THE HINDU
NEW DELHI: The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has expressed concern over incidents of child trafficking in the name of adoption as highlighted by media reports.
The reports said a Chennai-based adoption agency fabricated records of children and placed them for adoption in 2000.
In a statement issued here on Monday, CARA chairman J.K. Mittal said action was taken against the agency on receipt of a complaint and it was de-licensed in 2002. A criminal case was also filed against the agency and the matter was pending in court.
No such incident was reported in recent times against any Indian adoption agency by any individual or agency from any part of the world, the statement said.
Strict monitoring
According to Mr. Mittal, CARA monitored the activities of all adoption agencies based in India and children were placed for adoption only after a thorough investigation of their records.
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Queensland family ‘devastated’ by Indian child trafficking claims
By Indo-Asian News Service on Monday, August 25, 2008
A Queensland family has been “absolutely devastated” by revelations that their adopted child could have been stolen from her biological parents in India and that they face the risk of the adoption being revoked.
“This is a terrible predicament for a family that loves their adopted child and for the Indian family that has lost a child and as a mother my heart goes out to them,” Queensland Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech said in a statement as her department offers support to the family concerned.
A TIME magazine report said nine-year-old Zabeen, now reportedly living in Queensland with her adoptive parents, was kidnapped in Chennai when she was two years old.
Australia’s adoption processes are rigorous and it only deals with countries that are signatories to The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption.
“Under the Hague Convention, birth parents may bring an action in an Australian Court to have the adoption revoked. However, any decision would be a matter for the courts, which would apply the principle of protecting the best interests of the child,” a spokesman for Attorney General Robert McClelland told IANS Monday.
Figures from the Attorney-General’s Department show 327 or 10 percent of overseas adoptions between 1997-98 and 2006-07 were from India.
“Under Australian law, these children are Australian citizens and the children of the adoptive parents,” the spokesman told IANS.
Few Indian children are adopted by Australian families because the Indian law requires that 50 percent of children requiring adoptive families be placed with Indian couples within India. The next priority is placing children with Indian nationals living abroad. Only a small percentage of children are adopted by non-Indian couples and tend to be older children or children with special needs.
When Australian couples have been approved to adopt from India, the Adoption Services Queensland (ASQ) makes contact with different Indian agencies to determine whether or not they will accept the couple’s file.
“I am advised that adoptions from India have to be authorised by a court. The adoption of the Queensland child who was allegedly stolen was authorised by the Madras High Court in March 2000. ASQ’s role was to approve families as suitable adoptive families and to send the file to overseas countries for processing,” Keech said.
“I am advised that ASQ dealt with the official Indian government adoption agency - The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and Malaysian Social Services (MSS), a CARA-endorsed agency. All adoption placement agencies in India had to be registered with CARA,” Keech added.
When the child theft allegations first came to light, it is said ASQ had conducted an audit of Indian children who were adopted into Queensland between 1995 and 2007. Only two of the 23 adoptions during that period were through MSS, with one of those two adoptions in 1995 - well before the period (1998-99) during which children were allegedly kidnapped in India.
Australia has offered to assist with any investigations into alleged claims that “pretty” children kidnapped from Indian slums have been adopted by Australian families.
Joining in the debate Monday, federal opposition leader Brendan Nelson has said Australia had a moral responsibility to return any children who may have been stolen.
“Let us hope the inquiry, in fact, does not find that children have been effectively kidnapped. And the right thing, we would expect in most cases, will be to look at returning them to their rightful families,” Nelson said.
Meanwhile, the state government of Tasmania is conducting its own audit of overseas adoptions.
According to a report in TIME Magazine, At least 120 children were kidnapped from slums in southern India and were sold to a Chennai-based adoption agency MSS for as little as $280, before being sent overseas. Nearly a dozen of these children have ended up being adopted in Australia
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Predators on the prowl
Predators on the prowl
Tuesday August 26 2008
Lakshmy Venkiteswaran
It is a crime that happens all the time, almost everywhere, but it rarely seems to register on anyone’s radar. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is much more common than people believe. Last year, in a study of over 17,000 children from 13 states, the Ministry of Women and Child Development found that over 50 per cent of them reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse.
The abuse of a child involves a manipulative process that traps the victim in a secret relationship designed only to provide sexual gratification to the predator. Despite greater awareness today, the common perception still seems to be, ‘it doesn’t happen in my home’, or ‘it just happened once’.
The trauma suffered by 35-year old Rakesh in his school days shows how abusers never stop with one child. “My dad was diabetic so he couldn’t play with me.” His father had heard of a coach who trained boys for free in volleyball. “The training started when I was in class six. From the first day, my coach became my hero.”
“After training, he would always make me sit on his lap. Now I know that he would get an erection whenever I sat on his lap. But at that time, I didn’t understand what it was. To me, I was just happy that my coach thought I was special,” Rakesh recalls. The coach was a regular visitor to the family. When Rakesh’s father had to be hospitalised, he stayed in the coach’s house until his father returned home. Rakesh recalls that the coach made him scrub his back in the bath. Worse things happened, he says.
“I was too terrified to go back there and refused to attend training.” His older brother Ram, however, continued training until he reached high school. It wasn’t until Ram was in college that Rakesh could talk about it. And what they discovered was shocking. “Because I had stopped training, coach used Ram the same way,” he says with tears in his eyes.
Rakesh learnt that some of his teammates in school too suffered the same fate. “Nobody blames me for not telling. But I can’t help feeling that if I had told someone, maybe somebody could have stopped this. I feel ashamed that I let it happen. What’s worse is that he sodomised my brother and other kids repeatedly for many years.” The last he heard, the coach had moved to another country. Vidya Reddy of the Tulir-Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, Chennai says she has never heard of a one-time offender. “Abuse happens repeatedly. More often than not, the abuser is from the family or a friend of the family. Until we stop protecting the abuser, he/she will never stop.”
“If an incident of sexual abuse in a school, for instance, is reported, the management may fire the abuser,” Vidya adds. “But what’s stopping him from getting a job in another school in the same city or another city? Many schools don’t do background checks or crosscheck credentials.” For every case that is reported, many others go unreported. “We get almost a dozen calls every day, but in the end the victims are too scared to file a report,” says a volunteer at a help centre. Another problem in the effort to check this phenomenon is getting a verdict. “When the report is filed, the abused is a child. By the time the case comes to court, he/she is an adult,” reasons Pooja Taparia of Arpan. “Trials take a long time and they’re well into their adulthood, also shouldering societal stigma.” Vidya cites an incident in Chennai. “The lady is the principal of a well-known school in which abuse was reported. She told me her son was getting marriage proposals and if the intended bride had been sexually abused, she would not accept the proposal. To say I was stunned is an understatement.” Often, children conceal the fact of abuse to protect a loved one. “There was a girl who was abused by her best friend’s father. Whenever she visited her friend’s house, the father would fondle her,” says Pushpa Venkatraman, counsellor and trainer at Arpan. “When she informed her friend, the girl implored her to not complain.” The reason her friend gave was that her parents were always fighting and something like this would only make it worse. “The father abused the daughter too, hence the fights between the parents. Can you imagine this child’s condition?” Sometimes the abuse takes place with adults in the same room. Vidya highlighted the case of a swimming coach who fondled children while teaching them, in plain sight of parents and guardians all around the pool. “Many parents stopped sending their children to this coach. But just because you stop sending your child to this particular person, it doesn’t mean he’ll stop what he’s doing. Adult offenders never stop with one kid.” School authorities play a significant role in educating children and parents on sexual abuse. “The parent-teacher associations should evolve a specific sex education programme,” says Pinki Virani, author of Bitter Chocolate. Parents need to educate kids by answering questions about body parts. “We use every word other than the simple biological ones for penis, vagina, breasts and anus. If you don’t use the right words you cannot teach your child the difference between a ‘good touch’ and a ‘bad touch’.” For the cases that are reported, identification and prosecution of molesters presents a serious dilemma to lawyers and activists. The recent acquittal of the two Britons accused of paedophilia by the Bombay High Court in the Anchorage Shelters case shows that a new law needs to be formulated to handle CSA effectively. Maharukh Adenwalla, the lawyer who represented the boys in this case, says the yardstick to weigh an adult’s statement in a court of law should not be applied to a child’s statement. “How can you expect children to be as coherent as an adult? Going through the trial is traumatic enough.” A case in point is Sakshi v. Union of India (2004). The child was gangraped when she was 10 and the case came to trial when she was 13. “The cross-examination lasted three days. She had to repeat the incident in the courtroom in the presence of the accused without a counsellor. In CSA cases, video conferencing should be encouraged with a counsellor present.” CSA cases are often tried under the rape law (Section 376) that says the perpetrator has to be a male and the victim female. The age of consent is 16. “The major weakness of this law is that only penile penetration is considered a grave sexual offence,” says Geetha Ramaseshan, activist-advocate, Madras High Court. “The crime is considered lesser when it is oral, or through penetration with an object. If the abused is a boy, there is no law under which a case can be filed.” In the absence of a clear law, and with convictions so difficult to get, it is no wonder that the abusers feel secure enough to continue their spree. lakshmy@epmltd.com "why doesn’t my family believe me?" “My music teacher would slap the insides of my thigh when I hit a wrong note,” recalls Latha, a working woman in her thirties. “He used to eat paan and slap my thigh. He would then rub his stained fingers on my panties. He would not move his hand for a while. And every time I sang a wrong pitch, he would pinch my vagina.” The reason for such a punishment was that she was his best student and he was doing this for her own good. Where was her mother? “My mum is a homemaker. She didn’t have anyone to help her. The only time she could buy vegetables or run errands was during my music class.” One day, when Latha cried out in pain while she urinated, her mother asked if she had hurt herself while playing. “I told her ‘master pinched me’. The next thing I remember was a stinging sensation on my cheek. She slapped me and warned me that if I ever lied again about him, she would complain to my maths teacher.” The abuse went on until Latha became a teenager and refused to train under him. “He used to come home every year for Diwali and Onam till I was in college. I told my family about everything but even now nobody believes me.” He stopped visiting for a while when her boyfriend, after listening to her ordeal, threatened him with ‘serious bodily harm’. “When physical intimacy with my boyfriend became a problem, I told him everything. He made me realise, over a period of time, that it was not my fault and that I had nothing to be ashamed of. But somehow I can’t help feeling that my family betrayed me. I don’t understand why they continue to welcome this sick man to our home.” Fact file The Ministry for Women and Child Development conducted a study on CSA in April 2007 with a sample size of 17, 220 children from 13 states. Among the results were the following: More than 53 per cent of children reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse The majority (52.94 per cent) of victims were boys 50 per cent of the sexual offenders were known to the victim or were in positions of trust (either family member, close relative, friend or neighbour). Onset of abuse was as early as five years in some cases Boys were equally at risk as girls 73 per cent of the victims were in the 11-18 age group Delhi reported the highest abuse among boys — 65.64 per cent A study by Tulir (2006) among 2,211 school children in Chennai, revealed: CSA prevalence rate of 42 per cent 15 per cent of both boys and girls had been severely abused. 48 per cent of the abused were boys and the prevalence rate among girls was 39 per cent
Tuesday August 26 2008
Lakshmy Venkiteswaran
It is a crime that happens all the time, almost everywhere, but it rarely seems to register on anyone’s radar. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is much more common than people believe. Last year, in a study of over 17,000 children from 13 states, the Ministry of Women and Child Development found that over 50 per cent of them reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse.
The abuse of a child involves a manipulative process that traps the victim in a secret relationship designed only to provide sexual gratification to the predator. Despite greater awareness today, the common perception still seems to be, ‘it doesn’t happen in my home’, or ‘it just happened once’.
The trauma suffered by 35-year old Rakesh in his school days shows how abusers never stop with one child. “My dad was diabetic so he couldn’t play with me.” His father had heard of a coach who trained boys for free in volleyball. “The training started when I was in class six. From the first day, my coach became my hero.”
“After training, he would always make me sit on his lap. Now I know that he would get an erection whenever I sat on his lap. But at that time, I didn’t understand what it was. To me, I was just happy that my coach thought I was special,” Rakesh recalls. The coach was a regular visitor to the family. When Rakesh’s father had to be hospitalised, he stayed in the coach’s house until his father returned home. Rakesh recalls that the coach made him scrub his back in the bath. Worse things happened, he says.
“I was too terrified to go back there and refused to attend training.” His older brother Ram, however, continued training until he reached high school. It wasn’t until Ram was in college that Rakesh could talk about it. And what they discovered was shocking. “Because I had stopped training, coach used Ram the same way,” he says with tears in his eyes.
Rakesh learnt that some of his teammates in school too suffered the same fate. “Nobody blames me for not telling. But I can’t help feeling that if I had told someone, maybe somebody could have stopped this. I feel ashamed that I let it happen. What’s worse is that he sodomised my brother and other kids repeatedly for many years.” The last he heard, the coach had moved to another country. Vidya Reddy of the Tulir-Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, Chennai says she has never heard of a one-time offender. “Abuse happens repeatedly. More often than not, the abuser is from the family or a friend of the family. Until we stop protecting the abuser, he/she will never stop.”
“If an incident of sexual abuse in a school, for instance, is reported, the management may fire the abuser,” Vidya adds. “But what’s stopping him from getting a job in another school in the same city or another city? Many schools don’t do background checks or crosscheck credentials.” For every case that is reported, many others go unreported. “We get almost a dozen calls every day, but in the end the victims are too scared to file a report,” says a volunteer at a help centre. Another problem in the effort to check this phenomenon is getting a verdict. “When the report is filed, the abused is a child. By the time the case comes to court, he/she is an adult,” reasons Pooja Taparia of Arpan. “Trials take a long time and they’re well into their adulthood, also shouldering societal stigma.” Vidya cites an incident in Chennai. “The lady is the principal of a well-known school in which abuse was reported. She told me her son was getting marriage proposals and if the intended bride had been sexually abused, she would not accept the proposal. To say I was stunned is an understatement.” Often, children conceal the fact of abuse to protect a loved one. “There was a girl who was abused by her best friend’s father. Whenever she visited her friend’s house, the father would fondle her,” says Pushpa Venkatraman, counsellor and trainer at Arpan. “When she informed her friend, the girl implored her to not complain.” The reason her friend gave was that her parents were always fighting and something like this would only make it worse. “The father abused the daughter too, hence the fights between the parents. Can you imagine this child’s condition?” Sometimes the abuse takes place with adults in the same room. Vidya highlighted the case of a swimming coach who fondled children while teaching them, in plain sight of parents and guardians all around the pool. “Many parents stopped sending their children to this coach. But just because you stop sending your child to this particular person, it doesn’t mean he’ll stop what he’s doing. Adult offenders never stop with one kid.” School authorities play a significant role in educating children and parents on sexual abuse. “The parent-teacher associations should evolve a specific sex education programme,” says Pinki Virani, author of Bitter Chocolate. Parents need to educate kids by answering questions about body parts. “We use every word other than the simple biological ones for penis, vagina, breasts and anus. If you don’t use the right words you cannot teach your child the difference between a ‘good touch’ and a ‘bad touch’.” For the cases that are reported, identification and prosecution of molesters presents a serious dilemma to lawyers and activists. The recent acquittal of the two Britons accused of paedophilia by the Bombay High Court in the Anchorage Shelters case shows that a new law needs to be formulated to handle CSA effectively. Maharukh Adenwalla, the lawyer who represented the boys in this case, says the yardstick to weigh an adult’s statement in a court of law should not be applied to a child’s statement. “How can you expect children to be as coherent as an adult? Going through the trial is traumatic enough.” A case in point is Sakshi v. Union of India (2004). The child was gangraped when she was 10 and the case came to trial when she was 13. “The cross-examination lasted three days. She had to repeat the incident in the courtroom in the presence of the accused without a counsellor. In CSA cases, video conferencing should be encouraged with a counsellor present.” CSA cases are often tried under the rape law (Section 376) that says the perpetrator has to be a male and the victim female. The age of consent is 16. “The major weakness of this law is that only penile penetration is considered a grave sexual offence,” says Geetha Ramaseshan, activist-advocate, Madras High Court. “The crime is considered lesser when it is oral, or through penetration with an object. If the abused is a boy, there is no law under which a case can be filed.” In the absence of a clear law, and with convictions so difficult to get, it is no wonder that the abusers feel secure enough to continue their spree. lakshmy@epmltd.com "why doesn’t my family believe me?" “My music teacher would slap the insides of my thigh when I hit a wrong note,” recalls Latha, a working woman in her thirties. “He used to eat paan and slap my thigh. He would then rub his stained fingers on my panties. He would not move his hand for a while. And every time I sang a wrong pitch, he would pinch my vagina.” The reason for such a punishment was that she was his best student and he was doing this for her own good. Where was her mother? “My mum is a homemaker. She didn’t have anyone to help her. The only time she could buy vegetables or run errands was during my music class.” One day, when Latha cried out in pain while she urinated, her mother asked if she had hurt herself while playing. “I told her ‘master pinched me’. The next thing I remember was a stinging sensation on my cheek. She slapped me and warned me that if I ever lied again about him, she would complain to my maths teacher.” The abuse went on until Latha became a teenager and refused to train under him. “He used to come home every year for Diwali and Onam till I was in college. I told my family about everything but even now nobody believes me.” He stopped visiting for a while when her boyfriend, after listening to her ordeal, threatened him with ‘serious bodily harm’. “When physical intimacy with my boyfriend became a problem, I told him everything. He made me realise, over a period of time, that it was not my fault and that I had nothing to be ashamed of. But somehow I can’t help feeling that my family betrayed me. I don’t understand why they continue to welcome this sick man to our home.” Fact file The Ministry for Women and Child Development conducted a study on CSA in April 2007 with a sample size of 17, 220 children from 13 states. Among the results were the following: More than 53 per cent of children reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse The majority (52.94 per cent) of victims were boys 50 per cent of the sexual offenders were known to the victim or were in positions of trust (either family member, close relative, friend or neighbour). Onset of abuse was as early as five years in some cases Boys were equally at risk as girls 73 per cent of the victims were in the 11-18 age group Delhi reported the highest abuse among boys — 65.64 per cent A study by Tulir (2006) among 2,211 school children in Chennai, revealed: CSA prevalence rate of 42 per cent 15 per cent of both boys and girls had been severely abused. 48 per cent of the abused were boys and the prevalence rate among girls was 39 per cent
Friday, August 22, 2008
The scourge of human trafficking in India
The scourge of human trafficking in India
Measures to control human trafficking have met with little success for a variety of reasons. The law could address not all of these; society has to contribute its mite to address the problem. Fortunately things are looking up!.
CJ: Sandhya Nigam , 17 Mar 2008
WHEN MONA was 13 years, her mother died and her father remarried. The stepmother was uncomfortable with Mona and wanted to send her away for some job, where she would be able to look after herself. Along came a ”contractor” who arranged jobs for youngsters as domestic help, etc. He paid a certain sum of money to the stepmother and took Mona to a town far away. He got her a job in a massage parlour as a ‘receptionist’. Even before Mona got to know the work profile, she realized that she had been trapped into sexual exploitation. She had become a sexual slave to the ‘customers’ who frequented the place for full-body massage.
Mona is no exception. She is one of the millions of women and children being trafficked and exploited. Mona’s case presents a typical trafficking scenario. Human trafficking (HT) is one of the gravest violations of human dignity and human rights. Trafficking can be classified under three heads: (a) for commercial sexual exploitation or CSE, (b) for exploitative labour or EL and (c) for other forms of exploitation, like organ sale, camel jockeying, etc.
CSE could take place in a brothel or anywhere else like massage parlours and bars. The cause of trafficking is two-dimensional. One is the demand factor and the other is the vulnerability of the person being victimised. More the demand, more the crime. The vulnerability of the trafficked victim is another dimension. Vulnerability, as often quoted, is not exactly attributable to poverty. It is a culmination of several factors, including awareness of rights, lack of access to rights, illiteracy, disparities of income , the scope for exploitation of the victim, poor law enforcement, lack of public awareness and the ” culture of silence” to violation of rights of others.
Article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits trafficking in any form. We have special legislations like the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), 1956, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. The law enforcement scenario, seen from the traditional viewpoint, presents a dismal picture.
Mona is no exception. She is one of the millions of women and children being trafficked and exploited. Mona’s case presents a typical trafficking scenario. Human trafficking (HT) is one of the gravest violations of human dignity and human rights. Trafficking can be classified under three heads: (a) for commercial sexual exploitation or CSE, (b) for exploitative labour or EL and (c) for other forms of exploitation, like organ sale, camel jockeying, etc.
CSE could take place in a brothel or anywhere else like massage parlours and bars. The cause of trafficking is two-dimensional. One is the demand factor and the other is the vulnerability of the person being victimised. More the demand, more the crime. The vulnerability of the trafficked victim is another dimension. Vulnerability, as often quoted, is not exactly attributable to poverty. It is a culmination of several factors, including awareness of rights, lack of access to rights, illiteracy, disparities of income , the scope for exploitation of the victim, poor law enforcement, lack of public awareness and the ” culture of silence” to violation of rights of others.
Article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits trafficking in any form. We have special legislations like the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), 1956, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. The law enforcement scenario, seen from the traditional viewpoint, presents a dismal picture.
Research conducted by the National Human Rights Commission during 2002-2004 shows that the major issues in law enforcement are as follows:
1. Lack of priority-The law enforcement agencies and justice delivery agencies, for various reasons, accord lowest or nil priority to HT issues.
2. Insensitivity-The lack of sensitivity to human trafficking is a major challenge. It is more of an attitudinal issue.
3. Victimisation of the victim-More often, the trafficked women have been arrested and penalized for ‘soliciting’.
4 Improper Investigation-trafficking involves a long trail, starting from the source point, covering several transit points before terminating at the destination. But the investigation is more or less confined to the place where the victim is rescued. Victims remain more often unheard and unrepresented.
5. Organised crime perspective is lacking in investigation- HT involves several offenders like recruiters, transporters, traffickers, harbourers, exploiters and conspirators. But often, investigation is limited to those present at the scene of rescue. Human trafficking being an organized crime requires sharing of intelligence and an in-depth investigation into all linkages but this is rarely done.
6. Lack of co-ordination-The response to human trafficking requires co-ordination among the various government departments, like police, public welfare, health, women and child. The gap in co-ordination is a major challenge to the response system.
7. Lack of coordination with NGO’s- The ITPA and labour laws do assign specific role to NGO’s; however there is no institutionalized system of co-ordination between the law enforcement agencies and NGO’s.
8. Lack of Appreciation-Several instances of good work done by the police officers, researchers, NGO’s, etc, in controlling human trafficking can be cited. However such actions are not acknowledged and disseminated; often good news is no news and bad news is good news.
9. Lack of Emphasis on Rehabilitation- This is a major challenge which leads to not only victimization of victims but also re-trafficking of the rescued person. Despite the fact that several corporates set aside large funds for social responsibility, lack of synergy with the law enforcement agencies and NGO’s has been an impediment in effective dovetailing of such sources for rehabilitating the victim.
However, the emerging scenario is certainly positive. There are several initiatives launched across the country to address human trafficking in a comprehensive and effective manner. Some of these initiatives may be initiated by individuals who are committed to the cause and due to their initiatives, such steps are getting institutionalised. In fact, during the last six years of this century, there has been a growing momentum against human trafficking. The reasons may be many. First of all, credit should go to NGOs who have brought the HT issue into the national agenda. Secondly, several law enforcement officers and human rights activists have provided leadership and proper orientation in achieving better results in anti-human trafficking (AHT).
Increased awareness-There is a national momentum, involving various stake holders, especially the media, the corporates, government agencies including the law-enforcement wing and human rights agencies. One of the best examples is the Global Initiative in Fighting Human Trafficking (GIFT), initiated by UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
Holistic approach: Several agencies working together and attending to the issues of ‘PPP’(Prevention, Protection and Prosecution), in a concerted manner has been one of the features of the new response system. While police undertake rescue operations along with NGOs, other government departments immediately move in, to provide interim relief to the victims. The NGOs take over post-rescue care and attention in association with the government agencies concerned.
Synergy in action: The UNODC, New Delhi, in partnership with the government of India and State government agencies as well as civil society has set up ‘anti-human trafficking units’ (AHTU) in several states. AHTU is a special task force set up under the State police, by involving chosen police officers, NGOs and others who are specially trained for the purpose. UNODC has provided training and empowerment to these officers with focus on knowledge, skills and attitudinal orientation. These units are making a tremendous impact on the law enforcement scenario - for example, in a span of six months, the AHTUs in Andhra Pradesh have rescued more than 700 victims of which more than 100 are children under 18. The rescued victims are being promptly taken care of by the government as well as NGOs, most of them having been rehabilitated with the help of corporate and business houses. Excellent rehabilitation has been achieved through synergetic action.
AHT is an area, which beckons all those who are concerned with human rights. There is much to do and something to be done by everybody. It is everybody’s business. The question is whether one is a part of the problem or part of the solution. There is no third option. Therefore, all who are committed to human rights must join hands in this global initiative to fight human trafficking. We can together ensure that, Mona is safe in our home and community and that Mona lives with dignity, like all of us and it will be so with all the Mona’s.
Achievements of anti-human trafficking measures in five states (Jan-Sep 2007):
Trafficking crimes registered: 466
1. Lack of priority-The law enforcement agencies and justice delivery agencies, for various reasons, accord lowest or nil priority to HT issues.
2. Insensitivity-The lack of sensitivity to human trafficking is a major challenge. It is more of an attitudinal issue.
3. Victimisation of the victim-More often, the trafficked women have been arrested and penalized for ‘soliciting’.
4 Improper Investigation-trafficking involves a long trail, starting from the source point, covering several transit points before terminating at the destination. But the investigation is more or less confined to the place where the victim is rescued. Victims remain more often unheard and unrepresented.
5. Organised crime perspective is lacking in investigation- HT involves several offenders like recruiters, transporters, traffickers, harbourers, exploiters and conspirators. But often, investigation is limited to those present at the scene of rescue. Human trafficking being an organized crime requires sharing of intelligence and an in-depth investigation into all linkages but this is rarely done.
6. Lack of co-ordination-The response to human trafficking requires co-ordination among the various government departments, like police, public welfare, health, women and child. The gap in co-ordination is a major challenge to the response system.
7. Lack of coordination with NGO’s- The ITPA and labour laws do assign specific role to NGO’s; however there is no institutionalized system of co-ordination between the law enforcement agencies and NGO’s.
8. Lack of Appreciation-Several instances of good work done by the police officers, researchers, NGO’s, etc, in controlling human trafficking can be cited. However such actions are not acknowledged and disseminated; often good news is no news and bad news is good news.
9. Lack of Emphasis on Rehabilitation- This is a major challenge which leads to not only victimization of victims but also re-trafficking of the rescued person. Despite the fact that several corporates set aside large funds for social responsibility, lack of synergy with the law enforcement agencies and NGO’s has been an impediment in effective dovetailing of such sources for rehabilitating the victim.
However, the emerging scenario is certainly positive. There are several initiatives launched across the country to address human trafficking in a comprehensive and effective manner. Some of these initiatives may be initiated by individuals who are committed to the cause and due to their initiatives, such steps are getting institutionalised. In fact, during the last six years of this century, there has been a growing momentum against human trafficking. The reasons may be many. First of all, credit should go to NGOs who have brought the HT issue into the national agenda. Secondly, several law enforcement officers and human rights activists have provided leadership and proper orientation in achieving better results in anti-human trafficking (AHT).
Increased awareness-There is a national momentum, involving various stake holders, especially the media, the corporates, government agencies including the law-enforcement wing and human rights agencies. One of the best examples is the Global Initiative in Fighting Human Trafficking (GIFT), initiated by UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
Holistic approach: Several agencies working together and attending to the issues of ‘PPP’(Prevention, Protection and Prosecution), in a concerted manner has been one of the features of the new response system. While police undertake rescue operations along with NGOs, other government departments immediately move in, to provide interim relief to the victims. The NGOs take over post-rescue care and attention in association with the government agencies concerned.
Synergy in action: The UNODC, New Delhi, in partnership with the government of India and State government agencies as well as civil society has set up ‘anti-human trafficking units’ (AHTU) in several states. AHTU is a special task force set up under the State police, by involving chosen police officers, NGOs and others who are specially trained for the purpose. UNODC has provided training and empowerment to these officers with focus on knowledge, skills and attitudinal orientation. These units are making a tremendous impact on the law enforcement scenario - for example, in a span of six months, the AHTUs in Andhra Pradesh have rescued more than 700 victims of which more than 100 are children under 18. The rescued victims are being promptly taken care of by the government as well as NGOs, most of them having been rehabilitated with the help of corporate and business houses. Excellent rehabilitation has been achieved through synergetic action.
AHT is an area, which beckons all those who are concerned with human rights. There is much to do and something to be done by everybody. It is everybody’s business. The question is whether one is a part of the problem or part of the solution. There is no third option. Therefore, all who are committed to human rights must join hands in this global initiative to fight human trafficking. We can together ensure that, Mona is safe in our home and community and that Mona lives with dignity, like all of us and it will be so with all the Mona’s.
Achievements of anti-human trafficking measures in five states (Jan-Sep 2007):
Trafficking crimes registered: 466
Rescue Operations: 96
NGOs associated in operations: 90 per cent
NGOs associated in operations: 90 per cent
Victims rescued: 716
Minors rescued: 108
Minors rescued: 108
Traffickers arrested: 1020.
Customers’arrested: 332
Customers’arrested: 332
Traffickers convicted: 2
Centres of exploitation closed: Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
Crimes prevented: numerous, though the numbers are not available.
Post-rescue care and attention provided to rescued persons: Cent percent
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Rally held against trafficking of women
Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad
Rally held against trafficking of women
Special Correspondent
Groups of men take up unique initiative
Special Correspondent
Groups of men take up unique initiative
For a cause: Cyclists displaying slogans during a rally against trafficking of women on Wednesday.
HYDERABAD: In a unique initiative to help find solution to the crime of trafficking of women and children, groups of men took out a cycle rally here on Wednesday.
The 16 km rally with the message ‘Trafficking can be prevented if men stopped buying sex’ was flagged off by Minister for Women and Child Welfare N. Rajyalakshmi at the Lalitha Kalathoranam.
The rally was organised by Prajwala, an NGO working against trafficking, and the Department of Women and Child Welfare.
Dr. Sunitha Krishnan of Prajwala said like any trade, prostitution too was governed by demand and supply factors. If men stopped visiting brothels, trafficking of women and children and atrocities against them would decline, she said.Sensitising men
‘Prajwala’ rescued and rehabilitated 2,500 women and their tales exposed the racket of sex trade in various pockets of country.
“We realised it is crucial to sensitise men to stop atrocities against women,” she said.
Ms. Rajyalakshmi said people staged dharnas and went on strike for various demands but did little to denounce exploitation of hapless women and children.
Appreciating men who took the lead against prostitution, she said several factors like broken homes, domestic violence, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment force women and children step out of homes in search of better future but they get trapped and are forced into prostitution.
WD&CW Principal Secretary Chaya Ratan said 70 per cent of trafficked women were young girls denying them their childhood and better future
HYDERABAD: In a unique initiative to help find solution to the crime of trafficking of women and children, groups of men took out a cycle rally here on Wednesday.
The 16 km rally with the message ‘Trafficking can be prevented if men stopped buying sex’ was flagged off by Minister for Women and Child Welfare N. Rajyalakshmi at the Lalitha Kalathoranam.
The rally was organised by Prajwala, an NGO working against trafficking, and the Department of Women and Child Welfare.
Dr. Sunitha Krishnan of Prajwala said like any trade, prostitution too was governed by demand and supply factors. If men stopped visiting brothels, trafficking of women and children and atrocities against them would decline, she said.Sensitising men
‘Prajwala’ rescued and rehabilitated 2,500 women and their tales exposed the racket of sex trade in various pockets of country.
“We realised it is crucial to sensitise men to stop atrocities against women,” she said.
Ms. Rajyalakshmi said people staged dharnas and went on strike for various demands but did little to denounce exploitation of hapless women and children.
Appreciating men who took the lead against prostitution, she said several factors like broken homes, domestic violence, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment force women and children step out of homes in search of better future but they get trapped and are forced into prostitution.
WD&CW Principal Secretary Chaya Ratan said 70 per cent of trafficked women were young girls denying them their childhood and better future
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Colloquium on “ Justice Delivery in Human Trafficking Crimes
A Two day Colloquium on “ Justice Delivery in Human Trafficking Crimes” for Judicial Officers, Prosecutors and Police Officers on 4th and 5th August, 2007 in collaboration with UNODC and C.I.D., A.P.
Hon’ble Sri Justice G.S.Singhvi, Chief Justice, High Court of A.P & Patron-in-Chief has addressed the gathering and set the agenda for the colloquium. Sri M.Ratan, Addl.Director General of Police, C.I.D., Nodal Officer, Anti Trafficking, A.P pointed out the efforts of the State of Andhra Pradesh in curbing human trafficking. Sri Gary Lewis, Representative, UNODC, New Delhi presented the International perspective and the efforts of the United Nations in curbing human trafficking. Dr.P.M.Nair, Project Co.ordinator, UNODC who is behind the planning for colloquium addressed the gathering and interacted with the participants. Hon’ble Sri Justice .V.Seethapathi has participated in the interactive session. Smt.T.Rajani, District and Sessions Judge / Mahila Court, Hyderabad has interacted with the participants. Ms.Aparna Bhatt, Advocate of Supreme
Court of India enlightened the audience on “Laws and recent Court Rulings on Anti-Human Trafficking”. Sri Shivdhar Reddy, D.C.P.South Zone, Hyderabad City presented the experience at Guntur and the initiative taken by the police in curbing human trafficking.
Sri Mahesh Bhagwat, Superintendent of Police (Women Protection Cell) C.I.D. presented power point presentation and interacted with the participants on the effort of the police in curbing human trafficking with practical problems.
There was a visit arranged to PRAJWALA, a N.G.O. in Old City for the participants to experience theef forts of N.G.O. and the problems faced by them on the subject. Sri S.Umapathi, I.G.P., C.I.D. Hyderabad, Dr.C.N.Gopinatha Reddy, Director, A.P.Police Academy have interacted with the participants and explained the challenges in the present law enforcement process. Sri N.Ravi Shankar, the then Director, A.P.Judicial Academy and Sri M.Bhaskar, the then Director of Prosecutions have interacted with the participants
on the role of prosecution in justice delivery in trafficking crimes and victim / witness support. Dr.Buchi Reddy, Professor of Forensic Medicine, APPA interacted with the participants on role of Forensics in age determination / D.N.A. Finger Printing. Later in the concluding session Dr.P.M.Nair, Sri T.Krishna Prasad, Superintendent of Police moderated with the participants
on plan of action in expediting justice delivery in human trafficking crimes.
Hon’ble Sri Justice G.S.Singhvi, Chief Justice, High Court of A.P & Patron-in-Chief has addressed the gathering and set the agenda for the colloquium. Sri M.Ratan, Addl.Director General of Police, C.I.D., Nodal Officer, Anti Trafficking, A.P pointed out the efforts of the State of Andhra Pradesh in curbing human trafficking. Sri Gary Lewis, Representative, UNODC, New Delhi presented the International perspective and the efforts of the United Nations in curbing human trafficking. Dr.P.M.Nair, Project Co.ordinator, UNODC who is behind the planning for colloquium addressed the gathering and interacted with the participants. Hon’ble Sri Justice .V.Seethapathi has participated in the interactive session. Smt.T.Rajani, District and Sessions Judge / Mahila Court, Hyderabad has interacted with the participants. Ms.Aparna Bhatt, Advocate of Supreme
Court of India enlightened the audience on “Laws and recent Court Rulings on Anti-Human Trafficking”. Sri Shivdhar Reddy, D.C.P.South Zone, Hyderabad City presented the experience at Guntur and the initiative taken by the police in curbing human trafficking.
Sri Mahesh Bhagwat, Superintendent of Police (Women Protection Cell) C.I.D. presented power point presentation and interacted with the participants on the effort of the police in curbing human trafficking with practical problems.
There was a visit arranged to PRAJWALA, a N.G.O. in Old City for the participants to experience theef forts of N.G.O. and the problems faced by them on the subject. Sri S.Umapathi, I.G.P., C.I.D. Hyderabad, Dr.C.N.Gopinatha Reddy, Director, A.P.Police Academy have interacted with the participants and explained the challenges in the present law enforcement process. Sri N.Ravi Shankar, the then Director, A.P.Judicial Academy and Sri M.Bhaskar, the then Director of Prosecutions have interacted with the participants
on the role of prosecution in justice delivery in trafficking crimes and victim / witness support. Dr.Buchi Reddy, Professor of Forensic Medicine, APPA interacted with the participants on role of Forensics in age determination / D.N.A. Finger Printing. Later in the concluding session Dr.P.M.Nair, Sri T.Krishna Prasad, Superintendent of Police moderated with the participants
on plan of action in expediting justice delivery in human trafficking crimes.
Problem of child labour in India
Problem of child labour in India
by India Voice
August 19, 2008
Millions of children in today's world undergo the worst forms of child labor which includes Child Slavery, Child prostitution, Child Trafficking, Child Soldiers. In modern era of material and technological advancement, children in almost every country are being callously exploited. India has the dubious distinction of being the nation with the largest number of child laborers in the world. The child labors endure miserable and difficult lives. They earn little and struggle to make enough to feed themselves and their families. They do not go to school; more than half of them are unable to learn the barest skills of literacy.
Some times children are abandoned by their parents or sold to factory owners. The last two decades have seen tremendous growth of export based industries and mass production factories utilizing low technologies. They try to maintain competitive positions through low wages and low labor standards. The child laborers exactly suit their requirements. They use all means to lure the parents into giving their children on pretext of providing education and good life. In India majority of children work in industries, such as cracker making, diamond polishing, glass, brass-ware, carpet weaving, bangle making, lock making and mica cutting to name a few. 15% of the 100,000 children work in the carpet industry of Uttar Pradesh. 70-80% of the 8,000 to 50,000 children work in the glass industry in Ferozabad. In the unorganized sector child labor is paid by piece-by-piece rates that result in even longer hours for very low pay. Child labor is a global problem. If child labour is to be eradicated, the governments and agencies and those responsible for enforcement need to start doing their jobs. The most important thing is to increase awareness and keep discussing ways and means to check this problem.
by India Voice
August 19, 2008
Millions of children in today's world undergo the worst forms of child labor which includes Child Slavery, Child prostitution, Child Trafficking, Child Soldiers. In modern era of material and technological advancement, children in almost every country are being callously exploited. India has the dubious distinction of being the nation with the largest number of child laborers in the world. The child labors endure miserable and difficult lives. They earn little and struggle to make enough to feed themselves and their families. They do not go to school; more than half of them are unable to learn the barest skills of literacy.
Some times children are abandoned by their parents or sold to factory owners. The last two decades have seen tremendous growth of export based industries and mass production factories utilizing low technologies. They try to maintain competitive positions through low wages and low labor standards. The child laborers exactly suit their requirements. They use all means to lure the parents into giving their children on pretext of providing education and good life. In India majority of children work in industries, such as cracker making, diamond polishing, glass, brass-ware, carpet weaving, bangle making, lock making and mica cutting to name a few. 15% of the 100,000 children work in the carpet industry of Uttar Pradesh. 70-80% of the 8,000 to 50,000 children work in the glass industry in Ferozabad. In the unorganized sector child labor is paid by piece-by-piece rates that result in even longer hours for very low pay. Child labor is a global problem. If child labour is to be eradicated, the governments and agencies and those responsible for enforcement need to start doing their jobs. The most important thing is to increase awareness and keep discussing ways and means to check this problem.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Khammam turns source district for trafficking in women
THE HINDU
Date:25/02/2008
Andhra Pradesh - Khammam
D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao
A strong network operating from Vijayawada is said to be behind the trade
KHAMMAM: A nine-year-old girl, who went missing from a tribal village in Yellandu area surfaced at Chilakaluripet in some time ago after spending more than two long years in captivity of a gang, thanks to the initiative of a good Samaritan.
He was touched by the sordid ordeal she had gone through and the vile indignities she was subjected to by the people running a brothel at Narsaraopet. She was purchased by them for a sum of Rs 20,000 and used for attracting young clients. She was sold yet again for Rs 29,000 to another party indulged in flesh trade.
Initiative
A youth who visited her was moved by her plight and alerted the police and tribal organizations in a bid to set her free from the traffickers. The initiative taken by the NGO helped in restoring the girl to her parents in March last. But she found it difficult to stay in her village for long on account of the little acceptability in the tribal community.
The entire family, disturbed by the steady stream of visitors, deserted the village. The experience of the girl from Yellandu cannot be viewed as an isolated case. More than 6,000 tribal girls from the district were languishing in the brothels in different cities for years and nearly 30 per cent of them are under 15, according to a study conducted by an NGO- Gram Vikas.
More of such cases were reported in the Yallandu, Manuguru and Bhadrachalam. The girls from these areas were found in good number, whenever the red light area was raided in Maharashtra. Khammam is now identified as a source district for trafficking.
A network operating from Vijayawada is said to be behind the trade.
The girls from the region had a sizeable presence in the red light areas in Mumbai, Pune, Kaptur, Nagpur and other major cities.
Some girls were released from gangs in Wani in Maharashtra and 16 of them were accommodated in a shelter house in Sathupali, said Satyanarayana Reddy from Gram Vikas.
Out of 8,000 persons reported missing in the State in 2006, some 400 were children particularly girls and about 5.6 lakh women from the State were cursing their fate in 150 red light areas, according to N. Rammohan of the “Help” - another NGO working on the issue of trafficking. He wanted a wholehearted approach for rehabilitation of such girls
Date:25/02/2008
Andhra Pradesh - Khammam
D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao
A strong network operating from Vijayawada is said to be behind the trade
KHAMMAM: A nine-year-old girl, who went missing from a tribal village in Yellandu area surfaced at Chilakaluripet in some time ago after spending more than two long years in captivity of a gang, thanks to the initiative of a good Samaritan.
He was touched by the sordid ordeal she had gone through and the vile indignities she was subjected to by the people running a brothel at Narsaraopet. She was purchased by them for a sum of Rs 20,000 and used for attracting young clients. She was sold yet again for Rs 29,000 to another party indulged in flesh trade.
Initiative
A youth who visited her was moved by her plight and alerted the police and tribal organizations in a bid to set her free from the traffickers. The initiative taken by the NGO helped in restoring the girl to her parents in March last. But she found it difficult to stay in her village for long on account of the little acceptability in the tribal community.
The entire family, disturbed by the steady stream of visitors, deserted the village. The experience of the girl from Yellandu cannot be viewed as an isolated case. More than 6,000 tribal girls from the district were languishing in the brothels in different cities for years and nearly 30 per cent of them are under 15, according to a study conducted by an NGO- Gram Vikas.
More of such cases were reported in the Yallandu, Manuguru and Bhadrachalam. The girls from these areas were found in good number, whenever the red light area was raided in Maharashtra. Khammam is now identified as a source district for trafficking.
A network operating from Vijayawada is said to be behind the trade.
The girls from the region had a sizeable presence in the red light areas in Mumbai, Pune, Kaptur, Nagpur and other major cities.
Some girls were released from gangs in Wani in Maharashtra and 16 of them were accommodated in a shelter house in Sathupali, said Satyanarayana Reddy from Gram Vikas.
Out of 8,000 persons reported missing in the State in 2006, some 400 were children particularly girls and about 5.6 lakh women from the State were cursing their fate in 150 red light areas, according to N. Rammohan of the “Help” - another NGO working on the issue of trafficking. He wanted a wholehearted approach for rehabilitation of such girls
Sunday, August 03, 2008
India becoming transit point for human traffickers: Minister
India becoming transit point for human traffickers: Minister
Chennai, Aug 02: India is fast becoming a transit point as well as a destination for human traffickers from Nepal, Bangladesh and other Commonwealth nations, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice K Venkatapathy said on Saturday.
"A large number of children and women are reported missing every year in India. About 1,34,000 women are reported missing in India between 1996 and 2001. Trafficking has acquired grave dimensions with penetration of organised crime syndicates," the minister said.
He was speaking at a seminar on 'Consultation on methods to combat trafficking of children and women for commercial sexual exploitation in Tamil Nadu' here.
Venkatapathy said factors like underdevelopment, privatisation, liberalisation and commercialisation of agriculture had paved way for increase in trafficking of children and women in India.
Madras High Court Chief Justice A K Ganguly said while 30 per cent children enter prostitution after being raped, two per cent enter due to natural disasters which increase vulnerability of women and girls.
"Human trafficking has become major money making business next to arms and drug trafficking. Illiteracy coupled with poverty is the main reason, making women and children fall prey to trafficking," he said.
Tamil Nadu DGP K P Jain said the state, which had recently figured in high supply zone for traffickers, had constituted a special cell to check trafficking.
"We have appointed nodal officers in all the districts to monitor the trafficking. Only through sensitising the society we can bring an end to this menace," he added.
Chennai, Aug 02: India is fast becoming a transit point as well as a destination for human traffickers from Nepal, Bangladesh and other Commonwealth nations, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice K Venkatapathy said on Saturday.
"A large number of children and women are reported missing every year in India. About 1,34,000 women are reported missing in India between 1996 and 2001. Trafficking has acquired grave dimensions with penetration of organised crime syndicates," the minister said.
He was speaking at a seminar on 'Consultation on methods to combat trafficking of children and women for commercial sexual exploitation in Tamil Nadu' here.
Venkatapathy said factors like underdevelopment, privatisation, liberalisation and commercialisation of agriculture had paved way for increase in trafficking of children and women in India.
Madras High Court Chief Justice A K Ganguly said while 30 per cent children enter prostitution after being raped, two per cent enter due to natural disasters which increase vulnerability of women and girls.
"Human trafficking has become major money making business next to arms and drug trafficking. Illiteracy coupled with poverty is the main reason, making women and children fall prey to trafficking," he said.
Tamil Nadu DGP K P Jain said the state, which had recently figured in high supply zone for traffickers, had constituted a special cell to check trafficking.
"We have appointed nodal officers in all the districts to monitor the trafficking. Only through sensitising the society we can bring an end to this menace," he added.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Accused in human trafficking case acquitted
Aug 2008, 0117 hrs IST,TNN
AHMEDABAD: A city sessions court on Thursday acquitted Seema Khan along with the staff members of Hotel Classic Gold, Navrangpura in connection with a case of human trafficking. The additional sessions Judge IR Dave acquitted 16 persons holding that the prosecution failed to prove its case. While delivering a verdict in this April 2005 case, the judge also observed that the government needs to appoint a special investigating officer under Section 13 of the Immoral Traffic (prevention) Act to probe such cases. Also that the investigating officer didn’t remain present at relevant time during the trial, besides the police officer, who is now suspended in the fake encounter case, DySP NK Amin could not show the exact location of the room in the hotel, said her lawyer JM Vasu. Khan was arrested this year from Madhya Pradesh for violating the condition of bail granted to her by the sessions court.
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