Human Trafficking

The slanted ratio of men to women is largely the result of sex-selection. Families where a son is born are more likely to stop having children than families where a girl is born. Indian studies reveal that female foeticide is today most frequent among the rich and highly qualified people. Female foeticide gives rise to girls being trafficked from impoverished neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal or from disadvantaged or tribal areas in India and sold into marriage for money. With 50 million girls already missing at present, the result of this dangerous practice is inexorable. A society without women is doomed to eventual extinction.People are being bought, sold, and smuggled to work as prostitutes and even beaten, starved to take jobs as migrant, domestic, or factory workers with little or no pay. Over the decade, human trafficking has been identified as a heinous crime which exploits the most vulnerable in society.

• Domestic Sex Trafficking of Adults,where persons are compelled to engage in commercial sexual acts through means of force, fraud, and coercion.
• Sex Trafficking of International Adults and Children, Where foreign nationals, both adult and juveniles, are compelled to engage in commercial sexual acts.
• Forced Labor,where people are compelled to work in some service or industry through force or coercion.
• Domestic Servitude,when people are compelled to engage in domestic work for families or households, through means of force or coercion.

Human trafficking involves recruitment and transporting people into a situation of exploitation and threatening them to work against their will. Trafficking is a process of subjugating people, coercing them into a situation with no way out, and exploiting them. Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing trans-national criminal organizations. People are trafficked and exploited for prostitution, forced labour, begging, forced marriage, domestic servitude, and forced organ removal. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked from all over the world. It can happen anywhere with any community irrespective of age, race, gender, or nationality. Use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims into trafficking is very common. Language barriers, fear of their traffickers, and fear of law enforcement frequently keep victims away from seeking help and making human trafficking a hidden crime. Traffickers look for people who are prone to psychological or emotional vulnerability, economic hardship, and lack of a social safety. The traumas caused by the traffickers areso great that many may not identify themselves as victims.People don’t necessarily have to be transported across borders for the purpose of trafficking to take place. Even when children are trafficked, no violence or coercion is compulsory. Simply bringing a child into an exploitative condition constitutes trafficking.Trafficking for sexual exploitation is more prominent. However, most of the people are trafficked into labour exploitation. In order to escape poverty, to improve their lives and to support their families theyoften borrow money from their traffickers in advance to pay for arranging the job, travel and accommodation.When they arrive they get to know the work they applied for does not exist, and the conditions are totallydifferent and they are forced to work until their debt is paid off.People often confuse human trafficking and people smuggling. People smuggling is the movement of people across international borders illegallyfor a fee. On arrival, the smuggled person is free.Human trafficking is different. The trafficker is moving a person for exploitation. There is no need to cross an international border. Offenders of human trafficking span all racial, cultural, and gender demographics and are as diverse as survivors. Some use their privilege, wealth, and power as a means of control while others experience the same socio-economic coercion as their victims. They include individuals such as business owners, members of a gang or network, intimate partners, owners of farms or restaurants, parents or family members of victims and powerful corporate executives and government representatives.Traffickers employ a variety of strategies to control their pray, the most common is physical and emotional abuse and threats, isolation from friends and family, and economic abuse. They make fake promises aimed at addressing the needs of their target in order to impose control. As a result, victims are trapped and fear leaving for numerous reasons, including psychological trauma, shame, physical threats to themselves,emotional attachment or their family.According to the International Labour Organization, Human Trafficking is the third most lucrative crime in the world, after drugs and the arms trade.Societal response has been in the form of laws, special implementation mechanisms and the involvement of civil society organizations.Due to the vast geographical areas and complex manner of execution, anti-human trafficking bodies need to work in association to bring about a successful outcome in the prevention, detection and prosecution of the crime and the rehabilitation of victims.
India has wide range of laws enacted by the Parliament and some State legislature, apart from provisions of the Constitution which is the basic law of the country.

• Article 23 of the constitution- Protects against exploitation, prohibits traffic in humans and beggar and makes this practice punishable under law.
• Article 24 of the constitution – Protects children below the age of 14 years from working in factories, mines or other hazardous employment.
• Section 366A IPC – Inducing any minor girl under the age of eighteen years to go to any such place with intent to force or seduced illicit intercourse with another person shall be a punishable offence.
• Section 366B IPC – Importing any girl under twenty-one years of age with the intent to force her or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person is a punishable offence.
• Section 374 IPC – Punishes any person who for unlawfully compels any person to labour against his will.

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 is the primary legislation for the protection of sexual exploitation for women and girls. The word “Trafficking” is defined under the Goa Children’s Act, 2003, which is a state law. Thus, while the ITPA is the main legislation related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, it does not define trafficking.
Offences specified are:

• Keeping or allowing premises to be used as a brothel.
• Living on the earnings of prostitution.
• Attempting, procuring or taking person for the sake of prostitution.
• Detaining any person in premises for prostitution.
• Prostitution in the vicinity of public places.
• Seduction of a person in custody.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibits employment of children below specific age and in certain specified occupations. It also imposes punishment for the employment of minor children.
Information Technology Act, 2000penalises transmission of any such material in electronic form which is inappropriate and lascivious. This act also addresses the problem of pornography.Section 67A of this act punishes publication or transmission of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form.Section 68B punishes publication or transmission of material depicting children in sexual explicit act in electronic form.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000is relevant for children who are vulnerable and are therefore likely tobe the victim of trafficking. It protects juveniles in need of care and protection.
Media has a very important role due to major viewership.

• Transmitting the appropriate message to the victim to ensure that they have a backup and are not alone.
• A program to make citizens aware of places and institutions to seek help in case if they are victimized.
• Educate and spread awareness regarding human trafficking that it is illegal and inappropriate and that it has negative consequences.