End the trauma of trafficking!
In this terrible underworld trade called ‘Trafficking’, girls from poor, uneducated and broken families are lured into prostitution, slavery or pornography on the pretext of job opportunities and love. Criminals indulge in this trade to quench their thirst for money. These women in prostitution and slavery are exploited both physically and sexually. They beat them brutally and enslave them. There is a wide network of pimps, who are globally interconnected and they traffic women across the world. It is believed that women, who are trapped in this web, are seldom traceable and impossible to be rescued. In April 2014, 11 girls from Nepal were rescued in Uttar Pradesh and the human-trafficking network was exposed. Fortunately they were sent back to their motherland instead of being mercilessly traded for 5000 Rupees each.
Despite the government’s effort to curb trafficking these activities persist. In India there are certain laws that condemn trafficking—Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, Bonded Labor Abolition Act, Child Labor Act etc. Under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, pimps have to undergo imprisonment, if convicted. IPC section 366 and 372 deals with kidnapping and selling minors for prostitution. It imposes penalties and an imprisonment for about 10 years. Laws must be even more stringent that no person shall dare to engage in such activities. The victims of trafficking undergo severe trauma, apart from the assaults from their so-called ‘masters’. The rescued victims struggle to come out of those inhuman experiences. Although there are rehabilitation centers for the women rescued from brothel houses, they are not up to the standards.
Despite the awareness created and the actions taken, trafficking is a billion dollar business till date, in India. The state of Maharashtra developed a plan to combat trafficking but it was not allocated with adequate funds to accomplish its objectives. Indian cops constantly try to bust trafficking networks. Though this is progressive there is a long way to go to curb this menace completely. In the coming years let us hope to make this world a ‘safe-zone’ for women.
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About the Author: The article has been contributed by our intern, Lavanya Narayanan.
