Responsibility To Curb Human Trafficking Rests On Society

Special Article from The Statesman
Illegality spread
Responsibility To Curb Human Trafficking Rests On Society
By Manjumohan Mukherjee
The movement of people from one country to another is an inevitable outcome of globalisation. According to the 2005 report of the UNFPA titled State of World Population, the number of international migrants was estimated at 17.5 crore. The major problem connected with this migration is human trafficking and smuggling. Human trafficking is a lucrative criminal activity. According to the International Labour Organisation, it can generate up to $31 billion a year, most of it from forced labour and exploitation. The trafficking and smuggling protocols, generally referred to as the Palermo protocols, came into force on 23 December 2003 and 28 January 2004, respectively. By definition, trafficking denotes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or “receipt of persons” by threat, force, coercion, abduction and fraud. Exploitation can involve prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or slavery.
No crime
Between 800,000 and 1.2 million women and children are victims of trafficking the world over. Human trafficking is the world’s third largest illegal business, generating $9.5 billion in revenue each year. Civil society must ensure that the victims don’t suffer from any stigma. They must be brought back to the mainstream with dignity for they have committed no crime.West Bengal, along with Bihar, accounts for the maximum numbers of girls who have been trafficked into the country from abroad simply for prostitution. According to figures available till 2005, this so-called “importation of girls” has increased by nearly 67.4 per cent. The National Crime Records Bureau, which recently released its data, states that 149 cases were recorded across the country in 2005, compared to only 89 in 2004 and 46 in 2003.While Bihar tops the list with 74 such cases, accounting for nearly 49.7 per cent of the total, West Bengal stands second with 61 and accounting for 40.9 per cent of the total. According to the Indian Penal Code, if a girl below the age of 21 years is trafficked into India from any other country or the state of Jammu and Kashmir, it is considered “importation” and is punishable with up to 10 years of imprisonment.But statistics reveal that the highest number of pending cases of violence against women are those of importation. Out of the 248 persons who were arrested on charges of violence against women, only 148 could be settled by the court. In another departure from the nationwide trend, West Bengal accounts for the lowest number of rape victims who do not know the identity of the offenders. National statistics reveal that the victims in 84.6 per cent of the rape cases knew their offenders. On the contrary, only in 2.9 per cent cases in West Bengal were the offenders known to the victims. West Bengal has a porous border with its economically weak neighbours. As a result, girls are frequently trafficked into the state and forced into prostitution. While many of the victims are rescued and the offenders arrested, many cases go unreported. Most of the girls come from poor families and are lured into the trap with the promise of a lucrative job.
The major factors behind human trafficking are poverty, political instability, unexpected changes in economic or political condition, natural and man-made disasters, poor governance, advance in communication and transportation, easy profits made from exploitation, marginalisation of the poor, and lack of information about the realities and dangers of trafficking and smuggling. The administration shows little concern to tackle it seriously, allowing operators to indulge in a part-time or whole-time illegal profession with inter-state and international ramifications. Even so-called men of position are involved. For instance, the BJP MP, Babubhai Katara, was arrested for trying to smuggle a woman and a teenager to Canada. West Bengal has emerged as a major hub over the last 10 years, with 15,750 girls and women having been abducted and kidnapped in 2005. The procuring of minor girls shot up from 2.7 per cent to 13.8 per cent in 2005, and the number of girls sold to prostitution rose from 26.7 to 88 per cent.
Bengal serves as a source, transit and destination for trafficking in women and children. The state’s border with Bangladesh, Bhutan and 14 major points with Nepal in North Bengal have made it a vulnerable location. Its common boundaries with Orissa. Bihar, Jharkhand and Sikkim have made it a safe haven for traffickers. The problem of child trafficking is endemic in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, North and South Dinajpur, Malda, Midnapore, Nadia, North and South 24-Parganas.Kolkata is also a nerve centre with 21 large brothels acting as active links with numerous “flying sex zones” across the country. Nearly 10 per cent of the sex workers in the city have come from Bangladesh and Nepal. The city accounts for 45.5 per cent of minor girls brought into the state. The Bengal-Bangladesh border is a key entry point. There are 14 such points from Nepal to North Bengal. The two dangerous dens in Murshidabad are located in Jalangi and Domkol. The trafficked girls are confined to the prostitution centres of North Bengal, Nadia, South 24-Parganas and Kolkata before being sent to Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, and even places in Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. More than 45.5 per cent girls are trafficked through Kolkata. According to the National Human Rights Commission report, Bengal is fourth in terms of trafficking.A large number of missing cases are not reported. The children leave their homes with the knowledge of their parents. Therefore, no complaints are filed with the police. Initially, the parents don’t realise that their children are being trafficked as they are taken away with the promise of either jobs or marriage. In most of the cases those who lure these children away happen to be their own relatives or someone known to them.
Good earnings
On an average the traffickers earn Rs 25,000-30,000 on each transaction. Community policing is essential to check the menace. Roadside restaurants, hotels and dhabas are used as conduits in the network. Regular police raids are essential to arrest the culprits and rescue the victims. The registration of the names of domestic helps at the local police station must be made compulsory.It isn’t just the responsibility of the police. It is eventually society’s responsibility. And that includes the NGOs, panchayats, municipalities, magistrates, religious leaders, the media, ministry of home affairs, department of social welfare, and the department of education. Even the private sector has a vital role to play. Chambers of commerce can prepare an anti-human trafficking policy and tell their members to sign it with a commitment that they will not use any product of forced labour and also ask the vendors and clients to sign on the same document before conducting business. As poverty is the root cause, it is important to focus on micro-finance. The rural society needs to be convinced that a victim ought to be rehabilitated with due respect so that she can lead a normal life if she wishes to.The position of women and children can be strengthened through education, health and nutrition. This will give them the opportunity to lead a normal life.The writer is with the Department of Social Work, Visva-Bharati