Child trafficking in India

What has been done to address the issue of Child Trafficking in India? The United Nations World Day Against Child Labour 2023 emphasizes how social injustices, such as poverty and lack of education, create precarious conditions for children. Read here to know more about this societal menace.

The International Employment Organisation (ILO) defines child employment as any labor that robs children of their youth, their potential, and their dignity and that damages their physical or mental development.

Child labor is a kind of contemporary slavery. Trafficking, sexual exploitation, debt servitude, and exploitation in armed situations are only a few examples of the practice. 12% of individuals who engage in forced work are possibly youngsters.

The 30 July each year marks the UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons with 2022’s theme focusing on the role of technology as a tool that can both enable and impede human trafficking.

Child Trafficking

Child trafficking is about taking children out of their protective environment and preying on their vulnerability for exploitation.

• Modern-day slavery takes the form of the trafficking of children.
• Children are trafficked for reasons including domestic work, joining the armed forces, engaging in crime, and even adoption.

Even if they manage to flee, the physical and mental trauma has a lasting effect; the terror, abuse, and shame that children may encounter may make it challenging for them to reconstruct their lives and reintegrate into society.

The demand for inexpensive malleable and docile labor in industries and among employers where the working conditions and treatment of children grossly violate their human rights is closely related to child trafficking on a global, national, and international scale.

• These are characterised by conditions that are both unacceptable and detrimental to the child’s growth and health.
• These include bonded labor, camel racing, child domestic work, commercial prostitution and sexual exploitation, drug couriering, and child soldiering, in addition to exploitative or slavery-like, practices in the unorganized industrial sector.

UNODC’s global report on trafficking in humans paints a rather grim picture of the issue, even though the convictions have increased.

• According to the Report, the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls.
• Surprisingly, in 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm.
• The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labor (18%), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labor is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation.
• Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa).
• Although trafficking seems to imply people moving across continents, most exploitation takes place close to home.
• Data show that intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking in persons.

Also read: Child Marriages in India; Child Sexual Abuse in India

Child trafficking in India

According to the NCRB Report of 2021, 2877 children were trafficked in India.

• Approximately eight children were trafficked daily, and the reports account for only those cases that Anti-Human Trafficking Units have registered; the unregistered traffic figure is enormous compared to this.
• The report also shows that trafficking increased in India by 28 percent in 2021 compared to 2020 and 44 percent of these victims are children.

There are many reasons for child trafficking in India with the root causes being- poverty, a lack of education, and the need to financially support their family.

• Due to the need for inexpensive labor in industries, many youngsters were trafficked and forced to serve as bonded laborers for reduced pay.
• Demand for trafficking from low-income to high-income areas is fueled by economic disparities both within and between nations.
• By selling these children to brothels in some areas, traditional and religious practices such (as Jogin and Devadasi), which dedicate girls to gods and goddesses, also encourage child trafficking.
• The trafficking sector is the third most lucrative industry in the world for the criminal syndicate after drugs and weapons because attractive enterprises with cheap investment but huge financial returns attract crime syndicates.
• Because illiteracy prevents children, especially girls, from knowing their legal rights, it has a substantial impact on human trafficking. Inadequate educational opportunities induce illiteracy. They are unable to act against exploiters as a result.
• Expanding the commercial sex industry in the country as well as abroad is another demanding reason.
• Lack of political will on the part of the government to create a strong system for law enforcement to use to combat trafficking.

Initiatives against Child Trafficking

Child trafficking has become a colossal problem; many steps have been taken at the International and national levels to combat this.

International initiatives

• The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989
• Palermo Protocol of 2000: India signed this Protocol in 2002, but it was ratified in 2011. This Protocol, for the first time, provides a clear definition of trafficking, which helps in combating trafficking.
• The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN GIFT) was conceived to promote the global fight against human trafficking, based on international agreements reached at the UN.

Indian initiatives

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) in an attempt to stop the trafficking of women and children has undertaken several initiatives.

• National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children 1998, was formulated to mainstream and reintegrate victims of trafficking.
• Central Advisory Committee (CAB) was constituted to advise on methods and tactics to address the problem.
• Pre-rescue, Rescue, and Post-rescue operations of child victims of trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation protocol were published as guidelines for all stakeholders
• The ministry in collaboration with NIPCCD and UNICEF has developed three manuals – ‘Judicial Handbook on Combating Trafficking of Women and Children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation; ‘Manual for Medical Officers for Dealing with Child Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation; and ‘Counselling Services for Child survivors of trafficking’.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up a dedicated nodal Cell in the MHA for the prevention of trafficking. The cell is responsible for providing state governments with the necessary research, studies, and information.
• The ministry organizes workshops for NGOs on issues relating to the trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation.
• Suggested amendment of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 to widen its scope, focus on traffickers, human rights of victims, and focus on proper implementation.
• Training all stakeholders such as police, government officials, etc. to better understand the situation and hence respond properly to suspicious activity or person.
• The ministry runs Shelter based homes Short Stay Homes, and Swadhar Homes for women in difficult circumstances
• Three pilot projects were implemented i) Pilot project to combat the trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation under the sanction of tradition ii) a Pilot project to combat the trafficking of women and children for commercial, sexual exploitation in source areas, and iii) Pilot project to combat trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation in destination areas. The projects are in the process of being converted into a full scheme.
• With the Ministry of External Affairs, MWCD has endeavored to create special task forces to combat cross-border trafficking.
• Tackle trafficking of women and girls by addressing issues of poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to education and schools, lack of vocational skill and employment opportunities, the prevalence of age-old evil practices like child marriages, low status of women and girls in society, etc.

Laws Governing Anti-Trafficking Crimes

• Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 stops immoral trafficking and sex work.
• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976 abolished the bonded labor system to prevent the economic and physical exploitation of weaker sections of people.
• Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994 makes commercial dealing in human organs a punishable offense.
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 prevents commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Also read: Operation Megh Chakra: CBI Initiative to Fight Against CSAM

Way forward

Even with all the laws and initiatives in place, the prevalence of trafficking crimes is alarming. More community-based interaction and awareness are needed.

Steps like community-based rehabilitation, and revisiting the existing laws to deal with loopholes can be taken. Poverty-driven child labor needs to be addressed by cultivating more work for the families so that the children can be sent to school.

To help all nations protect victims and prosecute perpetrators, there is a need to boost technical aid and deepen collaboration.

To combat the threat of human trafficking, it is vital to improve the capability of both the police and NGOs.

The correct exchange of data must be made sure both domestically within an administration and between organizations like the police and NGOs as well as across other nations.

-Article by Swathi Satish