other ways.

However, the majority of trafficking in underage girls for sexual exploitation, however, happens within the country. Childrenare trafficked to and from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. For instance, among the 23districts of the State of Andra Pradesh, 16 are identified as sendingdistricts. Similarly, in the State of Bihar, 24 out of 37 districts are highly affected by trafficking in women and children.Rajasthan is also a major source State, where 27 out of 32 districts are found to be affected.

WHO CREATES DEMAND?Traffickers prey on children and young people to meet the sexual demands of paedophiles and people who pay for sex. Anyperson who patronises the commercial sex market may end up sexually exploiting a child. There is actually no common profileof perpetrators who sexually exploit children – they may be young, old, married or single; they come from all kindsof socioeconomicbackgrounds and work in all kinds of professions.

WHO ARE TRAFFICKERS?Traffickers can be a stranger or someone the child knows, suchas a relative or a friend. Traffickers are often part of anorganised criminal network that ‘recruits’ children and supplies them with fake identification. They may also pose as

boyfriendsor girlfriends in order to convince children to leave for a new life.For the pimps, brothel madams and brothel owners of Mumbai, the sex industry is a multi-million dollar business in whichthe money is the only bottom line. The highest prices go for the youngest girls, many of whom have been kidnapped from othercountries and trafficked to India, or sold by their own families into the industry.

ROOT CAUSES OF TRAFFICKING: SUPPLY & DEMAND SIDE

Most of the literature points to poverty as the primary cause of trafficking include low employment prospects, a patriarchal culture, low regard for women’s rights, low levels of education, discrimination and marginalization of women, and cultural factors such as dowry issues. These assertions are supported by the analysis of the NGO interviews. However, NGO representatives added that awareness outages, natural disasters & conflict, and illiteracy complicate the situation further. Many of the causes are demonstrably linked to the central issue of poverty. Based on the state profiles, additional factors for India’s TIP predicament include:

The adverse impacts of globalization have led to a loss of traditional sources of income and ruralemployment; and

Migration policies are especially harsh for unskilled workers, forcing them to resort to alternative livelihoods options through illegal means.

The root above mentioned can be categorizedas supply or demand side factors.

Below, each category is discussed in more depth.

ROOT CAUSES OF TRAFFICKING: SUPPLY SIDE

Key factors influencing the supply side of human trafficking are poverty, globalization, social practices, conflicts, natural disasters, and governance.

POVERTY AND GLOBALIZATION

States with the highest levels of poverty are where the largest numbers of victims of trafficking originate [i.e. Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and West Bengal]. Delhi, Goa on the other hand, have both a low percentage of people below poverty line in addition to relatively high literacy rates among both men and women due to positive economic development resulting from globalization. Consequently, these two states are primarily reported as destination and not source locations. For the small number of victims thatoriginate in these states, traffickers must use very different strategies compared to those employed in source and transit states. Reports from Delhi indicatethat kidnapping and abduction are the major methods for recruiting victims in this region. These kidnappings are often associated with organized crime groups.

It is often argued that the `feminization of poverty’ is driving the increasing trend of trafficking in women. Investment in female workers is lower compared to their male counterparts and women receive less of what society produce. This extends to education, health care, productive assets that could their well being. Similarly, macroeconomic reforms and globalization have led to increasing commercializationof agriculture throughout India, a switch from labour-intensive to capital-intensive systems, a shift from paddy to cash crop cultivation where the wage differential is especially high, and demand for

higher-skilled employees have tended to increase the prevalence of trafficking. Amplifying the problem, often, female-headed household are forced to put theirchildren to work for economic survival, which then places their children at risk of being trafficked.

On the other end of the continuum, there has also been an increase in the demand for casual labor, whichrequires both flexibility and mobility. Poor individual that engage in migrant labour particularly suspectible to the manipulations of traffickers. Livelihood is positively correlated with increased trafficking. Evidence in South India shows that where these factors are present and there are high probabilities of natural disasters, trafficking tends to be more common. This is further compounded by low-cost competition in South Asia, increasing the demand for cheap labor and encouraging employers to exploit unskilled labor via trafficking.

While poverty is primary in its impact on trafficking trends, social attitudes play a secondary, but very large role as well.

ROOT CAUSES OF TRAFFICKING: DEMAND SIDE

Trafficked labour is demanded in number of sectors, the most common of which is commercial sex work [CSW].Brothels, temporary construction/worker camps, highways, urban residential areas, and small closed all serve as home to trafficking. Labour trafficking for reasons other than CSW is also very common, but much less documented. Trafficked victims work in factories often becoming indentured or debt-bonded to the owners.

Similar to globalization’s impact on rural, poor states, Delhi and Goa, both of which are wealthy, destination locations, have shown that globalization and urbanization have had negative impacts on the prevalence of TIP. From interviews with NGOs, high crime rates and the economic boom are cited as the primary causes of TIP in wealthy areas. It is argued by P.M. Nair, one of the most highly respected trafficking experts in India, that the economic boom has increased the demand for sexual services and increased the level of migrant workers, leading to a resultant increase in the supply of trafficked victims.

Given demand and supply’s interdependence, addressing both types of facts is central to curbing TIP in India. Based on the literature review and NGO interviews, little is done on the demand side. This can partially by the disproportionate difficulty of addressing demand side problems. For instance, what would a policy recommendation look like to reduce of tourism or the pace of economic development?

Given TAF’s forthcoming role in addressing the issue of TIP, it is necessary to consider not only the causes of trafficking, but also the impact of trafficking on individuals, families, communities, andsociety in order for TAF’s recommendations to be holistic in nature.

HOW CAN WE STOP TRAFFICKING-Law and Law Enforcement-

India has not ratified the Trafficking Protocol and should makeit a priority to do so. With respect to existing legislation, the Penal Code’s prohibition on selling or buying a minor for purposes of prostitution fails to include many other activities related to trafficking prohibited by the Trafficking Protocol, such as recruiting,

harbouring, transporting, transferring or receiving trafficked children. Additionally, while the Indian Penal Code prohibits importing a foreign girl for purposes of illicit sex, this provision offers no protection for girls from India or boys from any country. It should alsobe noted that trafficking in children for purposes other than those stated above is not criminalised, while the Trafficking Protocol defines trafficking in children and its related acts for the purpose of exploitation, such as butnot limited to prostitution, forced labour or slavery.

Indian legislators have proposed amendments to the ImmoralTraffic Prevention Act that would more specifically define and prohibit trafficking, but they have not yet been enacted as law. There are also a number of cases currently pending before the Indian Supreme Court that could strengthen the law in this area. Appropriate and effective implementation of existing laws is essential inorder to effectively protect children and remains a problem.

State Advisory Committees must be made functional in all States to allow for the effective implementation of India’s Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children. Action planning at the statelevel should also be expedited. The budget allocated for National Plan of Action implementation at both levels must be increased. Child trafficking unfortunately remains a low priority issue for government and state actors, who have shown little political will to seriouslyaddress this problem.

The Government must increase efforts to identify trafficking victims among at-risk groups such as childrenarrested for prostitution and illegal migrants, and at the same time improve the prosecution and conviction of trafficking offenders. It is also important to establish a child-friendly legal process where victims of trafficking are not criminalised or punished in any way, but are provided with proper legal counsel and guardianship.

The Indian Government must recognise trafficking of boys for prostitution as an issue. In India, adolescents and young males with feminine gender construction are victimsof social stigma and gross human rights violations. Sexual exploitation of children and young people is oftenviewed as being limited to girls. Consequently, the prostitution of boys is little understood, despite its existence in India. Legislation is required to ensure that boy children are also protected. This should be followed up with police training to ensure appropriate implementation of the law.

To draft and submit the India country-report on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Optional Protocol). The Optional Protocol was ratified by India in August 2005 and the country report wasdue to be submitted on August 2007.

Law Enforcement Agencies need to be aware of the Special Act ITPA and understand trafficking as not just a single crime or criminal activity but as multiple crimes committed (referred to under the ITPA as the “Basket of Crimes”) onthe child and accordingly prosecute such cases.

PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING AND VICTIM PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE

Religious and culturally sanctioned prostitution of children, particularly among scheduled tribes and castes,must besystematically combated: the Government’s Tribal Development Programme must foster partnerships with civilsocietyorganisations to continuously implement programmesthat sensitise such communities, and rescue and supportprostituted children - particularly in areas such as Bihar, MP, UP and Rajasthan.

Proposed amendments to the Immoral Traffic Prevention Actshould be enacted into law as soon as possible. Efforts to increase birth and marriage registration nationwide must also be prioritised, as these are valuable protectivemechanisms against CSEC.

The Government must also take steps to implement coordination and prevention initiatives in countries of origin by cooperating with governments in the region for safe migration, awareness-raising on trafficking and repatriation ofsurvivors.

The Government must make further efforts to protect trafficking victims, such as institutionalising child-friendly procedures in law enforcement, child protection policies in relevant agencies and state operated shelters. At a minimum, child victims must be provided with health and psychosocial care, vocational training, legal counselling and repatriation/reintegration services.

To prevent re-trafficking and further exploitation of CSEC victims, reintegration programmes, initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, should be widelyreplicated in the most affected state districts. NGOs andCommunity Based Organisations should be included in the process of reintegration to ensure the protection of children and effectiveresults.

The following measures proposed by the Ministry of Women & Child Development for the ‘Development of the Child atthe Centre of the Eleventh Plan’ (2007-2012) should be implemented:

Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): A centrally sponsored scheme to address the issue of child protection and build a protective environment for children through Government-Civil Society Partnerships.

Establishment of a dedicated Nodal Cell for Prevention of Trafficking to coordinate, network andprovide feedback to State Governments and other concerned agencies, as well as share data, best practices, innovations etc. on asustained and continuous basis to enable better outcomes.

Formation of community vigilance groups in source areas and disaster prone areas.

Involvement of local level institutions for trackingoutbound movements of children.

Child Help Lines to be established and widely published at the village level.

Strengthening regional and overseas initiatives to prevent cross-border trafficking and to enable rescue andrepatriation of children to their countries of origin. A Protocol for inter-country rescue (especially among SAARCcountries) and repatriation with facilities within the Embassies and High Commissions for immediate response andsupport needs to be formulated.

CONCLUSION

As we know human trafficking is a heinous crime.Victims of human trafficking pay a horrible price. Psychological and physical harm, including disease and stunted growth, often have permanent effects. In many cases the exploitation of trafficking victims is progressive: a child trafficked into one form of labour may be further abused in another. Another brutal reality of the modern-day slave trade is that its victims are frequently bought and sold many times over—often sold initially by family members.

Victims forced into sex slavery can be subdued with drugs and subjected to extreme violence. Victims trafficked for sexual exploitation face physical and emotional damage from forced sexual activity, forced substance abuse, and exposure to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Some victimssuffer permanent damage to their reproductive organs. When thevictim is trafficked to a location where he or she cannot speak or understand the language, this compounds the psychological damage caused from isolation and domination by traffickers.

It also promote social breakdown- The loss of family and community support networks makes trafficking victims vulnerable to traffickers' demands and threats, and contributes in several ways to the breakdown of social structures. Trafficking tears children from their parents and extended family. The profits from trafficking allow the

practice to take root in a particular community, which is thenrepeatedly exploited as a ready source of victims. The danger of becoming a trafficking victim can lead vulnerable groups such as children and young women to go into hiding, with adverse effects on their schooling or family structure. The loss of education reduces victims' future economic opportunities and increases their vulnerability to being re-trafficked in the future. Victims who are able to return to their communities often find themselves stigmatized or ostracized. Recovery from the trauma, if it ever occurs, can take a lifetime.

Results of human trafficking-

Fuelling Organized Crime. The profits from human trafficking fuel other criminal activities. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, human trafficking generates an estimated $9.5 billion in annual revenue. It is closely connected with money laundering, drug trafficking, document forgery, and human smuggling. Where organized crime flourishes, governments and the rule of law are undermined andweakened.

Depriving Countries of Human Capital and Inhibiting Development. Trafficking has a negative impact on labour markets, contributing to an irretrievable loss of human resources. Some effects of trafficking include depressed wages, fewer individuals left to care for an increasing numberof elderly persons, and an undereducated generation. These effects lead to the loss of future productivity and earning power. Forcing children to work that denies them access to education can reinforce the cycle of poverty and illiteracy that stunts national development. When forced or bonded labourinvolves a significant part of a country's population, this form of trafficking retards the country's development, as generation after generation of these victims remain mired in poverty.

Public Health Costs. Victims of trafficking often endure brutal conditions that result in physical, sexual, and psychological trauma. Sexually transmitted infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, and HIV/AIDS are often the result of being used in prostitution. Anxiety, insomnia, depression, andpost-traumatic stress disorder are common psychological manifestations among trafficked victims. Unsanitary and crowded living conditions, coupled with poor nutrition, fostera host of adverse health conditions such as scabies, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases. The most egregious abuses are often borne by children, who are more easily controlled and forced into domestic service, armed conflict, and other hazardous forms of work.The causes of human trafficking are complex and often reinforce each other. Viewing trafficking in persons as a global market, victims constitute the supply, and abusive employers or sexual exploiters (also known as sex buyers) represent the demand.

The myriad cause of trafficking-The supply of victims is encouraged by many factors including poverty, the attraction of perceived higher standards of living elsewhere, lack of employment opportunities, organized crime, violence against women and children, discrimination against women, government corruption, political instability, and armed conflict. In somesocieties a tradition of fostering allows the third or fourth child to be sent to live and work in an urban centre with a member of the extended family (often, an "uncle"), in exchangefor a promise of education and instruction in a trade. Taking advantage of this tradition, traffickers often position themselves as employment agents, inducing parents to part witha child, but then traffic the child to work in prostitution, domestic servitude, or a commercial enterprise. In the end, the family receives few if any wage remittances, the child remains unschooled and untrained and separated from his or herfamily, and the hoped-for educational and economic opportunities never materialize.

Effective Strategies in Combating Trafficking-To be effective,anti-trafficking strategies must target both the supply side, the traffickers — and the demand side — the owners or, in the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, the sex buyers — of this ugly phenomenon.On the supply side, the conditions that drive trafficking must be dealt with through programs that alert communities to the dangers of trafficking, improve and expand educational and economic opportunities to vulnerable groups, promote equal access to education, educate people regarding their legal rights, and create better and broader life opportunities.Regarding traffickers, law enforcement must vigorously prosecute traffickers and those who aid and abet them; fight public corruption which facilitates and profits from the trade; identify and interdicttrafficking routes through better intelligence gathering and coordination; clarify legal definitions of trafficking and coordinate law enforcement responsibilities; and train personnel to identify and direct trafficking victims to appropriate care.

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Vasantsen. Mricchakatika by Sudraka. ApneAap Handbook 2007 on Sex Trafficking.

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Report of Trafficked Persons by Nodal Officer. Stanford Human Trafficking in India, final

Report. Amnesty International report 2011-12. Report on Status of Children in Madhya Pradesh by

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