Combating trafficking in Women and Children;
Reports released
Report on the Action Research on Trafficking in Women and Children in India
Dr. Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson, NHRC at a function held in the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on 24 August 2004 released the report on the Action Research on Trafficking in Women and Children which was jointly carried out by the NHRC with United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Institute of Social Sciences (ISS). The primary data for the Action Research Report was collected by interviewing 4006 persons spread over 13 States and Union Territories over 2 years and included victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE), survivors, brothel owners, traffickers, clientele, trafficked children rescued from exploitative labour and servitude as well as police officials.
Dr. Justice Anand speaking on the occasion stated that the problem of trafficking is a complex one with global dimensions and has acquired the dimension of an organized crime. The gains from this activity can go into the hands of anti social and anti national elements like terrorists thereby posing a threat to the security of the nation. Referring to the justification that Prostitution is the oldest profession, Justice Anand observed that it was not a profession but a business as victims are reduced to the level of commodities, which he termed as the worst case of violation of human rights. He said there are constitutional provisions and legislations, which prohibit trafficking but the experience of their implementation has revealed that an amendment to the ITPA Act is needed. He regretted the lopsided enforcement of the Act and the lack of sensitization among the law enforcing authority to implement the Provisions of the Act. At present the policy for combating trafficking involves raid, rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration. However at every stage, Justice Anand observed, there are deficiencies and a victim of trafficking cannot be truly rehabilitated unless the mindset of the society is changed. He appealed to the government, NGOs and social workers to address the problem at the grassroots and any small effort in this direction, he added, would go a long way in checking this problem.
Smt. Sujata V. Manohar, Member of the Commission and NHRC's Focal Point on Trafficking, in her keynote address, observed that India has a dubious distinction along with Mexico of being a receiving, sending as well as transit country, in addition to having a fair amount of trafficking within the country. She said that unless one has reliable information on the estimate of the extent of trafficking, the trafficking routes, regions from which vulnerable people are trafficked, where they are sent and who forces them into slavery or slave like conditions of work an effective programme to protect them against this serious violation of human rights cannot be designed. She hoped that the network of the Nodal Officers created in each State by the Action Research would help in combating trafficking and that the report be a starting point of much that needs to be done in this area.
The study has shown strong linkages between trafficking and migration as well as with reported missing persons. On the law enforcement scenario it shows various provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA) are underutilized or not utilized at all. The report has made a number of recommendations and suggestions in the areas of preventing trafficking, protection of victims and survivors, prosecution of traffickers and other exploiters and changes proposed in ITPA.
(The Summary of the report is available on www.nhrc.nic.in)
· Some of the highlights of the report include -
· 68.5% of the victims of CSE are in the age group of 22 to 35 years.
· 44.3% entered prostitution by the age of 18.
· 72.5% of victims had been convicted earlier on charges of soliciting.
· 32.2% of rescued victims had health problems.
· 45.5% of the prostitutes' clientele are married.
· 82.6% of the clients never encountered police in the brothels.
· 62.7% were victims of CSE before becoming brothel owners.
· 90% of the traffickers were Indians
· 60% of the cases of trafficking go unreported as stated by police officers.
· 40% of the police officials interviewed were unaware of trafficking
Report on the Review of the Implementation of the Laws and Policies Relating to Trafficking: Towards an Effective Rescue and Post-Rescue Strategy
The Report on the Review of the Implementation of the Laws and Policies Relating to Trafficking: Towards an Effective Rescue and Post-Rescue Strategy
is based on the recommendations that emerged at a two-day National Workshop jointly organized by the Commission and PRAYAS, an NGO, in Mumbai on 27 & 28 February 2004. The report was released by the Chairperson, Justice A.S. Anand on 25 August 2004 in Delhi and includes recommendations relating to law and structures, prevention, rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims as well as anti-trafficking measures.
Dr. Justice A. S. Anand, Chairperson of the Commission stressed on the need for a proper policy to be in place at the National, State and District level to combat trafficking and for an anti-trafficking mechanism to be established at the National, State, District and Taluka level within the police set-up, which he said, does not exist at present.
Justice Manohar, Member of the Commission, observed that unless a proper strategy for the rescue of victims and their effective rehabilitation is adopted, the end result of the legal process of rescue would only be re-trafficking.
Dr. Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson, NHRC at a function held in the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on 24 August 2004 released the report on the Action Research on Trafficking in Women and Children which was jointly carried out by the NHRC with United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Institute of Social Sciences (ISS). The primary data for the Action Research Report was collected by interviewing 4006 persons spread over 13 States and Union Territories over 2 years and included victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE), survivors, brothel owners, traffickers, clientele, trafficked children rescued from exploitative labour and servitude as well as police officials.
Dr. Justice Anand speaking on the occasion stated that the problem of trafficking is a complex one with global dimensions and has acquired the dimension of an organized crime. The gains from this activity can go into the hands of anti social and anti national elements like terrorists thereby posing a threat to the security of the nation. Referring to the justification that Prostitution is the oldest profession, Justice Anand observed that it was not a profession but a business as victims are reduced to the level of commodities, which he termed as the worst case of violation of human rights. He said there are constitutional provisions and legislations, which prohibit trafficking but the experience of their implementation has revealed that an amendment to the ITPA Act is needed. He regretted the lopsided enforcement of the Act and the lack of sensitization among the law enforcing authority to implement the Provisions of the Act. At present the policy for combating trafficking involves raid, rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration. However at every stage, Justice Anand observed, there are deficiencies and a victim of trafficking cannot be truly rehabilitated unless the mindset of the society is changed. He appealed to the government, NGOs and social workers to address the problem at the grassroots and any small effort in this direction, he added, would go a long way in checking this problem.
Smt. Sujata V. Manohar, Member of the Commission and NHRC's Focal Point on Trafficking, in her keynote address, observed that India has a dubious distinction along with Mexico of being a receiving, sending as well as transit country, in addition to having a fair amount of trafficking within the country. She said that unless one has reliable information on the estimate of the extent of trafficking, the trafficking routes, regions from which vulnerable people are trafficked, where they are sent and who forces them into slavery or slave like conditions of work an effective programme to protect them against this serious violation of human rights cannot be designed. She hoped that the network of the Nodal Officers created in each State by the Action Research would help in combating trafficking and that the report be a starting point of much that needs to be done in this area.
The study has shown strong linkages between trafficking and migration as well as with reported missing persons. On the law enforcement scenario it shows various provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA) are underutilized or not utilized at all. The report has made a number of recommendations and suggestions in the areas of preventing trafficking, protection of victims and survivors, prosecution of traffickers and other exploiters and changes proposed in ITPA.
(The Summary of the report is available on www.nhrc.nic.in)
· Some of the highlights of the report include -
· 68.5% of the victims of CSE are in the age group of 22 to 35 years.
· 44.3% entered prostitution by the age of 18.
· 72.5% of victims had been convicted earlier on charges of soliciting.
· 32.2% of rescued victims had health problems.
· 45.5% of the prostitutes' clientele are married.
· 82.6% of the clients never encountered police in the brothels.
· 62.7% were victims of CSE before becoming brothel owners.
· 90% of the traffickers were Indians
· 60% of the cases of trafficking go unreported as stated by police officers.
· 40% of the police officials interviewed were unaware of trafficking
Report on the Review of the Implementation of the Laws and Policies Relating to Trafficking: Towards an Effective Rescue and Post-Rescue Strategy
The Report on the Review of the Implementation of the Laws and Policies Relating to Trafficking: Towards an Effective Rescue and Post-Rescue Strategy
is based on the recommendations that emerged at a two-day National Workshop jointly organized by the Commission and PRAYAS, an NGO, in Mumbai on 27 & 28 February 2004. The report was released by the Chairperson, Justice A.S. Anand on 25 August 2004 in Delhi and includes recommendations relating to law and structures, prevention, rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims as well as anti-trafficking measures.
Dr. Justice A. S. Anand, Chairperson of the Commission stressed on the need for a proper policy to be in place at the National, State and District level to combat trafficking and for an anti-trafficking mechanism to be established at the National, State, District and Taluka level within the police set-up, which he said, does not exist at present.
Justice Manohar, Member of the Commission, observed that unless a proper strategy for the rescue of victims and their effective rehabilitation is adopted, the end result of the legal process of rescue would only be re-trafficking.