GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies constituted for the Protection and Betterment of the Vulnerable Sections
Source: TH
Context: Several reports since the 2020 lockdown have noted that the pandemic created a second crisis of child trafficking, with children being pushed into “despair, disease and death.”
Child trafficking:
- Child labour is a form of modern slavery that includes any work that deprives children of their childhood, potential and dignity, and physical or mental development. (ILO)
- The practice includes trafficking, sexual exploitation, debt bondage, and exploitation in armed conflicts.
- Child trafficking manifests in the form of domestic labour, forced child labour across industries, and illegal activities such as begging, organ trade and commercial sex purposes.
- Estimates show that children account for one in every three detected victims of trafficking worldwide.
Prevalence in India:
- According to the NCRB, 8 children were trafficked every day in India in 2021 for labour, begging and sexual exploitation.
- 95% of the reported cases in 2019 were of internal trafficking.
- The sale of children happens across borders too, with key routes being India to Gulf States (for ‘khadama’ to work as housemaids) and South East Asian countries.
Most vulnerable: Minor girls in the age bracket 15-18 years, as they are in greater demand for the sex trade industry and domestic labour.
Main reasons for child trafficking in India:
- Poverty, hunger, and lack of work.
- This year’s World Day Against Child Labour (June 12) emphasised social injustices (caste and community-based discrimination and unfair treatment) as the root causes of child labour and trafficking.
- Externalities such as the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflict, and climate change.
- Vulnerable to online sexual predators.
- More than 40% of children trafficked were recruited by a family member or relative.
Laws governing anti-trafficking crimes:
| Laws | Salient Provisions/ Issues |
| The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 | It is targeted at stopping immoral trafficking and sex work.
It is criticised for criminalising sex workers without providing sufficient legal recourse or scope for rehabilitation, falsely presuming that all trafficking is done for sex work only. |
| The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 | It prohibits and penalises the act of child marriage.
However, there is a rise in child marriage and sexual abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 | In 2016, an amendment completely banned the employment of children below 14 years; adolescents aged 14-18 years are not allowed to work in hazardous working conditions. |
| The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 | It prohibits systems of labour where people, including children, work under conditions of servitude to pay off debt, and also provides a framework for rehabilitating released labourers.
22 States and UTs did not report identifying any bonded labour victims or filing a case under the law. |
| The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 | It governs laws relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with the law. |
| Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 | It seeks to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children. |
| The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill | The MWCD published the Draft of the Bill in 2021, detailing measures to prevent, protect and rehabilitate victims.
There are specified penalties for offences divided into “trafficking” and “aggravated trafficking”. It widened the scope of “victims” to include transgender persons. |
The penalty for trafficking minors:
- For trafficking one minor imprisonment from 10 years to life, along with a fine.
- For trafficking more than one minor, the penalty is life in prison and a fine.
Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs):
- India set up AHTUs in 2007, which are tasked with addressing the existing gaps in the law enforcement response, ensuring a victim-centric approach, developing databases on traffickers, etc.
- As of 2022, 768 AHTUs are functional in the country; 20 out of 36 States and UTs have met the target of setting units across all districts.
Concerns:
- Gross underestimate of the true extent: Child trafficking does not account for missing children – 1 child goes missing every 8 minutes in India.
- This is mainly due to a lack of awareness about the modalities of trafficking, reluctance to seek police help and socio-economic deprivation.
- Low conviction: Less than 10% of the reported cases end up in convictions.
- Lack of coordination among AHTUs and disjointed operations by State and Central Governments.
- Absence of a witness protection framework (the victim is also the witness) and challenges in accessing compensation.
- The Trafficking in Persons Bill violates the Juvenile Justice Act, as it places the burden of proof on the offender (the child) rather than the prosecuting agency.
- The 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report:
- India does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
- India doesn’t have a composite anti-trafficking law that addresses prevention, protection, rehabilitation and compensation of survivors.
Way ahead:
- Community-based rehabilitation models allow the greater agency to the individual.
- Revisit existing laws to plug legal holes.
- Cultivate awareness about different trafficking crimes, and form targeted child protection schemes.
Conclusion: The antidote to poverty-driven child labour is decent work for adults, so they can support their families and send their children to school, not to work. (ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo)
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