Call for Eradication of Trafficking in Women and Children in India
The Chairperson of the Commission, Justice J.S.Verma, stated that it was necessary to take a holistic view of the problem of trafficking in women and children in India, to identify all causes leading to this malady and to eradicate this practice. He was inaugurating a one-day Technical Consultation for National Level Action Research on Trafficking in Women and Children, which was being organized by NHRC and UNIFEM in New Delhi.
Justice Verma said that the word `trafficking’ meant `illegal trade’ and both of these words were highly demeaning when used in the context of a human being. However, in the case of women, children and minors it meant discrimination several times over. He therefore stressed that every effort must be made not only to stop but also to prevent this malpractice, and that the effort must also include measures for the rehabilitation of victims. Expressing deep appreciation of the response of the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India, for working together with the National Human Rights Commission on this subject, the Chairperson observed that other wings of the Central Government involved with this problem had not responded with equal sensitivity. The Chairperson stressed that NGOs had a key role to play. A massive effort was required to sensitize society, as the full involvement of society and societal pressures alone would, finally lead to success in bringing an end to this problem.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice Smt. Sujata V. Manohar, Member, NHRC, who is the focal point in the Commission to deal with this subject, stated that trafficking was one of the worst forms of violation of human rights, as women and children were treated as commodities and not as human beings. She expressed the need for a reliable database and a detailed analysis of the problem.
Shri R.V.V. Ayyar, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Women and Child Development, called for a broad-based action research on the subject and pledged the full support of his Department in tackling this issue.
According to the 1999 report of the National Crime Records Bureau, incidents of kidnapping and abduction were highest in the States of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. However, 68.3% of the cases against immoral trafficking were reported from Tamil Nadu. The largest number of victims of rape were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam. The States of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal contributed 62% of the total number of rape cases of children. The buying of girls for prostitution was reported predominantly from West Bengal and Maharashtra and the selling girls for prostitution from West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were the major areas from where minor girls were being procured
Justice Verma said that the word `trafficking’ meant `illegal trade’ and both of these words were highly demeaning when used in the context of a human being. However, in the case of women, children and minors it meant discrimination several times over. He therefore stressed that every effort must be made not only to stop but also to prevent this malpractice, and that the effort must also include measures for the rehabilitation of victims. Expressing deep appreciation of the response of the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India, for working together with the National Human Rights Commission on this subject, the Chairperson observed that other wings of the Central Government involved with this problem had not responded with equal sensitivity. The Chairperson stressed that NGOs had a key role to play. A massive effort was required to sensitize society, as the full involvement of society and societal pressures alone would, finally lead to success in bringing an end to this problem.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice Smt. Sujata V. Manohar, Member, NHRC, who is the focal point in the Commission to deal with this subject, stated that trafficking was one of the worst forms of violation of human rights, as women and children were treated as commodities and not as human beings. She expressed the need for a reliable database and a detailed analysis of the problem.
Shri R.V.V. Ayyar, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Women and Child Development, called for a broad-based action research on the subject and pledged the full support of his Department in tackling this issue.
According to the 1999 report of the National Crime Records Bureau, incidents of kidnapping and abduction were highest in the States of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. However, 68.3% of the cases against immoral trafficking were reported from Tamil Nadu. The largest number of victims of rape were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam. The States of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal contributed 62% of the total number of rape cases of children. The buying of girls for prostitution was reported predominantly from West Bengal and Maharashtra and the selling girls for prostitution from West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were the major areas from where minor girls were being procured