Chapter 2

CHILD TRAFFICKING IN
INDIA: PURPOSE AND
ROOT CAUSE
 Chapter 2

CHILD TRAFFICKING IN INDIA:

PURPOSE AND ROOT CAUSE

Today it is time for every child to have a right to

life, right to freedom, right to health, right to
education, safety, and the right to dignity, right to
equality, and right to peace.
-Kailash Satyarthi

2.1 Purpose of the Child Trafficking

In India, a large number of children are trafficked not only for the sex
„trade‟ but also for other forms of non-sex-based exploitation that includes
servitude of different types, viz. Domestic labour, industrial labour, agricultural
labour, begging, organ trade, camel jockeying, false marriage, etc. In this chapter,
an attempt has been made to study the problems of trafficked children (male and
female), victims of these various forms of exploitation, and is particularly
focussed on those who have been rescued. In this connection, it is necessary to
bear in mind that under the ILO Convention 138, the term „Child Labour‟
generally refers to any economic activity performed by persons under the age of
14. However, not all work performed by children is detrimental or exploitative.
Child labour of concern is generally that which prevents effective school
attendance or is performed under conditions hazardous to the physical and mental
health of the child.

1. Child trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in India

The clandestine and transnational nature of trafficking and the reluctance

of those involved to discuss the topic make accurate assessments of the magnitude

33
of CSE difficult 1 . A recent government commissioned by the Department of
Women and Child Development (India) estimated the number of persons
trafficked for CSE in India to be around 2.8 million, an increase of 22% from an
earlier estimate. The majority of trafficked persons are young women or children
who have been forced into sex work as a result of poverty, often before they were
18 years old. Published literature further points to an increasing demand for
younger children and virgins, partly fuelled by the fear of HIV/AIDS; the
emergence of new sources and destinations for trafficked persons; and an increase
in the overall sophistication of trafficking networks, many of which are controlled
by organized crime syndicates or insurgent factions. This has been illustrated in
Nepal where the traditional trafficking of Nepalese girls to Indian brothels had
been taken over by Nepalese rebel groups in order to fund their fight against the
state2.

The magnitude of the problem may partly be accounted by the different

forms of sexual exploitation in India. The most common form of sex work
involves young women and girls from economically deprived and marginalized
groups (e.g. Dalits) who have been 'recruited' by brokers, sold to pimps or brothel
owners (most of whom are ex-prostitutes), and forced into prostitution. Brokers
may be community members known to the victims or the victims' families
pretending to help families; agents seeking the help of a local person to approach
families and victims; individuals willing to kidnap potential victims; and family
members (e.g., parents or husbands). Recruitment strategies include: false
promises of employment; approaching debt-bonded families and persuading them
to part with their children to pay for their debts; abduction; and arranged
marriages whereby young women and underage girls are 'married' to grooms
willing to pay poverty-stricken parents a dowry.

1 Christine Joffres, Edward Mills, Michel Joffres, Tinku Khanna, Harleen Walia and Darrin
Grund, “Sexual slavery without borders: trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in
India”, International Journal for Equity in Health, 2008, 7:22 doi:10.1186/1475-9276-7-22
2 United Nations Department of Public Relations: Press conference on human trafficking.
[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/ db900SID/EGUA-75AKKV ?OpenDocument].
Accessed July 19, 2018.

34
 Once married (marriage makes this form of trafficking particularly
difficult to challenge under the law), wives are either forced into prostitution
directly by their husbands or abandoned/divorced and sold to a broker who resells
them to a brothel 3. This practice has been documented in Bihar, West Bengal,
Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Uttaranchal, and Hyderabad. Common destinations for
women and girls forced into 'arranged' marriages include Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, and the United Arab Emirates.

Customary prostitution is also prevalent in India. It includes socially (if

not legally) accepted forms of prostitution, i.e., religious and tribal prostitutions.
Victims of religious prostitution are pre-pubertal girls from scheduled castes (e.g.,
Devadasi, Jogini, Nailis, Muralis, and Theradiyan) who are dedicated to different
deities.

After a few years of concubinage with temple priests, they are sold or
auctioned to traffickers for CSE. The market value of girls tends to fall after
puberty. This form of prostitution is mostly practiced in Karnataka, Maharashtra,
and Andhra Pradesh. Tribal prostitution involves girls from different ethnic tribes
(e.g, Bedia, Nats) who used to entertain feudal lords. Overtime, many of these
tribal communities have been forced to engage in prostitution for economic
reasons. Tribal prostitution is prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgargh, and Manipur. However, Orissa, Bihar,
and Uttaranchal have also emerged as supply states for tribal prostitution. Victims
of customary prostitution are generally forced into prostitution at a very young
age (9–13) by family members (parents or brothers) who act as agents of the
victims. Approximately 16% of persons forced in the sex trade are in prostitution
as a result of customary practices4.

3 Sinha I: Trafficking and children at risk. Written by Indrani Sinha for Sanlaap2006
[http://www.ashanet.org/focusgroups/sanctuary/articles/sanlaap_trafficking.doc]. Accessed 18
March 2018
4 EPCAT, 328 Phayathai Road, Rachathewi, Bangkok, Thailand 10400: Annual report 2003–
2004[http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/annual_report/PDF /Annual _Report _2003-
2004.pdf]. Accessed 25 April 2018

35
 Another form of sexual exploitation includes sex tourism (ST). ST
includes the sexual exploitation of young boys and girls by international and
Indian tourists. Street children are particularly vulnerable to this type of sexual
exploitation. Costs per sexual act vary from 50 to 200 Indian Rs (about 1 to 5
US$) and can reach up to 1000 Rs (about 25 US$) when victims remain with their
clients overnight or longer. Sex tourism is prevalent in the 'pink triangle', i.e., the
Agra-Delhi-Jaipur belt, as well as south and south-west India: Goa, Maharashtra
(Mumbai), Karnataka (notably, in some of the new tourist spots like Gokarna and
Karwar), Kerala (in Kovallam, and other new popular destinations such as
Cochin, Kumily, and Varkala), in Tamil Nadu (Mammallapuram), and in Orissa
(particularly Puri). Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan are emerging as new
destinations for sex tourism. Sex tourism may be facilitated by travel agencies,
tour operators, hotels, and associated business. There is also some evidence of
young boys being imported from the Gulf countries into Southern India and
forced into prostitution.

In the last 15 years, CSE has been characterized by two changes. Females
from upper castes are increasingly becoming victims of CSE5. Prostitution is no
longer primarily confined to traditional brothels and can be found in new venues,
such as mobile brothels, dance bars, escort services, friendship clubs, massage
parlours, and huts or bath establishments along the national highways.

2. Organ transplant

In the course of the action research, it came to notice that traffickers were
luring poor people, including children, to donate their organs by offering big sums
of money. Research 6 shows the modus operandi of the traffickers and their
middlemen, who hoodwink people to sell their organs. The donors, who are

5 Mukherji KK, Mukherjee S: Girls and women in prostitution in India Department of Women
and Child Development, New Delhi, India; 2007.
6 NHRC – UNIFEM –ISS Project, A Report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India,
2002-2003, Volume –I Accessed April 2018

36
mostly poor people, are categorised by their blood groups and thereafter, lawyers
file false affidavits on behalf of the donors as well as the recipients. The operating
doctors conduct laboratory tests for the donors in a diagnostic centre and charge
between Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 1,25,000 as fees for conducting illegal kidney
transplants. The donors get only about 15 to 20 thousand rupees for donating a
kidney and most of the money is pocketed by the traffickers and their middlemen.
After the kidney transplant takes place, the donors are quickly released from
hospital. There are many instances where donors have died due to lack of
postoperative care. Recently, during investigation of illegal kidney transplant
cases, the Punjab Police have uncovered the murky role of some doctors, hospital
managers and members of the Authorisation Committee, who were acting in
cahoots with the traffickers.

However, it may be mentioned in this connection that similar organ

transplant cases, particularly kidney transplant, occur all over the country. A huge
transplant industry has grown up in India after drugs were discovered in the
seventies to control the body‟s rejection of foreign objects. The World Health
Organisation (1991) viewed the commercialisation of human organs as “a
violation of human rights and dignity” and enunciated a guiding principle which
states that “the human body and its parts cannot be the subject of commercial
transaction”.

Before the Organ Transplantation Act, 1994, there was no legislation in

India prohibiting the sale of organs. The Organ Transplantation Act, inter alia,
establishes an Authorisation Committee to grant approval based on fulfilment of
specified technical and medical requirements. The Act has been ineffectual
because of weak and tardy monitoring at the level of the Authorisation
Committee. Documents presented to the Authorisation Committee continue to be
forged since no mechanisms have been put in place to verify the correctness of the
papers submitted. Moreover, proper implementation is wanting in many states.

37
 Most countries require living donors to be family members or allow
organs to be removed from cadavers, usually accident victims. Because of the
stringent rules regarding organ transplants in other countries, India (along with
China) has become a big centre for organ transplantation.

Many doctors are also worried about the long-term consequences of these
activities. They point out that a number of HIV positive patients are trying to sell
their kidneys to earn a living. The trade in human organs has been widely
condemned because of its financially exploitative nature and its abuse of medical
ethics. Vigorous implementation of the Organ Transplantation Act is called for to
curb this cancerous evil.

3. Trafficking for marriage

Minor girls are sent to Arab countries after marrying them to Arab
nationals7. A number of brokers and agents are involved in these operations. They
try to convince the parents to give up their daughters in marriage by luring them
with handsome offers of money and hopes of bright lives for their children.
Foreigners intending to marry young girls engage middlemen to locate suitable
brides.

Hyderabad has become a frequent destination of many of these persons.

Agents of the Arab nationals scout the city for pretty girls from vulnerable
families. After the marriage takes place, the girl is made to leave her house
without giving the parents time to check the antecedents of the groom and the
credibility of the agents.

After some time, the Arab national leaves the girl and she is left at the
mercy of the brokers. The brokers then sell the girls to the brothels of Mumbai,
Pune, etc. However, as the parents of the victims are ignorant of the law and their
rights, they seldom come to the police to lodge complaints. In a study done by an

7 NHRC – UNIFEM –ISS Project, A Report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India,
2002-2003, Volume -I

38
NGO (Prajwala) in Hyderabad, many such cases of trafficking of girls for fake
marriages have come to notice. It is, however, a crowning pity that no effective
intervention has come either from the civil society or law-enforcement agencies to
stamp out this deleterious practice.

4. Debt bondage

In return for money advance or credit, a person has pledged his labour or
that of a child for an indefinite period of time. Children, thus, become
commodities in the process. Parents pledge them like chattels to pay off their
debts. The initial loan for bondage can be quite small. However, the borrowing
family is illiterate and not able to understand the interest calculations of the loan-
givers. Written agreements are viewed as unnecessary and interest rates can be
exorbitantly high.

It is an unfortunate fact that, despite the enactment of the Bonded Labour

System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the reprehensible bonded labour system, in some
form or the other, prevails in different parts of the country. “We have to go a long
way to wipe out this outrage against humanity,” said the Supreme Court in the
case of Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs. Union of India8.

5. Exploitation at the workplace

Exploitation of trafficked children done at the workplace and the various

forms and manners of exploitation. A grim account of children trafficked from
West Bengal and forced to work in different jewellery establishments in Guru
Bazar in Amritsar. The children were forced to work for long hours for measly
wages and subjected to horrendous physical and mental exploitation. Minor‟s
parents were assured by the contractors that they would be offered handsome
wages. But in reality, they had to work under the most difficult and unhygienic
conditions and kept in dungeon- like rooms and never allowed to return home.
Guru Bazar in Amritsar is known for fine jewellery. In jewellery workshops, as in

8 AIR 1984 SC

39
many others, children are preferred as artisans because they work for long hours
with small wages. Moreover, they are more docile and easier to manage than
adults.

6. Performance in the circus

Many other cases uncovering various forms of cruel and heart-rending

exploitation of children came to light during the action research. One such is
abuse of children in a circus troupe. They were lured by the promise of handsome
salaries to be earned by working in the circus. They were also excited at the
prospect of leading glamorous lives. In the circus troupe, the children had a
harrowing time and were often beaten up by the trainers for the slightest mistake.
They were paid a beggarly amount of Rs. 5 a day for performing in three shows in
the circus. These girl children were also subjected to sexual exploitation by men
working in the circus. They were under constant surveillance and not allowed to
step outside the circus arena. The rescue of the girls was made possible by the

Intervention of two NGOs of Nepal, namely, ABC Nepal and Pravasi

Nepali Mitr Manch. In fact, the officials in the National Study Team had
facilitated the rescue and post-rescue activities. The study shows that Nepali girls
are lured to join Indian circuses on the pretext of „learn work and also earn‟. At
times, parents themselves send their children to Indian circuses, as they see no
harm.

They are seldom able to contact their children as the circus is always
travelling and, therefore, never come to know the problems and agonies of these
children.

7. Camel jockeying

Exploitative use of children for camel jockeying9. Only very young boys
are trafficked to serve as camel jockeys. They have to be young and small-built in

9 NHRC – UNIFEM –ISS Project, A Report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India,
2002-2003, Volume -I

40
order to be light on the camel‟s back. They are tied to the backs of the camels so
that they do not jump off in fright during races.

The ropes that are used to bind the children to the camels sometimes
become loose and the boys can be thrown off the camel and dragged between its
legs over stones and sand. The boys are also underfed to reduce the burden on the
camel. Children who fall to the ground are often trampled to death by other
camels on the track. The camel races are popular in the United Arab Emirates.

In 1993, the Camel Jockey Association of the United Arab Emirates

prohibited the use of children as jockeys but these rules are often honoured in the
breach. As reported in the press, a number of Bangladeshi boys were rescued in
India while being trafficked to become camel jockeys. The normal route taken by
the traffickers is to reach Calcutta from the Bangladesh border and thereafter, to
take trains to Chennai and Bangalore and from there, to take flights to the Middle
East. Documents are fabricated to escape the notice of law-enforcement agencies.
This is a serious organised crime and constitutes an egregious violation of human
rights. Trafficking of children for camel racing and their brutal exploitation by the
traffickers has been documented. Determined action by Indian and Bangladeshi
authorities acting in unison to put an end to this grotesque transgression of human
rights is called for.

8. Begging

A large number of children are trafficked for the purpose of begging. Here,
children with physical disabilities are in the most vulnerable position. Poverty and
physical disabilities are the ideal combination for children to be trafficked. As
disabled children induce sympathy among the almsgivers, this puts the child
beggar at serious risk of being deliberately maimed in order to increase his or her
earning potential. Children trafficked for the purpose of begging. After drugging
the child, the so-called beggar uses the sleeping toddler to evoke compassion and
seek alms. Some poor parents who cannot feed their children earn money by

41
renting out their children on a daily basis to these beggars. This case, which was
unearthed by the researchers after persevering efforts, is likely to be the tip of the
iceberg. Many other children are probably being abused in a similar manner.
Though the researchers could not ferret out further information, it is likely that a
network is operating for the exploitation of children in this manner. Further
thorough investigation by law-enforcement agencies and action to expose the
network is called for.

Children are exploited for begging not only inside the country but outside
also. There are press reports as well as other reliable secondary data regarding
trafficking of children to Saudi Arabia for begging during the Haj. In 1997, a large
number of Bangladeshi children were deported to India from Saudi Arabia, where
they were taken on the pretext that they would visit Mecca.

Indeed, they remained in the country and were forced to beg from the
pilgrims there. On their return to India, it was discovered that several of them had
broken limbs. It has been further reported that the traffickers are not only well-
organised but also understand the supply market well.

By sending the children to Mecca, the agents not only ensure profits but
also cater to the religious sentiments of the parents, who, as devout Muslims, feel
happy and elated when their children get the chance to travel to Mecca for free.

9. Domestic services

Trafficked children are also used for cheap domestic services 10. The use of
domestic servants in the homes of upper class and middle class families is one of
the most widespread forms of child labour. Children employed in domestic work
live within the confines of private homes and thus remain „invisible‟. The
trafficking of children is done for domestic labour in Goa. Children trafficked for
domestic labour from Tamil Nadu to Kerala. Most of the trafficked children were

10 NHRC – UNIFEM –ISS Project, A Report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India,
2002-2003, Volume -I

42
school drop-outs or had never been to school. The parents were agricultural
labourers or domestic wage earners, who, because of grinding poverty, were not in
a position to feed their children. In Tamil Nadu, districts like Salem, Virudhunagar
and Villupuram are known vulnerable areas for trafficking of children for
domestic labour.

On the contrary, these children are highly vulnerable to exploitation and

are difficult to protect because of their young age and also because they are
confined to the household, with very little contact with the outside world. The
child domestic workers are often recruited by brokers and agents. Children from
poor rural families, many of them as young as six to 10 years old, are recruited.
They are subjected to horrendous working conditions. Very often, they are made
to work for seven days a week, with no holidays and little time for leisure and
rest. Most of them are illiterate and are not allowed to attend school. They remain
separated from their families for long periods of time and are not allowed to visit
them. Child domestic workers are often made to sleep in bathrooms, terraces,
open courtyards and are generally not given proper bedding.

Children brought for the ostensible purpose of domestic labour are often
abused sexually, since children are in great demand for sexual purposes.

The parents do not file complaints to the police either because of

ignorance or because trafficking takes place with their knowledge. An illegitimate
act is thus legitimised.

10. Trafficking for adoption

Trafficking for adoption is another sinister game of the traffickers 11 .

trafficking is done for adoption. In this connection, the complexity and
dimensions of this burgeoning problem require elaboration. The need for giving
up children for adoption arises in situations where the biological parents or near

11 NHRC – UNIFEM –ISS Project, A Report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India,
2002-2003, Volume -I

43
relatives are not able to look after the child or when the child is abandoned, with
no trace of the parents. Generally speaking, Indians are not very enthusiastic about
adopting children, and even when they do adopt, the preference is for boys rather
than girl children. In contrast, because of widespread unavailability of children for
adoption in developed countries, there is great demand for Indian children for
adoption and this has prompted many undesirable organisations and unscrupulous
individuals to become active in trafficking of children for adoption.

Some tribal communities in Andhra Pradesh (particularly the Lambada

community) have featured as prominent supply sources for inter-country
adoptions. Sale of children has been reported from Lambada habitations in
Rangareddy, Nalgonda, Medok and Mahboobnagar districts of Andhra

Pradesh. Sale of children from Salem district in Tamil Nadu has come to
notice following cases of thefts of babies from hospitals. Gender discrimination,
extreme poverty and underdevelopment of rural communities are some of the
main causative factors behind the sale of children by their parents.

It has come to notice that the racketeers employ middlemen (or middle
women), who go to villages to procure babies and then resell them to institutions
or individuals, who in turn sell the children to foreign adoptive parents at a very
high price. The agents appointed by the adoption agencies are paid small amounts
to go to poverty-stricken areas of the state and lure parents to sell their babies.
Some agencies in Nalgonda district are known to have even paid the husbands of
pregnant women as advance booking. In some cases, children have been procured
by adoption agencies through kidnapping or lifting of babies from hospitals and
nursing homes. Some of these middlemen/agents also include nurses working in
primary health centres, government hospitals as well as private hospitals. Some of
the dubious agencies involved in the trafficking of children for adoption have
figured in media reports. The case of Precious Moments Adoption Centre of
Hyderabad, as reported in the press, is typical. The police busted the racket and

44
found that the institution had been procuring children by obtaining relinquishment
deeds from biological parents in favour of the institution. The police seized a
number of relinquishment deeds that were false and fabricated, and were unable to
trace most of the biological parents whose names figured in the deeds. In this
connection, it may be mentioned that the Supreme Court of India, in the case of
Laxmikant Pandey vs. Union of India (WP, Crl No. 171/1982), looked into the
complaints of malpractices indulged in by social organisations and voluntary
agencies engaged in the work of offering Indian children in adoption to foreign
parents and laid down the requirements in the matter of inter-country adoptions.
The Apex Court held it desirable that a Central Adoption Resource Agency
(CARA) be set up by the Government of India, with regional branches, so that
they can act as clearing-houses of information and forward applications of
foreigners to one or other recognised social or child welfare agencies in the
country. The Court also opined that the practice of demanding large sums of
money in consideration of giving a child in adoption is a pernicious practice,
which is “really nothing short of trafficking in children.”

Commercial Surrogacy

According to newspaper reports trafficking for surrogacy is a new trend

emerging in the lucrative business of the human trade since the legalisation of set
practice in India in 2002. The laws concerning surrogacy are still vague and leave
a lot of room for exploitation. The Assisted Reproductive Technology
(Regulation) Bill, ART, based on recommendations by the Indian Council for
Medical Research has not been drafted yet and is still pending.

The forms of trafficking for surrogacy are diverse and have many faces.
There have been reports of cases where young girls from Jharkhand are lured to
Delhi and forced to act as a surrogate mother.

“The CWC in Gumla came across another case of trafficking for

surrogacy from Lotwadugdugi village in Palkot block. The girl was trafficked to

45
Delhi when she was just eight years old. Now 29, she returned to Jharkhand last
year and alleged that she was forced to deliver at least 10 babies, said Alakh
Singh, a member of the CWC. „It is not a regular pattern, but we have come
across a few such cases in the past. It is a major concern if such practices are
happening in the state,‟ said additional director general of police (CID) SN
Pradhan.”12

The fact that commercial surrogacy in India is legal and relatively cheap
compared to western nations, leads to a vast amount of couples coming from
abroad to have their baby born via a surrogate mother. Those deals are usually
conducted through agencies which on average are six times cheaper than Western
alternatives, the majority of the agencies are registered and provide support and
health assistance to the surrogates there are however questionable practises as
recruiting women from slums, making them sign contracts they can‟t read and
once the baby is born, sending them back without paying them the full
compensation they were promised.13

Trafficking for Labour

Child labour is both traditionally accepted and widely prevalent in India.

However, accurate data on child labour has always remained a big challenge as
there are varying estimates of the number of working children in the country due
to differing concepts and methods of estimation. This is particularly true of
children engaged in „culturally more acceptable‟ sectors such as domestic work
and dhabas and eateries, even though these are the sectors with significant
concentration of child labour evident to the naked eye.

That children are trafficked for labour from one state to another within the
country, and also across countries is now well known and well established.
However, as with marriage, not all movement of child labour can be traced to

12 Roy, Saurav. “Trafficked Tribal Girls Forced to Conceive, Deliver Babies for Sale.” The
Hindustan Times. HT Media Limited, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2018.
13 Ronan, Alex. “Inside the Dark Realities of the International Surrogacy Industry.” nymag.com.
New York Media LLC, 30 Mar. 2015. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2018.

46
trafficking. Also, Although trafficked for labour, many face sexual exploitation
and abuse as well apart from physical abuse. This was highlighted in the 2000
report as well. What is however new is the attention that this has been receiving
from NGOs, government and courts. In 2006, government of India passed a
notification that now extended the prohibited occupations to domestic work,
dhaba and hotels and circus. This meant that employing children upto the age of
14 years in these occupations was illegal

Mostly young girls from regions struck by poverty, natural disasters, lack
of employment and education like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, West
Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and even Nepal are being lured to Delhi or Mumbai by
placement agencies under the guise of being able to earn a decent wage to support
their families‟ back home. Upon arrival those girls suffer horrible working
conditions, sexual and physical abuse and the absence of fair, even regular
payment by their employers.

“He said he would change our lives,” says Elaina, now 20. “The tea
garden was closed when he came and my parents were not working, so my father
wanted to send me.” The trafficker had promised excitement and glamour: instead
she started work every day at 4am and worked until midnight, and though he
promised to give her 1,500 rupees a month, she was never paid. He kept her as a
prisoner, unable to leave the house or contact her family.”14

The placement agencies themselves, after recruiting the children, trade

them off to employers for a sum between 30000 INR to 45000 INR plus a
placement agency charge of 10000 INR to 15000 INR. After the transaction the
custody of the child goes to the employer but the money that has been paid never
15
reaches the families of the children back home. For example, it is reported that,

14 Chamberlaib, Gethin. “How Poverty Wages for Tea Pickers Fuel India‟s Trade in Child
Slavery.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 20 July 2013. Web. 8 Sept.
2018.
15 Kant, Ravi. Kant, Nishi. Roy, Subir. Ramchandran, Vibhu . Jain, Rajul. Kant, Rishi.
Shetye,Saie and Laulendra Kaushik. India Country Assessment Report: Current Status of
Victim Service Providers and Criminal Justice Actors on Human Traffi cking. Rep. European
Union and UNDOC, 11 July 2013.10. Web. May-June 2018.

47
“Traffickers from Jharkhand operate from New Delhi in the guise of placement
agencies, which is a high-earning business. The traffickers bring the victims to
Delhi from where they are supplied to different places depending on the price the
trafficker can get. The placement agencies operate without fear of law and have
mushroomed across Jharkhand”.16

Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India (UOI) and Ors118 explicitly

mentioned that some illegal recruitment practices amount to trafficking in
persons. The case concerned a petition fi led in public interest under article 226 of
the Constitution, following a series of incidents of recruitment agencies being
involved in trafficking in persons.

To combat the exploitation of children from illegal placement agencies,

the Department of Labour, Delhi Government, drafted a new legislation “The
Delhi Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2012”.

It underlines that no agency shall employ, engage or deploy anyone under

the age of 18. Furthermore it requires the agencies to only operate with an issued
license which has to be renewed every five years. It also states that: “Every
private placement agency shall maintain a register containing

(a) the names and addresses of the persons managing the private
placement agency,

(b) the names and addresses of the persons to whom it had provided
the domestic workers,

(c) the names and addresses of the domestic workers deployed by it

and

(d) such other particulars as may be prescribed”17

16 Saxena, Astha. “‟Placement Agencies Hub of Trafficking‟” indiatoday.in. Living Media India
Limited, 10 May 2015. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2018.
17 Pandit, Ambika. “Delhi NGOs Slam Placement Agency Bill.” The Times of India,Delhi Editi
on. 23 Aug. 2012. Web. Accessed 18 Sept.2018.

48
 Concerns have been raised however that “The Delhi Private Placement
Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2012” is not sufficient enough to combat and improve
the situation of trafficked domestic workers. One of the main concerns being that
it only applies to the territory of Delhi whereas most girls are trafficked from
other areas, so implementing a national plan of action for regulating agencies
would be more beneficial to ensure coordination between states.18Trafficking of
children for labour however, follow no set pattern.

Trafficking for Filling up Charity Homes and Education

The last decade has seen a completely bizarre phenomenon. These are
reports of children being trafficked into child care and educational institutions.
And this is a phenomenon that cuts across all religious institutions.

The first report of this kind of trafficking of children was in 2004 when
there were reports of children being taken from Meghalaya to the „mutts‟ of
Karnataka for education. 19HAQ was part of the fact finding team set up by the
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) that visited Jaintia
Hills of Meghalaya. Following this the NCPCR undertook further investigation
and has reported:

“Trafficking of Children from North-East States Pursuant to the Order of

Hon‟ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of Exploitation of Children in
Orphanages in the State of Tamil Nadu, [WP (Crl.)No.102/2007 & Cr MP No.
4359/2010] the NCPCR followed up the case of children from Assam and
Manipur who were rescued from Southern States for their rehabilitation and
education back home.

A brief summary of the findings are as follows:

18 Pandit, Ambika. “Delhi NGOs Slam Placement Agency Bill.” The Times of India,Delhi
Edition. 23 Aug. 2012. Web. Accessed 18 Sept.2018.
19 Sanjana. “A Strange And Bier Crop.” Tehelka. Anant Media Pvt.Ltd., 4 July 2009. Web.
Accessed Oct. 2018.

49
 The States of Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland and Arunachal
Pradesh were the „source‟ states in the North East from where children as
young as five year olds were trafficked for education. The „destination‟
states of these children were Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Kerala.

Children were being sent by poor parents to far off places due to
their high expectation of quality education. In addition lack of basic
infrastructure such as road connectivity, power, hospitals, etc. and
insurgency in their local areas led parents to send their children out.

 More important was the role of middlemen who found it a lucrative

business scouting for children from North East to the orphanages in
Southern States. Most such orphanages/homes raised donations against the
photographs of children sent to donors. There is no regulation on the
activities of the middle men who arrange and transport children from the
North Eastern States on the pretext of education.

 There is also little or no check on the illegal/ unregistered Children‟s

Homes being run in the southern States. A lack of regular inspection and
surveillance by the Social Welfare/ Social Defence authorities, Anti-
Human Trafficking Units and local police in the districts/States where
these children end up also contribute to the flourishing of these illegal
activities

 Most such children are placed in orphanages or Children‟s Homes that

have no registration/recognition from the Government under the
Orphanages and other Charitable Homes (Control and Supervision) Act,
1960, or the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
They are placed in crowded buildings, lacking in sanitation facilities,
proper food, health care or education. Children are made to cook their
food, clean the premises and even subject to abuse. They do not have any

50
 contact with their families for over two years or more and soon lose all
connection and touch with their mother tongue, culture, community and
belonging.20

More recently reports of children being taken to institutions of Kerala have

made news. Kerala police has informed the High Court that children from Bihar,
West Bengal and other states were brought to orphanages in Kerala to meet the
dearth of local inmates in those charity homes and prevent closure of educational
institutions run by their trusts for want of children. The agents had forged
documents, including fake IDs to ferry children from Bihar, West Bengal and
Jharkhand, said the report. The crime branch found there were no evidence for the
allegation that the children were sexually abused and deputed for child labour.
These children were brought for a few orphanages run by Muslim managements
in Kozhkode and Malappuram districts. 21 The state has 1,400-odd orphanages,
many of them have grown into educational hubs over the years. Apart from the
government‟s monthly grant for local inmates, all the institutes were collecting
donations from within the state and abroad on behalf of destitute children.

Sources within the orphanage admit to there being agents in the Gulf
countries to collect donations for the charity homes in Kerala. The agents retain
40 per cent of the gross collection as their commission and the rest is delivered to
the concerned institutes. Besides, the practice of philanthropists sponsoring food
at orphanages also contribute to the coffers of the institutes. In the wake of lower
birth rates and growing affluence in the state, the flow of children to orphanages
has declined. Many parents in Kerala are reluctant to send their wards to
orphanages fearing the stigma of „alumnus of orphanage.‟ To overcome that, some

20 Nayak, Ramnath, and Nina Nayak, comps. Monitoring the Rights of Vulnerable Migrant
Children with Traffi cking Point of View. Rep. National Commission for Protection of Child
Rights, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. Accessed Mar.-Apr. 2018.
21 Philip, Shaju. “Children from Bengal, Bihar Being Trafficked to Keep Kerala Charity Homes
Running: Police to HC.” The Indian Express. The Express Group, 1 Aug. 2014. Web.
Accessed Oct. 2018.

51
orphanages have changed their names into charity homes. Even then, several
institutes with huge infrastructure are struggling to fill the capacity.

The above situation has forced the orphanages to scout for potential
candidates in poverty-stricken, strife-torn regions in North Indian states. The trend
of bringing children from north Indian states began in the last decade. With every
passing year, more institutions were looking forward to the option of ferrying
children from other states to orphanages in Kerala.

This incidence was discussed in detail at the meeting of the Nodal Officers
of AHTUs and the case was presented22:

“Ms R. Sreelekha, ADGP gave a power-point presentation on rescue

operations conducted on 24th and 25th May, 2014 and stated that total 589
children transported from other states like Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha
to Kerala were rescued. She informed that on 24.05.2014, on getting information
regarding trafficking of children in large numbers into Kerala from other states in
the Patna-Ernakulam train, Palakkad Railway Police intercepted and rescued 466
children which consisted of 229 girls, 226 boys all below the age of 12 and 12
infants. Thirty three men were accompanying these children and mothers of 10
infants were also there with them.

All the children were from Jharkhand and Bihar and they were brought by
the management of Mukkam Muslim Orphanage. The next day, on 25.05.14, 123
boys all under the age of 14 were rescued in a similar manner who were brought
for an orphanage in Malappuram District named Anwar Ul Huda orphanage.
Railway police arrested 4 men travelling with the boys suspected as agents. All
the children rescued from the railway police were handed over to the Child
Welfare Committee and housed in Government Children‟s Homes in Palakkad.
The investigation is currently going on. Some of the children had some documents

22 Minutes of 18th Review Meeting Held On 20.6.2014 With The State/UT Nodal Officers for
Human Trafficking.

52
as such as birth certificates, destitution certificates and consent letters from their
parents which were all suspected to be forged since the handwriting and
signatures in almost all the certificates are the same. On enquiry, it was found that
none of the 589 children were orphans and the real reason for canvassing and
bringing children from other states was to fraudulently obtain Government grants
of Rs.900 per child/month for the orphanage. On questioning some of the parents,
they reported that they were paid an amount of Rs.1000/- to 1500/- for each child
recruited by the agents. It was also revealed that the agents have offices in the
states of Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal for recruiting children for the
orphanages in Kerala.

Young girls from the remote Nepali district of Humla faced similar
ordeals. Around 23 of them with Christian names have been living for the past
nine years here as orphans despite having parents back home.

They were rescued from the centre recently at the initiative of the Esther
Benjamins Memorial Foundation (EBMF), Nepal, ChildLine India and the CWC
in Tamil Nadu. EBMF got into action when the families of four girls from Humla
requested them to find their missing daughters. The parents of the girls had sent
them along with their brothers in the care of Dal Bahadur Phadera, a local
politician. Many families in Humla had paid Phadera between Rs 5,000 and Rs
20,000 to get their children out of war-ravaged villages at the time and educate
them in boarding schools in Kathmandu. The boys are still in the institution run
by Phadera, but the girls, between three and seven years old, were taken away
nine years ago. Their families never heard from them. When rescued, many girls
didn‟t remember their parents‟ names or where they came from. 23 20 tribal
children of Meghalaya, rescued from an unauthorised NGO in Tamil Nadu. Police
and NGO workers rescued 30 children in raids conducted at two children‟s homes

23 Mahato, Rubeena. “RESCUED:The Nepali Girls Trafficked to Christi an Orphanage.”

www.asafeworldforwomen.org. The Safe world International Foundation, Sept.
2011.Accessed Feb.-Mar. 2018.

53
in Greater Noida and Meerut. The NGO Childline and the police conducted the
raids based on a complaint they received.

Officials claim that they did not even have documents for the children
staying with them. The officials are also investigating this as a case of „trafficking‟
and „religious conversion‟ by the NGO for the lack of documents. Authorities are
investigating if the kids were forced into conversion as some children claimed to
have two names - one which their parents gave and the other a Christian name the
home‟s director gave them in Dehradun “after reading a Bible”.24 Children have
been rescued by the Rajasthan Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(RCPCR) from a “child‟s home” called Grace Home in Mansarovar area of Jaipur.

In Jaipur itself, another 20 boys were rescued from another child home.
These children were from Manipur‟s Ukhrul district and the rest from Nagaland,
Assam, Punjab, Jharkhand 25.

The above are only examples. There are many more reported cases.
Poverty of parents and conflict make children vulnerable to this kind of
trafficking. Often the parents tricked into believing that they are sending their
children for a better life and education.

In recognition of this growing problem the Supreme Court of India has

been issuing directions to the states and seeking compliance. 133 The court has
noted with concern on December 16, 2013:

“Given the lackadaisical manner in which the States and the Union
Territories have responded to the concern shown by this Court in relation to the
wholly unacceptable situation prevailing and to stamp out any further exploitation
of children, it has become necessary to re-emphasize that it is the bounden duty of
the States under Articles 21, 21A, 23, 24, 45 and 51A (k) to create and maintain a

24 Shekar, Shashank. “30 Kids Rescued from Shelters from Noida and Meerut in Twin Raids.”
Indiatoday.in. Living Media India Limited, 3 Jan. 2016. Web. Accessed Mar.-Apr. 2018.
25 TNN. “Orphanages Using Trafficked Kids to Get Foreign Aid, SC Told.” The Times of India.
timesofindia.india.com, 30 Oct. 2014. Web. Accessed Mar.-Apr. 2018.

54
protective and healthy environment in which children who are the future of this
country can bloom and subsequently become mature and responsible citizen of
this country. We have been pained to notice the utterly callous attitude adopted by
the States as well as the Union Territories. We, therefore, have no option at this
stage but to issue some further mandatory directions to ensure that the
exploitation of the children in all spheres of life is brought to an end with utmost
expedition.”

Trafficking for Drug Peddling and Smuggling

Children are mostly initiated into drug use and then forced to work for
traffickers26. They are usually not suspected and therefore become an easy target
for traffickers. A report which appeared in the Deccan Herald pointed out how
sympathy was a strong tool used by smugglers across the Indo-Bangladesh border
and was the primary reason why children are used extensively for this purpose.

“We often catch children smuggling goods, especially Phensedyl. But after
seizing the goods, we let them go,” said a BSF official on condition of anonymity.
“If you put these children behind bars, their entire life will be spoilt. We can only
hope that they are sent to school and get an opportunity to build their future,” he
added. Phensedyl is also used as a narcotic drug. 27

The use of children as smugglers is pretty common on the Indian borders.

The post 2015 Nepal earthquake saw children aged 10-15 years being used
rampantly to smuggle essential goods and petroleum for money.

Reports also suggest, school going children residing in the bordering

villages of Bangladesh are hired by cattle smugglers for as low as Taka 100.28

26 Munshi, Suhas. “Welcome to Delhi, the New Drug Traffi cking Hub.”Indiatoday.in. India
Today, 3 May 2013. Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.
27 Children Used for Smuggling across India-Bangladesh Border.” Deccan Herald. The Printers
(Mysore) Private Ltd, 22 Apr. 2011. Web. Accessed May-June 2018.
28 Roy, S Dilip. “Children Used in Smuggling.” thedailystar.net. The Daily Star, 18 Mar. 2014.
Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.

55
 It also appears that children, who are neglected, including children of slum
dwellers, children of homeless persons as well as children who sell balloons at
traffic signals, are at a risk of exploitation at the hands of drug traffickers. These
traffickers subsequently make these vulnerable children a part of their network.29

Trafficking for Entertainment

Trafficking of children, especially young girls for entertainment as part of

dancing troupes –Nautanki in North India and Jatra in the East (Bengal and
Orissa) is common and well known. These entertainment forms have acquired a
modern guise in the cities as these young girls dance in clubs and hotels or are
taken into the circus as acrobats. Many children from Nepal and Bangladesh have
been rescued from circus

in India where they are not only made to work but are also sexually
abused30. The conditions in which these children are made to work is inhuman.

“We were forced to train for long hours. It was difficult. Sometimes, we
were beaten and abused. It was like a prison and I thought of running away from
that circus on many occasions. Luckily, I was saved,” recalls Bijaya, who is now a
star performer with Circus Kathmandu.31

Trafficking for Sports

In HAQ‟s 2001 report on Child Trafficking in India - A Situational

Analysis32, cases of children being trafficked for the purpose of camel jockeying
was highlighted. Interestingly, only young boys are trafficked to serve as camel
jockeys. These boys are required to be young and slim in order to be light on the
camel‟s back. They are tied to the back of the camels during a race so that they do

29 TNN. “Neglected Kids Turn to Drug Peddling.”timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Times of India,

29 Apr. 2002. Web. Accessed Mar.-Apr. 2018.
30 Special Correspondent. “Circus Owner Arrested on Rape, Child Trafficking Charges in Goa.”
www.thehindu.com. The Hindu, 1 Mar. 2014.Accessed Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.
31 Ethirajan, Anbarasan. “Kathmandu Youth Circus Turns Tables on Human Trafficking.”
www.bbc.com. BBC News, 24 June 2014. Accessed Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.
32 Child trafficking in India, HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, 2000. New Delhi.

56
not jump off in fright. The camels are made to run down a track. The camels often
go mad and berserk, killing the boys on their back. Children who fall risk being
trampled to death by the other camels on the track, and if they refuse to ride the
camels, they are beaten and forced to ride anyway.

However after increasing international pressure in 2005, the UAE

Government issued a new federal law prohibiting children below the age of 18
years from participating in the races. They also signed an agreement with
UNICEF to provide 2.7 million USD as aid in facilitating the rehabilitation,
repatriation and reintegration of child jockeys to their home countries.33

Despite it being known that children are trafficked for camel jockeying
from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka via India, there is hardly any data available to
prove the same. According to NCRB, no cases were registered under kidnapping
for the purpose of camel racing under the Indian Penal Code in 201434.

2.2 Root causes of the Child Trafficking

Human trafficking happens due to several reasons around the globe.

But the root causes are similar all over the countries35 -

 Economic cause: Economic causes are Poverty, Economic inequality,

Migration, Unemployment, Climate change, Environmental degradation or
depression etc.

 Social causes are Gender inequality, Violence against women and girls,
increasing demand for cheap labour in the construction, agriculture sector,
mining, poor social protection, etc.

33 Priya, Sasi. “Kidnapped for Camel Racing – The Curious Case of Reporting (Part 1).”
Factly.in. FACTLY, 31 Aug. 2015. Web. Accessed 9 Nov. 2018.
34 National Crime Records Bureau. “Table 23.3:Purpose-wise and Sex-wise Details of
Kidnapping & Abducti on (All India) During 2014.” Ncrb.gov.in. Ministry of Home Aff airs,
2015. Web. Accessed 5 Nov. 2018.
35 Mrs. Eli kumari Das, “ Human trafficking in North Eastern region: a study with global
perspectives”, IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 21,
Issue 5, Ver. 1 (May. 2016) PP 08-11

57
  Political causes are corruption inside the country and international level,
terrorism, war, increased armed conflicts, etc.

 In the globe, about 80% of the child trafficking is done for sexual
exploitation and the 20% is done for bonded labour and others. India is
considered as the hub of human trafficking centre in Asia and demand for
commercial sex is one of the causes of this crime.

According to Vimal Vidushy36 the causes of trafficking in women and

children can be divided into two categories: push and pull factors.

The push factors include:

Poor socio-economic conditions of a large number of families, poverty

coupled with frequent, almost annual natural disasters like floods leading to
virtual destitution of some people, lack of education, skill and income
opportunities for women (and for their family members) in rural areas, absence of
awareness about the activities of traffickers, pressure to collect money for dowries
which leads to sending daughters to distant places for work, dysfunctional family
life, domestic violence against women, low status of girl children, etc. It appears
from the case studies that extreme poverty and other causes of deprivation not
only push people to fall in the tripod the traffickers, they also create for some an
incentive for trafficking. Often the prostitutes, who have no option to come out of
the exploitative environment, gradually develop intimate connections with the
traffickers and follow in their footsteps.

The pull factors are:

Lucrative employment propositions in big cities, easy money, promise of

better pay and a comfortable life by the trafficking touts and agents, demand of
young girls for marriage in other regions, demand for low-paid and underage

36 Vimal Vidushy, “Human trafficking In India: An analysis”, International Journal of Applied

Research 2016; 2(6): 168-171

58
sweatshop labour, growing demand of young kids for adoption, rise in demand for
women in the rapidly expanding sex industry, demand for young girls in places of
military concentration like Kashmir in India in recent times, demand for young
girls for sexual exploitation as a result of the misconception that physical intimacy
with young girls reduces men's chances of contacting HIV/AIDS, or of the myth
that sex with a virgin can cure HIV/AIDS and impotence. The rampant practice of
female feticide in the northern states of Haryana and Punjab has also fuelled
internal trafficking. Since there is a shortage of women in these states having a
low female to male ratio, they have become fertile ground for the operation of
traffickers.

Traffickers procure girls from faraway states like Assam and Orissa; trick
their families into believing they are to be married, only to later push them into
prostitution. India is also experiencing rapid changes in economic, political,
demographic and labour trends as an outcome of globalization, increasing demand
for cheap labour and heavy population growth in the region encourages migration
whether legal or illegal. The movement of young girls and women from
Bangladesh and Nepal into Indian brothels is common. There is further movement
of these women and girls to the Middle East as well as other destinations. At times
of hardship, this starts out as illegal migration and ends up as trafficking. Such
migration occurs in the backdrop of supply and demand in the sending and
receiving countries. The supply side is associated with structural inequality,
poverty, illiteracy and lack of opportunities for livelihood, whereas the demand
rises from the need of cheap labour in the destination.

Usually people from the poorer countries like Bangladesh and Nepal are at
risk of exploitation and are trafficked to their neighbouring country India. An
assessment study on sexually exploited children and youth by the Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) shows that in South Asia young
girls from certain rural areas of Bangladesh, India and Nepal are trafficked for
marriage and then sold into prostitution.

59
 The major problem also faced by the poor families in India is the
members' limited ability to communicate outside their place of residence. Many of
them are illiterate–cannot read or write. So they depend on others for sending
letters or making a phone call to their relatives. Often the guardians of law do not
support the victims. It has often been alleged that police harass the victims more
than those who have committed the crime. All these limitations not only make the
socially and economically deprived sections of society vulnerable to trafficking,
but also explain why re-trafficking is so rampant in our society. Apart from the
increased demand of cheap labour in the production sector, globalization has
played a major part for the growth of tourism business and entertainment
industries the world over. As a result, the sex related trades like sex tourism have
registered rapid growth.

At the same time, rising male migration to urban areas as well as stressful
working conditions of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector workers
have also contributed to a growing demand for commercial sex in the cities Our
experience also reveals that trafficking is closely associated with child marriage.
Child marriage is one of the easiest modes applied by the traffickers to send
young girls from one place to another. In a traditional village community, there is
a stigma attached to single women. Inability to arrange the marriage of a daughter
is a cause of embarrassment and matter of shame for the parents. In this situation,
when the traffickers approach the poor families with marriage proposals
(sometimes with cash rewards between Rs.1000–5000 on an average) minus
dowry, the parents find it hard to refuse the offer. After marriage, the girls sold
and resold, until she reaches the ultimate destination. Apart from child marriage,
other modes of trafficking are fake marriage, false recruitment, kidnapping and
abduction of children, transportation of children with the consent of guardians,
adoption of children, using poor families with jobs and better living condition in
cities.

60
 According to Roy 37 , it has been articulated that traffickers originate
where the conditions are ripe for exploitation. Sometimes there are social
pressures on the victims to migrate, sometimes lack of employment or educational
opportunities, sometimes unstable family structure also play a role. Traffickers are
becoming smarter as they know how to target both the most vulnerable and the
least visible people. Following are the root causes of the child trafficking –

(i) Personal circumstances and structural factors

In terms of personal factors, people with low levels of literacy, awareness

and information are seemingly vulnerable to trafficking. Economic deprivation
and low incomes are also contributing risk factors. Women and children with
disabilities are an easy catch for traffickers. A dysfunctional family- fragile
relationships, marital discord, physical abuse, sexual abuse, drug use, family
pressures, gender discrimination, desertion by husbands- makes women
vulnerable to suffering and consequently to trafficking. Studies by CSWB and
others have revealed that most trafficked women are unmarried, divorced,
separated or widowed38. When we look at the structural factors, there are lot of
aspect which makes women and children susceptible to trafficking. The
environments which do not have adequate structures and institutions for education
and employment become zones for traffickers. The wider structural factors also
heavily influences and determine these circumstances which are industrialisations
and globalisations, economic crises, under-development, economic policies like
privatisation and liberalisation, promotion of sex tourism, withdrawal of subsidies
and commercialisation of agriculture, the consequent erosion of subsistence
agricultural practices, loss of traditional livelihoods and inflation. In today‟s
scenario, women and girls are increasingly being hired as service providers which

37 Roy S, Chaman C (2017) Human Rights and Trafficking in Women and Children in India. J
His Arch & Anthropol Sci 1(5): 00027. DOI: 10.15406/jhaas.2017.01.00027
38 Sen S, Nair PM (2004) A Report on trafficking on women and children in India 2002-2003
(Vol 1). Institute of Social Sciences, NHRC & UNIFEM, India, pp. 440.

61
put them at risk. Simultaneously, the quickening pace of urbanisation and
heightened mobility resulting from the development of road links are contributing
factors. A culture of consumerism, materialism, commodification of individuals
and commercialisation of sex distorts family needs and individual desires.

(ii) Perpetuating Factors

Insufficient and inadequate laws, poor enforcement, ineffective penalties,

minimal chances of prosecution, the relatively low risks involved, corruption and
complacency, poor visibility and less debate on the issue, the lack of political will
of the governments to implement policies and to provide adequate services for
victims-all play role in perpetuating trafficking. It has been also expressed that
people who takes up the cudgels against trafficking are in miniscule. It becomes
difficult to combat because everyone (trafficking camp) is unified. The profiting
families are also reluctant to talk .

(iii) Push and Pull Factors

Veerendra Mishra 39 has mentioned in his edited book that trafficking is

victims‟ vulnerability exploitation and the victim vulnerability is result of many
factors. He has classified those factors as push and pull factor and maintains that
push and pull factors are not only determines vulnerability but they operate with
multiple factors with different intensity. So, it becomes difficult to find out which
factor has triggered the trafficking. His push and pull is similar to above
mentioned personal and perpetual factors.

Push factors are the factors which exist at the point of origin and the pull
factors works at the place of destination. Pull factors has been considered the
vices of uneven development. Both these factors are complementary. Push factors
can minimized while pull factors cannot be stopped for the time being. Push
factors are deep rooted problems which can be changed by continuo‟s education

39 Veerendra M (2013) Human trafficking- the stakeholders‟ perspective. Sage, India, pp. 400.

62
and not by confrontation approach. Both these factors have been described by
some as „supply‟ and „demand‟ theory where pull factors have been equated with
demand and push factors with supply. Let‟s now discuss the aspects of push and
pull factors briefly.

In the push factors, social means prevalence of caste and class structure
and gender based discrimination which makes people vulnerable. In cultural
context, irrational traditional practices like community-based prostitution enhance
the vulnerability. Economic factors means unequal distribution of opportunities
and wider gap between rich and poor compels people to fell into the hands of
traffickers. Poverty has been linked with human trafficking patterns. Political
means unequal participation in the community at large while environmental
suggests that natural calamities like floods, famines and drought or unnatural
ethnic conflicts and insurgencies makes the people vulnerable for trafficking.
Also, displacement and dislocation of people make situation favourable for
traffickers.

2.3 Efforts by Governments

The India Country Assessment Report by the UNODC has reviewed the
initiatives taken by the Government of India for addressing human trafficking,
including child trafficking, in some detail in 2013 40 . The report also lists the
efforts by the states. These are:

Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs‟ initiative of creating an Anti -Trafficking

Cell has led to the strengthening of the law enforcement response to the
organised crime of human trafficking.

40 Kant, Ravi, Kant Nishi,Roy Subir, Ramchandran Vibhu, Jain Rajul,Kant Rishi,Shetye Saie,
and Kaushik Laulendra. India Country Assessment Report: Current Status of Victim Service
Providers and Criminal Justice Actors on Human Trafficking. Rep. European Union and
UNDOC, 11 July 2013.29.Web. Accessed May-June 2018.

63
2. The nodal officer's meeting being conducted by the Ministry has led to
strengthening of inter-state police cooperation which was a contentious
issue in the fight against human trafficking. During 2010-12, in most cases
of human trafficking, police investigations have started to cover the
traffickers at the source, transit and destination.

3. The Advisories issued by the MHA has led to the strengthening of various
legal procedures and investigations of cases of human trafficking. The
advisories have brought clarity on many of the issues concerning
enforcement of laws on human trafficking in India. The State
Governments have been asked to implement the advisories and send action
taken reports. With the various proactive advisories, the State
Governments have started capacity building of the various law
enforcement agencies in their states. The advisories have also created a
mandate for the State Governments to ensure convergence among all
stakeholders in the state.

4. The training and capacity building of law enforcement agencies including

the prosecutors have created a big difference in countering human
trafficking. The law enforcement machinery has become responsive and
aware of the complexities of the crime of human trafficking. The need of
multi stakeholder participation in each case of trafficking is being ensured.

5. The capacity building and training of prosecutors has also created good
results in terms of the prosecutors devoting time with the victims and
understanding their case history. The very fact that victims and prosecutors
are having an interview in the presence of the NGOs lead to the
prosecutors‟ getting clarity in the case. Also the instructions have been
provided to the prosecutors to get help from NGO‟s counsels in this
regard.

64
6. The Judicial Colloquiums being held at the High Court level is creating a
positive impact in the trial of cases of human trafficking. A mandate is
being created by the high courts to ensure fast trials of cases of human
trafficking and dealing with victims in a sensitive way. The Colloquiums
have led to the capacity building of trial court magistrates.

7. The Ministry has created a set of 12 Manuals for the training of law
enforcement agencies in collaboration with UNODC.

8. The number of arrests of women under the Immoral Traffi c Prevention

Act 1956 has gone down indicating that the police are not arresting the
victims under Sec 8, ITPA41.

Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India

1. The Ministry regularly holds Central Advisory Committee meetings to

review the various issues in countering human trafficking. Almost all the
states and the nodal NGOs are part of the Central Advisory Committee.

2. The Ministry has launched an ambitious comprehensive scheme called the

“Integrated Child Protection Scheme”. The scheme is to implement the
provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act
2015. As a part of the scheme, all State Governments have initiated the
State Child Protection Societies.

The scheme has led to the formation of country wide network of

District Child Protection Units, Child Protection Homes and the creation
of Child Welfare Committees. This scheme has led to the creation of
institutional bodies to ensure child protection at the district level and also
to create convergence among various stakeholders. To combat human
trafficking and to ensure victim protection, the presence of these
institutions is very crucial. Besides creating the institutions, the Ministry

41 Section -8 of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956 provides punishment for soliciting.

65
 has also initiated steps to build their capacities. This scheme is making a
big difference in countering human trafficking as the agencies have been
created across the country and are instrumental in conducting home
investigation reports and also to oversee repatriation and rehabilitation of
victims of human trafficking.

3. The Ministry has expanded the CHILDLINE network to 211 cities under
the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. The Ministry has increased
budgetary allocation for its flagship schemes for rehabilitation which
includes Swadhar and Ujjwala Scheme. Proposals are being reviewed in
consultation with the State Government inputs and recommendations. The
Ministry of Home Affairs has also been made part of the project sanction
committee. The Ministry is also taking steps to bring a monitoring
mechanism for the shelter homes. The Ministry has in principle taken a
decision to sanction one Swadhar home in each district of the country. The
Ujjwala project has a very strong component of prevention of human
trafficking at the source areas.

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India

1. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has created a helpline for

providing immediate support to victims who may be caught in exploitative
situations while they are abroad for work.

2. It provides monetary support to Indian women who are in distress in

foreign countries.

3. It has also implemented the registration of recruitment agencies indulging

in supply of manpower to foreign destinations. Recruitment agencies
which are not registered are being prosecuted.

4. The Ministry has also launched awareness programmes on illegal

recruitment agencies and also prepared manuals for the same.

5. The Ministry has been proactively supporting return of victims of human

trafficking who are caught abroad in exploitative situations.

66
Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India

The Ministry of Labour, Government of India has drafted and

operationalised the Protocol which provides practical guidelines to key
stakeholders on crucial issues relating to prevention, rescue, repatriation and
rehabilitation of trafficked and migrant child labour.

The Protocol operationalised by the Government of India follows the

general principles of the UN Trafficking Protocol, viz., protection of rights of the
child, best interest of the child, equality and non-discrimination, avoidance of
harm, non-criminalisation of the child, respect for views of the child, right to
confidentiality, and right to information (that shall be broadly followed in the
rescue, repatriation and rehabilitation of migrant and trafficked child labour). This
Protocol applies to any migrant or trafficked child labour in the country,
irrespective of the child‟s home state or country of origin, without any
discrimination on the grounds of gender, caste, language, ethnicity, religion or
origin.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

1. The NCPCR has been inter-alia involved in the implementation of the

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act 2000 and will now
engage with new JJ Act 2015.

2. It has been assisting the Supreme Court and the various High Courts in the
implementation of legislations related to children.

3. It has done extensive case reports on the issue of child labour in BT cotton
fields in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

4. It has done extensive case reports on brick kilns in Rajasthan and Odisha.

5. NCPCR has assisted the Supreme Court in providing a situational report in

case of trafficking of children from the North East by shelter homes in
South India.

67
6. It has undertaken reports on the trafficking of child labour in the rat hole
coal mines of Meghalaya and trafficking of children from Jharkhand.

7. On the orders of the Delhi High Court, the NCPCR has drafted an action
plan for combating child labour in Delhi. It has undertaken investigation of
shelter homes in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi where cases of
sexual exploitation have been reported.

8. NCPCR has been undertaking visits to various states to monitor the

implementation of Right to Education and Integrated Child Protection
Schemes.

IGNOU Course on Human Trafficking

The MHA in partnership with Indira Gandhi National Open University

(IGNOU) has launched a web-based certificate course on human trafficking on 10
December 2010.The objectives of the Certificate Course are:

1. To create awareness and provide a comprehensive understanding on anti-

human trafficking.

2. To develop functional understanding and coordination amongst learners

about various stakeholders/agencies associated with the process of human
trafficking directly.

3. To build awareness in the area of law, policies, rehabilitation and

prevention aspects of human trafficking.

4. To develop practical skills for learners to engage with the process of

understanding rehabilitation, prevention and reintegration of human
trafficking victims.

State Governments

1. Many of the states have been proactively addressing human trafficking

issues and taking measures to strengthen the law enforcement and
institutional machineries.

68
2. The States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar and Goa have
created a State Plan of Action to combat human trafficking. Bihar
Government has notified a scheme for combating child labour in the state.

3. The State of Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Bihar,

Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Karnataka, Maharashtra,
Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Punjab have initiated the Victim Compensation
Scheme.

4. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Meghalaya and

Mizoram have proactive State Advisory Committees to coordinate
convergence among various stakeholders.

5. The State of Andhra Pradesh has put in place Minimum Standards of Care
in shelter homes of victims of trafficking. These standards for shelters for
victims of commercial sexual exploitation/survivors of sex trafficking are
those non-negotiable care components that should be integrated in any
home managed either by the government or the civil society to ensure that
facilities for rehabilitation is in place as a matter of right of the victim.
These standards ensure that the safety, dignity and well-being of each
victim are provided for.

6. The Maharashtra Government is the first state government to create a SOP

for the Child Welfare Committees.

7. In view of the rising cases of trafficking of children from Jharkhand, the

State Government has sanctioned a shelter home in Delhi for coordinating
the rescue and repatriation of children.

8. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi Police have taken proactive steps
to trace missing children and women. In these states the percentage of
recovery of missing children and women has increased considerably.

9. Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab are registering FIR in cases of
missing children.

69
10. Delhi Police has created a “zipnet” network of ten states for profiling
missing children and missing persons.

11. The West Bengal Police has created a website for profiling missing
children (www.trackthemissingchild.gov in).

12. AHTUs across the country have initiated a database of traffickers.

Some of the initiatives of the government with respect to child trafficking

have been reviewed in some detail in this report.

1. Nodal Cell for Prevention of Trafficking

A nodal cell for dealing with human trafficking was set in the MHA in
2009. The main function of this Cell was to coordinate, network and provide
feedback to the State Governments and other concerned agencies on a sustained
and continuous basis so as to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings.

This Cell is responsible for AHTUs across the country as a law

enforcement response mechanism to: combat trafficking, collect and analyse data
related to trafficking from the State Governments/UT administrations, identify
problem areas and causes for their being source/transit/destination areas, monitor
action taken by the State Governments/UT administrations for combating the
crime and organise co-ordination meetings with the nodal Police Officers of
States/UTs. It is also responsible for documenting „best practices‟ in preventing
and combating trafficking in human beings, as well as share data inputs with other
stakeholders.

It has a website – www.stoptraffi cking-mha.nic.in

The process of setting up the Cell was initiated in 2006 and called
“Strengthening the law enforcement response in India against trafficking in
persons through training and capacity building”42. It was a joint initiative by the

42 Stop Human Trafficking. Comprehensive Scheme for Establishment of Integrated An Human

Trafficking Units and Capacity Building of Responders, including Training of Trainers for
Strengthening the Law Enforcement Response to Human Traffi cking in India Plan. Rep.
Ministry of Home Aff airs, 22 Oct. 2013. 1.Web. Accessed 10 June 2018.

70
MHA and UNODC. This project contributed towards developing of 12 very
important resource books, Protocols and SOPs, and in the setting up of AHTUs
under the police department of the project states. The five states selected for the
project were Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Maharashtra and West Bengal and
represented source, destination and transit areas for human trafficking of differing
types (e.g., trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation,
child labour, bonded labour, etc.).43

The other measures that the MHA, Government of India, initiated was a
response mechanism on missing persons, compilation of data on missing children
and women through NCRB and also adding a chapter on Human Trafficking in
the yearly Crime in India Report since 2006.

The MHA‟s Anti Trafficking Cell also undertook training of prosecutors,

organised judicial colloquiums, and introduced a course on Human Trafficking in
partnership with IGNOU (discussed before).

It has issued various advisories/SOPs/guidelines to ensure prioritisation of

the issue of human trafficking across the country. These include:

1. Advisory on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking in India

(09.09.2009)

2. Advisory on Crime Against Women (04.09.2009)

3. Advisory on Crime Against Children (14.07.2010)

4. Advisory on Prevention Registration and Prosecution of Crime

(16.07.2010)

5. Advisory on Preventing Cyber Crime Against Children (16.07.2010)

6. Advisory on Missing Children (31.01.2012)

43 Kant, Ravi, Kant Nishi,Roy Subir,Ramchandran Vibhu, Jain Rajul,Kant Rishi,Shetye Saie,
and Kaushik Laulendra. India Country Assessment Report: Current Status of Victim Service
Providers and Criminal Justice Actors on Human Trafficking. Rep. European Union and
UNDOC, 11 July 2013.29. Web. Accessed May-June 2018.

71
 7. Advisory on Human Trafficking – Organised Crime (30.04.2012)

8. Advisory on Human Trafficking – Dealing with Foreign Nationals

(01.05.2012)

2. Initiatives to track missing Children

The MWCD in consultation with the MHA has developed a National

Portal “Trackchild” for tracking of „Missing‟ and „Found‟ children. This is an
exclusive website for tracking of Missing and Found children.

National Informatics Centre (NIC) at the behest of MWCD has developed

a national portal – Trackchild which not only has data on „missing‟ children but
also live database to monitor the progress of the „found‟ children who are availing
various services in different Child Care Institutions (CCIs) under the ICPS and the
JJ Act.

One example of progress by an individual state is exemplified by West

Bengal. In August 2010, the Missing Children Tracking Portal was launched as a
„facility of capturing as much information as possible about missing as well as
recovered persons‟. The process for this „portal‟ can be read online as part of the
West Bengal Police Order No. 9 of 2010 (23 August 2010)44. The process appoints
a Superintendent of Police in each district to act as a nodal officer in ensuring that
all missing persons are recording missing in the relevant “Missing Person Form”
that is subsequently transmitted to the DCRB. Upon a person‟s recovery, the
relevant “Recovered Person Form” must be filled out by way of completely
documenting the investigation process to its conclusion.

Similarly, for the purposes of combating trafficking, the MHA recognises

the importance of a single coordinated database to share information about
trafficked children. Their SOP on Handling Trafficking of Children for Labour

44 Bhupinder Singh- Director General and Inspector General of Police of West Bengal. “West
Bengal Police Directorate Writer‟s Buildings : Kolkata.”Trackthemissingchild.gov.in. West
Bengal Police, 10 Aug. 2010. Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.

72
(12th August 2013) stated that information obtained from the victim „must be
uploaded to the state and district database‟ to assist with coordination of efforts
between state based law enforcement agencies. In the Advisory on Anti-Human
Trafficking Web Portal (5th May 2014) the Ministry of Home Affairs suggested
that Nodal Officers of AHTUs could „upload real time statistics and success
stories‟ of missing children in order to share information with other state AHTUs.

Although a link is established on paper between the two 45 websites

established by the government, coordination between the two is yet to become a
reality. It therefore becomes all the more necessary to ensure that all these efforts
are well coordinated and monitoring does not get hampered.

The MHA launched a campaign titled “Operation Smile” on 01.01.2015

throughout the country to rescue the missing children. More than 9000 children
were rescued during this campaign. After the remarkable achievement during
Operation Smile by the field officers, a similar campaign titled “Operation
Muskaan” was rolled out in July, 2015 and over 19000 children were rescued
during this operation.46

3. Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs)

As per the NHRC‟s Action Research Study Report on „Trafficking in

Women and Children in India‟ published in 2004, it was found that there was a
very low level of awareness about the crime of trafficking amongst police
personnel and also a very low priority accorded to trafficking due to the
preoccupation of police with crimes such as murder, rape, arson as well as general
law and order matters.47

45 Ministry of Women and Child Development. “National Tracking System for Women and
Children.” www.trackthemissingchild.gov.in. Government of India, 2013. Web. May-June
2016. and Ministry of Home Affairs. An Human Trafficking. Government of India, 2012.
Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.
46 Ministry of Home Aff airs. Ministry of Home Affairs : Annual Report 2015-2016. Rep.
Government of India, 12 Apr. 2016. 71.Web. Accessed Apr.-May 2018.
47 Stop Human Trafficking. Comprehensive Scheme for Establishment of Integrated An Human
Trafficking Units and Capacity Building of Responders, including Training of Trainers for
Strengthening the Law Enforcement Response to Human Trafficking in India Plan. Rep.
Ministry of Home Affairs, 22 Oct. 2013. 1.Web. Accessed 10 June 2018.

73
 A project on “Strengthening the law enforcement response in India against
trafficking in persons through training and capacity building” was taken up in the
MHA as a joint initiative of the Government of India and the UNODC. Over a
three-year period w.e.f April 2006, through a series of training programmes, the
project aimed at raising the awareness of law enforcement officers, (i.e., police
and prosecutors) on the problem of human trafficking and build their capacity to
better investigate and prosecute offenders perpetrating this crime. The five states
selected for the training are Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and
Bihar and represent source, destination and transit areas for human trafficking of
differing types (e.g., trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual
exploitation, child labour, bonded labour, etc.).48

The AHTUs are integrated task forces to prevent and combat trafficking in
persons and is constituted of a group of trained sensitive officials of the Police and
the Women and Child Welfare Department of the State, and also reputed local
NGOs. They are meant to function as coherent units.

The MHA in its website says, “While carrying out anti-trafficking

activities, several good initiatives undertaken by police officials came to light.
However, except for a few instances, such initiatives often remained
undocumented and largely unrecognised.” 49 Thus MHA in partnership with
UNODC brought out a compendium of such positive actions by the state police
officials in preventing and combating human trafficking.50

The AHTUs are to be set up by the State Governments at the district

headquarters level, with funds provided under the scheme for infrastructure and

48 Stop Human Trafficking. Comprehensive Scheme for Establishment of Integrated An Human

Trafficking Units and Capacity Building of Responders, including Training of Trainers for
Strengthening the Law Enforcement Response to Human Trafficking in India Plan. Rep.
Ministry of Home Affairs, 22 Oct. 2013. 1.Web. Accessed 10 June 2018.
49 http://mha.nic.in/ATC. 11.06.2016
50 U NODC and GOI. Compendium on Best Practices on Anti -Trafficking by Law Enforcement
Agencies. 2007. Print. Web. Accessed 11.06.2018. http://mha.nic.in/sites /upload_fi les/
mha/fi les/pdf/CBP-Trafficking.pdf

74
equipment. The State Governments would provide the police personnel and
officials from other departments for managing the AHTUs. The police officials
posted at the AHTUs will directly report to the Superintendent of Police of the
district. The State Governments will also identify the personnel who will be
associated with the AHTUs.

In response to a question in Rajya Sabha raised by Shri Mohammad Ali

Khan on 23 December 2015,174 the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri
Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said that his Ministry had released a sum of Rs
20.46 crore to the State Governments for establishment of 270 AHTUs during
2010-11 and 2011-12 and 2014-15. The concern is that different sources give us
different numbers of AHTUs that have been set up.

4. Strengthening the Law Enforcement through “Training of

Trainers”(TOT) programmes

The MHA has sanctioned a Comprehensive Scheme “Strengthening law

enforcement response in India against Trafficking in Persons through training and
capacity building” wherein it is proposed to establish 330 AHTUs throughout the
country and impart training to 10,000 police officers through TOTs component.51

5. Victim Compensation

The victim compensation offered by states is between Rs 10,000 and Rs

10, 00, 000. They also differ in terms of eligibility for compensation. States such
as Assam and Chhattisgarh only offer Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively
despite the incidence of trafficking being very high. Himachal Pradesh provides
compensation for unnatural offences, which allows boys to access the
compensation scheme. Odisha is the only state that has amended its victim
compensation scheme, aligning with the recent legislative amendments to the
POCSO Act. In addition to compensation for human trafficking, they provide
compensation for penetrative sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual

51 Ministry of Home Affairs. Ministry of Home Affairs : Annual Report 2015-2016. Rep.
Government of India, 12 Apr. 2016. 71. Web. Accessed Apr.- May 2018.

75
harassment and pornography. Further it has been also observed “that victims have
trouble accessing compensation and achieving a safe recovery due to fragmented
policies and implementation failures”.52 Victim compensation schemes in various
states hence require a review to ensure some standardisation.

6. Central Advisory Committee (CAC) for Preventing and Combating

Trafficking of Women and Children for Commercial Sexual
Exploitation

The MWCD has constituted a Central Advisory Committee (CAC) which

functions under the chairpersonship of Secretary, MWCD, Government of India.
The members include representatives from central ministries such as Home
Affairs, External Affairs, Tourism, Health and Family Welfare, Social Justice and
Empowerment, Law and Justice, State Governments, autonomous bodies such as
National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women, Central
Social Welfare Board, National Institute for Public Cooperation and Child
Development, Law Enforcement Agencies such as NCRB, Border Security Force,
Intelligence Bureau and Central Bureau of Investigation, international agencies
such as UNICEF, UNIFEM and UNODC and reputed NGOs and experts. The
CAC meets every quarter to discuss major issues and strategies for preventing and
combating trafficking of women and children.

The CAC members under MWCD developed a blue print of action in the
following areas:

1. Protocol on Inter-state Rescue and Post-rescue Activities Relating to

Trafficked Persons – It provides guidelines to the State Governments
on the inter-state rescue operations, the modalities involved,
precautions to be undertaken and responsibility of various stakeholders
in providing services to the rescued victim.

52 Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School, Centre for Health Law,
Ethics and Technology (CHLET) at Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), and Cornell Law
School International Human Rights Clinic. India‟s Human Trafficking Laws and Policies and
the UN Trafficking Protocol: Achieving Clarity. Rep. Avon Foundation for Women, Feb.
2015. 16.Web. Accessed May-June 2018.

76
 2. Prevention of Trafficking of Women and Children – It provides for
various steps to be undertaken to prevent trafficking of women and
children for commercial sexual exploitation and includes formation of
adolescent groups and community vigilance groups, anti-trafficking
regional networks, appropriate interventions that should be taken up in
brothel areas to prevent second-generation prostitution, special
measures targeting those communities traditionally involved in
commercial sex work and rehabilitation of women who have become
old to carry on the profession and are in need of care and protection.

3. Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking – It provides for action points

related to areas of rehabilitation such as care and support programmes,
community based rehabilitation, custody of victims, education and
skill building of victims and their ultimate rehabilitation in the society.

4. Health inputs – It highlights the special medical care, both physical

and psychological, that is required by the victims of trafficking, the
long-term impacts and the steps to be undertaken to provide holistic
health services to the victims of trafficking.

5. Legal measures related to trafficking – The blue print of action calls

for a composite legislation addressing trafficking for all purposes such
as begging, organ trade, labour, drug-peddling etc.

6. Human Trafficking Management Information System (HTMIS) – It

provides a format for enforcement agencies to collect data on
trafficked victims and traffickers.

7. Schemes and Programmes53

Legislation pertaining to care and protection of trafficked children, like the

Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (now JJ Act 2015) and ITPA, 1956, mandates the
creation of institutional mechanisms and the formulation of programmes and

53 India Country Report: To Prevent and Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children and Women at World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of
Children and Adults (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, 2008). Pub. United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime & Ministry of Women and Child Development (Government of India), Nov. 2008. 8.
Web. Accessed Jan.-Feb. 2018.

77
schemes for the welfare of women and children who are in need of care and
protection by the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of
India.

Some of the initiatives of the Department of Women and Child

Development which have a direct impact on the care and protection of victims of
human trafficking are as follows:

 Ujjawala Scheme

 Swadhar Greh

 Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)

 Central Sector Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer,

2016

While Ujjwala is specifically for trafficked victims, Swadhar Grehs are

homes for all destitute and vulnerable women and girls in diffi cult circumstances
including trafficked victims. It does not provide support to male and transgender
child victims of trafficking.

The ICPS, on the other hand is a comprehensive scheme for child

protection, both preventive as well as rehabilitative. It uses the infrastructures
under the JJ system- particularly the Special Juvenile Police Units, the CWC and
the Children‟s Homes to house, restore or rehabilitate children boys, girls or any
other gender.

Central Sector Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers,

2016

This new scheme came into force on the 17 May 2016 as a result of a
revamp of the earlier scheme - Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of
Bonded Labourers, 1978 which was revised in the year 2000.

There was need felt to revamp the old scheme for the following reasons-

78
 (i) Lack of regular monitoring;

(ii) No mechanism to monitor court cases and convictions;

(iii) Inadequate and unattractive rehabilitation package;

(iv) Lack of flexibility of the scheme to address the needs of special

category beneficiaries such as children including orphans,
differently abled, transgenders, people rescued from organised and
forced begging rings and women and children rescued from
trafficking and sexual exploitation including prostitution;

(v) Lack of institutionalised mechanism to keep an account of the

other major benefits listed in the existing scheme such as
agricultural land, dwelling unit, skill training, education etc.; and

(vi) Ineffectiveness of awareness generation camps.

The Scheme also mentions that a survey would be carried out for the
identification of bonded labourers for which an amount of Rs. 4.50 lakh per
district is available.

Under the new scheme, a rehabilitation package is available for those

falling in the special category of children including orphans or those rescued from
organised and forced begging rings or other forms of forced child labour. The
amount of rehabilitation assistance shall be Rs.2 lakhs out of which at least
Rs.1,25,000 shall be deposited in an annuity scheme in the name of each
beneficiary and the balance amount shall be transferred to the beneficiary account
through ECS.

In cases of children rescued from bonded or forced labour involving

extreme cases of deprivation or marginalisation such as transgender, or women or
children rescued from ostensible sexual exploitation such as brothels, massage
parlours, placement agencies etc., or trafficking, or in cases of differently-abled

79
persons, or in situations where the District Magistrate deems fit, the rehabilitation
assistance shall be Rs. 3 lakhs, out of which at least Rs. 2 lakhs shall be deposited
in an annuity scheme in the name of each beneficiary and Rs. 1 lakh shall be
transferred to the beneficiary account through ECS.

8. Integrated Plan of Action to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking

with Special Focus on Children and Women

The MWCD had formulated a National Plan of Action (NPA) to combat

trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children in 1998,
with the objective of mainstreaming and re-integrating women and child victims
of commercial sexual exploitation into the community. To formulate a more
holistic policy and programme for trafficking in persons which will incorporate all
forms of trafficking (such as sexual exploitation, child labour, bonded labour,
organ trade etc.) and enable an integrated approach to tackle the problem, the
MWCD, in collaboration with MHA, Ministry of Labour and Employment,
NHRC and National Commission for Women, is developing an “Integrated Plan
of Action to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking with Special Focus on
Children and Women”. Three regional consultations were organised to solicit
inputs and recommendations from various stakeholders. A national consultation
was convened in August 2007 and a draft integrated plan of action had been
formulated.

9. Protocols/Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/ Advisories Related

to Trafficking of Children

There are several Protocols, SOPs and Advisories announced by the

government of India – MHA, MWCD and even Ministry of Labour and
Employment (MoLE). Since none of these terms have been clearly defined by the
government, it is not clear how they differ and what their legal status is. Hence
they have been discussed together.

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 The following are the Advisories issued by the MHA:54

i. Advisory for Preventing Crime of Human Trafficking. Dated

9.9.2009.

ii. Advisory on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking during

Commonwealth Games. Dated 10.09.2010.

iii. Advisory on Measures to be taken by States/UTs for Combating

Trafficking of Women and Children for Commercial Sexual
Exploitation. Dated 12.10.2011.

iv. Advisory on Missing Children – measures needed to prevent

trafficking and trace the children. Dated 31st January, 2012.

v. Advisory on Human Trafficking as Organised Crime. Dated

30.04.2012.

vi. Advisory on Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking in

India dealing with Foreign Nationals. Dated. 01.05.2012.

vii. Advisory on Hon‟ble Supreme Court‟s direction to fi le FIR in case

of Missing Children. Dated 25.6.2013.

viii. SOP to Handle Trafficking of Children for Child Labour -

measures to be taken for rescue of trafficked child labourers and
action against traffickers/ employers. Dated 12.8.2013.

ix. SOP to handle Trafficking of Children for Child Labour - measures

to be taken for rescue of trafficked child labourers and action
against traffickers/ employers Dated 11.9.2013

54 Ministry of Home Affairs.-GOI.Compendium of Advisories on Human Trafficking. Print.

81
 x. Advisory regarding Ministry of Home Affairs‟ Web Portal of Anti
Human Trafficking titled www.stophumantraffi cking-mha.nic.in
launched on 20th February 2014. Dated 05.5.2014

xi. Associating SSB and BSF in crime meetings. Dated 23.7.2015

Issues of trafficking converge with several other issues i.e. missing

children, sexual abuse of minors, repatriation and restoration of child victims of
trafficking through processes of Juvenile Justice Act.

82