Tuesday 22 April 2014

Women Trafficking in India

Women and children were becoming vulnerable to trafficking as they were unable to survive with dignity because of lack of livelihood options.

Trafficking has been an area of concern since the early 20th century but it especially attracted attention during the 1980s. More recently, there has been a widening of its focus. However, this was not accompanied by an independent and sustained mass movement, against trafficking in the country.

Impact of TraffickingIn the absence of awareness of human rights, the economically and socially deprived people at the grassroots have become easy prey to the trafficking trade. Migrating populations have become most vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers. It's mainly the women, children and poor people from rural area who are the victims of trafficking. Likewise the further impact spoil ones life & polluted the society.

Impact on IndividualTrafficked persons are reportedly traumatized by their experiences. Depression and suicidal thoughts are commonly reported. The mental and emotional state of the survivors may include malevolence, helplessness and withdrawal, disassociation, self-blame and identification with the aggressor, whereby the victims convince themselves that their experiences had to happen instead of viewing them as traumatic.

Some of the psychiatric disorders among survivors of trafficking are listed as post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder, dissociative disorders, psychotic disorders and eating. Girls are made to bear the responsibility of upholding the family honour through their sexual purity/chastity. If they are trafficked into CSE (commercial sexual exploitation), they face additional stress because of the prevalent morality.

Imact on SocietyThe crime of trafficking involves the violation of a whole gamut of laws and human rights. It becomes a threat to society because traffickers operate across borders with impunity, with the growing involvement of organized criminals and by generally undermining the rule of law. Trafficking ‘threatens the very fabric of society’ because it involves not only criminals but also law enforcers.

Characteristics of traffickers
Traffickers are usually young men and middle-aged women who are significantly older than the young women/children they recruit. They are natives and agents who travel back and forth from home countries/regions to receiving regions and generally have links with the villages to which the victims belong. Procurers are reportedly substance abusers or gamblers. Many of the traffickers are older women, who are either former prostitutes or are themselves in forced prostitution, trying to escape abuse and bondage by providing a substitute. Often, these agents speak several languages. They may have multiple roles.

Trafficking Rate in IndiaThe population of women and children in sex work in India is stated to be between 2 million. Of these, 30 per cent are 20 years of age. Nearly 15 per cent began sex work when they were below 15, and 25 per cent entered between 15 and 18 years. A news item published in Statesman states that roughly 2 million children are abused and forced into prostitution every year in India. A rough estimate prepared by an NGOcalled End Children’s Prostitution in Asian Tourism reveals that there are around 2 million prostitutes in India, 20 per cent among them are minors.

A study conducted in 2001 estimates that any one time, 30,000 girls are being transported from one part of the country to another. Mainly it's in the District of BalesoreKalahandi & Nabarangpur in Odisha where thousands of poor people, women & children are trafficking which are not come infront of the Government calculation.

Government InitiativesIn the SAARC region, the police forces of the respective countries meant to be are ‘the most important institutions in the struggle to eradicate trafficking’ (United Nations 2001). In reality though, police involvement in trafficking is indicated in all the reports and corruption within the force is said to be ‘endemic’.

The Indian Constitution prohibits all forms of trafficking under Article 23. The Suppression of the Immoral Traffic Act, 1956 (amended to the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act) was in response to the ratification of the International Convention on Suppression of Immoral Traffic and Exploitation of Prostitution of Others in 1950 by India.

1 comment: