HUMAN TRAFFICKING

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Context - Anti-Human trafficking unit of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) rescues 10 minors and 4 women.

Details

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district rescued 10 minors and 4 women.
Various forms of trafficking have been recorded in India. People are trafficked for their organs, for sexual exploitation and for forced labour. There is the smuggling of migrants.
Trafficking continues to adversely influence global harmony and security, disrupting economies and compromising the well-being and security of all countries including India.
According to the 2009 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the most common reason for human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls.

Human Trafficking:

Human trafficking is defined as the forceful exploitation of a person.
It is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, Prostitution, etc.
According to the data released by National Crime Records Bureau, the highest numbers of persons were trafficked for forced labour, followed by prostitution.

Root causes of Human trafficking:

The Reasons behind increasing trafficking vary from country to country and often differ from one country to another.
Social, political, economical, cultural and other factors play a key role in Promoting Trafficking. Women and children are extremely vulnerable to trafficking.
Socio-economic conditions like poverty, caste discrimination or violence, lack of economic opportunity, Political violence, Climate change, and natural disasters influence trafficking. Displacement of populations increases their vulnerability to becoming a victim of trafficking.
Increasing penetration of broadcast and telecommunication services and social media in rural areas has increased the desire of people to migrate towards the city and, with that; they are becoming easy targets for traffickers.
In Some Poor families, Parents sell their children due to their weak financial condition, and also in the hope that their children would get a better standard of living and more opportunities in life.
Other factors like porous borders, corruption among Government officials, and weak enforcement of Anti-trafficking laws.

Major Steps by the Government

The government enacted the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, of 1986 to deal with trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Bonded Labour Regulation Act, 1986 and Child Labour Regulation Act, 1986 deal with the exploitation of bonded labour.
India is part of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crimes, and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking.
The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 was introduced in Parliament. It contains provisions for the prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation of trafficked persons.
The Union government created a National Anti-Trafficking Bureau to monitor the investigation of cases at the national level.

Way forward

Human Trafficking is an organized crime and operated across domestic and international borders, the nature of the crime needs strong cooperation and intelligence sharing between different investigating agencies.
Steps must be taken for the socio-economic development of potential victims to reduce their vulnerability.
Focus on improving children’s access to educational and vocational training, especially among girls and minority groups.
Promoting job opportunities for women by supporting Self Help Groups (SHGs) and organizing training courses to empower them.
Prohibiting the services provided through trafficked persons, like child labour, prostitution, etc.
Need to ensure a minimum standard of living for all people, Strict Border control through proper fencing and regular patrolling, Prevent corruption in bureaucracy, etc, to curb the menace of trafficking.
Steps should be taken to set up Protection Homes across the country, to provide shelter, food, counselling, and medical services to victims.
Our development goals must include both economic development and social inclusion.