Posted On: 2021-08-26 11:42:52
Tahmina, a 13-year-old girl was blinded by her sister when she was taken to a remote village in Haryana and sold into marriage with a man almost 30 years older than her. Strange men came to see her and offered numerous amounts for her. She escaped somehow, but most of them are not lucky. This is a story recorded by “The Guardian”. This demonstrates one of the many perspectives of what victims go through when Human Smuggling takes place. She was blinded by her own family, this has not only happened in this family but in many others. If insiders, trusted family members, can do it, imagine what outsiders can end up doing to the innocent and gullible.
Human trafficking in India, although is prohibited and illegal under Indian law, remains a vital and significant problem in this country where the trafficker receives the highest price when women and girls are trafficked. People and kids are frequently illegally trafficked through India for business sexual exploitation forced/bonded labour, violence, and negotiating skills. Men, women and children are trafficked in India for various reasons. Women and girls are trafficked within the country and internationally for commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage, especially in those areas where the sex ratio is high in favour of men.
Men and boys are trafficked for labour mostly, some can be trafficked for sexual exploitation by traffickers to serve mos
tly as escorts, massage specialists and partners.
A significant part of children is enslaved to forced labour as factory workers, domestic helpers, beggars and agricultural workers. They have been also used as armed fighters by some terrorist and insurgent organisations. As per data on missing persons in Crime in India, a total of 2,90,439 people in the year 2016, 3,05,267 people in 2017 and 3,47,524 people in 2018 have been reported as missing.
Many missing persons have met with a tragic end such as death, suicide, or accident. Many missing persons end up getting trafficked. However, it is not always easy to determine whether someone’s disappearance is intentional or unintentional. The victims of human trafficking may include male and female, adults, as well as children out of which 35 per cent of the victims are trafficked for forced labour. The human trafficking may take place within the country or outside it. The literature review suggests that low level of education, low employment prospects and lack of opportunities are also the reasons for women and men to venture out in search of better living conditions. In India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau data, there were 38,503 victims of human trafficking between 2011 and 2019.
India has been coined ‘the world’s most dangerous country for women’, ahead of Afghanistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia according to a poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The National Commission for Women rejected it completely stating that the countries which were ranked after India do not allow women to even speak in public or even consider them giving any basic human rights and also stated that rape, harassment, human trafficking and other forms of violence against women appear to have risen in India because more cases are being recorded, driven by public outrage. A total of 5264 cases of human trafficking were recorded in India in 2018 out of which 64% were women and 48% were girls below 18 years. Most of the victims come from the states of Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Orissa and West Bengal. People from economically backward classes, belonging to the categories of SC, ST, OBC are more susceptible to fall victims to such malpractices.
Women in India are suffering in less obvious ways. Their abuse starts almost indistinctly. It happens inside their homes, within families and relationships, with girls being held prisoner in their own homes, women being tormented by their husbands, by their fathers, by their brothers and mothers. This brutality is the product of a society that bestows all power on men and refuses women’s most basic rights. Many men look down on women and girls; girls are trained in secrecy; they are told to keep their opinions to themselves and not utter a word about it, no arguments, no disputes. Their only option is to live a life of silence and muteness that slowly erodes their sense of self.
Such traumatized women try to liberate themselves by running away from their home, but in the process, they become an easy target to the traffickers who promise them a good life ahead but end up by putting them in greater danger. Children also face similar traumatic experiences, where they wish to help their families with basic amenities and provide a little relief in the house in the process. Some of them fall victim to soothsayers who promise good future outside their abode and end up in slavery, sexual exploitation or become child labour.
Infants are being stolen for beggary and women enrolled in forced prostitution; about 70,000 children are working as a bonded labourer in private mines while others are being used as domestic servants after inheriting their parents’ debt; some of them are even being sold to organ traffickers.
Human trafficking in India results in women and children undergoing from both mental and physical problems. Mental issues involve disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. The lack of power in the victims of trafficking increases their risk of experiencing mental disorders. Women who are forced into trafficking are at a higher risk for HIV, TB and other STDs. Condoms are rarely used, and hence there is a greater risk for victims to suffer from an STD.
The impact of poverty and gender-based violation of women and girls in families increases the risk of sex trafficking; further experiential research is needed on this critically understudied issue. Preventive forces should work to improve economic opportunities and security and safety for poor women and children, educating communities regarding the strategy of the human traffickers, their personalities and identities, as well as promote basic interventions to reduce trafficking.
If women and children are literate and educated, they can have a better judgment of an unknown individual and can avoid a potential predicament.
Cyber crimes can also be avoided if the necessary awareness is created at all levels by NGOs, corporates, government agencies and the civic society.
Women and Children also need to learn some basic defensive art to defend themselves of physical atrocities. Every woman and child should be aware of their basic human rights, so they can raise their voices against any abuse happening to them and around them and seek support from the relevant agencies. Activities, Workshops and Seminars should be held in villages,slums, schools and colleges alerting and informing the students, women and men about this crucial topic "HUMAN TRAFFICKING" (Human smuggling).
India's efforts to protect victims of trafficking vary from state to state but remain inadequate in many places. Victims of bonded labour are entitled to ? 10,000 (US $185) from the central government for rehabilitation, but this programme is unevenly executed across the country. Government authorities do not proactively identify and rescue bonded labourers, so few victims receive this assistance. Although children trafficked for forced labour may be housed in government shelters and are entitled to? 20,000 ($370), the quality of many of these homes remains poor and the disbursement of rehabilitation funds is sporadic.
With the proliferation of mass communication media, the focus should be on tracking the moves of potential traffickers and creating awareness of cyber misuse which should guide the gullible to avoid being victims of the imposters who may pose as a trustworthy person, but end up committing unanticipated crime. This requires society at large to be conscious towards their surroundings and report any unusual activities connected to the menace of trafficking.
As the adage goes, Prevention is better than Cure. It is time to awaken for the cause.
Author : Lubdha Dhanopia
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