Human Rights Violations
"Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders annually, and between 14,500 and 17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the United States each year. More than half of these victims worldwide are children!" - Child Victims of Human Trafficking, Department of Health and Human Services, USA and the U.S. Department of State
"CHILD Protection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children's Issues » Child Trafficking." www.childlineindia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>.
Human trafficking is the third largest profitable industry in the world. Child trafficking unlike many other issues is found in both developed and developing nations. Trafficked children are used for prostitution, forced into marriage, illegally adopted, used as cheap or unpaid labour, used for sport and organ harvesting. Some children are recruited into armed groups. Trafficking exposes children to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. According to UNICEF a child victim of trafficking is "any person under 18 who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received for the purpose of exploitation, either within or outside a country". Trafficking is one of the hardest crimes to track and investigate hence data is hard to obtain. The latest figures estimate that 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year. Child prostitution has the highest supply of trafficked children.
"CHILD Protection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children's Issues » Child Trafficking." www.childlineindia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>.
India is a source, destination, and transit country for trafficking for many purposes such as commercial sexual exploitation. Majority of the trafficking is within the country but there are also a large number trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. Children are trafficked to Middle Eastern countries for sport such as camel racing. There are no national or regional estimates for the number of children trafficked every year. But 40% of prostitutes are children, and there is a growing demand for young girls in the industry.
"CHILD Protection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children's Issues » Child Trafficking." www.childlineindia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>.
NGOs estimate that 12,000 - 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from neighbouring states for the sex trade. Thousands of girls are trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal. 200,000 Nepalese girls under 16 years are in prostitution in India. An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Indian children are smuggled out of the country every year to Saudi Arabia for begging during the Hajj. Child Trafficking Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have the largest number of people trafficked. Intra state/inter district trafficking is high in Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Delhi and Goa are the major receiver states. Trafficking from north eastern states is high but often over looked. In 2008, 529 girls were trafficked from Assam alone
"CHILD Protection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children's Issues » Child Trafficking." www.childlineindia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>.
There is a rising demand for live-in maids in urban areas. This has resulted in trafficking of girls from villages in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to live under extremely poor conditions first in "placement agencies" and later in the employers homes. Placement agents keep the girls in small unhygienic rooms packed together. They are often made to do the placement agent's household work and subjected to sexual abuse.
"CHILD Protection & Child Rights » Vulnerable Children » Children's Issues » Child Trafficking." www.childlineindia.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>.
"Socio-economic backwardness is a key factor in child trafficking," Justice J B Koshy, former chief justice of the Patna High Court and chairperson of the Kerala Human Rights Commission, told IPS, adding that a political-mafia nexus also fueled the practice in remote parts of the country. "Many families are unable to afford the basic necessities of life, which forces parents to sell their children," Koshy stated. "Some children are abandoned by families who can't take care of them. Some run away to escape abuse or unhappy homes. The gangsters and middlemen approach these vulnerable children. In some cases, good-looking girls are taken away by force."
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
An action research study conducted in 2005 by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) found that a majority of trafficking victims belonged to socially deprived sections of society. It is estimated that half of the children trafficked within India are between the ages of 11 and 14. Some 32.3 percent of trafficked girls suffer from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other gynaecological problems, according to a 2006 report by ECPAT International. This is likely due to the fact that most girls are trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation.
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
Available records show a total of 3,554 crimes related to human trafficking in 2012, compared to 3,517 the previous year. Some 2,848 and 3,400 cases were reported in 2009 and 2010 respectively, as well as 3,029 cases in 2008.
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
Experts tell IPS that children are also routinely trafficked to and from states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), child trafficking is rampant in underdeveloped villages, where "victims are lured or abducted from their homes and subsequently forced to work against their wish through various means in various establishments, indulge in prostitution or subjected to various types of indignitiesand even killed or incapacitated for the purposes of begging, and trade in human organs."
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
Human rights watchdogs say there are many contributing factors to child trafficking in India, including economic deprivation. Indeed, the 2013 Global Hunger Index ranked India 63rd out of 78 countries, adding that 21.3 percent of the population went hungry in 2013. According to the World Bank, 68.3 percent of Indians live on less than two dollars a day.
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
In 2012, former State Home Affairs Minister Jitendra Singh told the upper house of parliament that almost 60,000 children were reported as "missing" in 2011. "Of those," he added, "more than 22,000 are yet to be located."
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
In a country where well over half the population lives on less than two dollars a day, it takes a lot to shock people. The sight of desperate families traveling in search of money and food, whole communities defecating in the open, old women performing back-breaking labour, all this is simply part of life in India, home to 1.2 billion people. But amidst this rampant destitution, some things still raise red flags, or summon collective cries of fury. Child trafficking is one such issue, and it is earning front-page headlines in states where thousands of children are believed to be victims of the illicit trade. The arrest on Jun. 5 of Shakeel Ahamed, a 40-year-old migrant labourer, by police in the southern state of Kerala, created a national outcry, and reawakened fears of a complex and deep-rooted child trafficking network around the country. Ahamed's operation alone was thought to involve over 580 children being illegally moved into Muslim orphanages throughout the state.
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
It is not clear how many of these "missing" children are victims of traffickers; a dearth of national data means that experts and advocates are often left guessing at the root causes of the problem. NGOs and government agencies often cite contradictory figures, but both are agreed that a child goes missing roughly every eight minutes in the country.
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
Some parents have been found to "sell their children for amounts that are shockingly worthless," she told IPS, in some cases for as little as 2,000 rupees (about 33 dollars), adding, "law and order agencies cannot often intervene in the private matters of a family." Rajnath Singh, home minister of India, told a group of New Delhi-based activists headed by Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, that a central agency would conduct a probe into the mass trafficking of children from villages in the Gumla district of the eastern state of Jharkhand over the past several years.
"Child Trafficking Rampant in Underdeveloped Indian Villages." Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/ 09/child-trafficking-rampant-in-underdeveloped-indian-villages/>.
How is a sponsorship an effective tool against trafficking? "When we're working with a child in sponsorship, we're establishing a relationship with that child and with the family. Part of that relationship is to begin to give these young people the message of the Gospel." These children have a different understanding of their worth because they have hope and the knowledge that they are loved.
"Child trafficking a $343 billion trade in India PUBLISHED ON 3 NOVEMBER, 2014 BY RUTH KRAMER." Mission Network NEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ child-trafficking-343-billion-dollar-trade-india/>.
India (MNN) — The National Crime Records Bureau says a girl gets trafficked once every eight minutes in India. The money generated through the sex trade stands at a whopping $343 billion a year. Is there social justice? Not really. It's a lucrative business in a country where nearly six to nine million women and girls are sold for illicit purposes. It's all about supply and demand.
"Child trafficking a $343 billion trade in India PUBLISHED ON 3 NOVEMBER, 2014 BY RUTH KRAMER." Mission Network NEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ child-trafficking-343-billion-dollar-trade-india/>.
International Needs has been active on that front already. The ministry's president Rody Rodeheaver explains, "According to the information that we've been given from various sources, the West Bengal district accounts for about 78% of the trafficking that goes on in India regarding children."
"Child trafficking a $343 billion trade in India PUBLISHED ON 3 NOVEMBER, 2014 BY RUTH KRAMER." Mission Network NEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ child-trafficking-343-billion-dollar-trade-india/>.
Prasanna and Arpana Khaling are the directors of International Needs in Siliguri, India. In 2000, the Khalings opened the Sano Diyo home for girls that were at-risk or abandoned. Now at nearly 40 girls, they've seen a need for prevention. "What God has laid on their heart at this point in time is to reach out beyond just the walls of Sano Diyo and to begin to reach into the villages to provide child sponsorships." Surrounding villages are filled with poverty. Children often don't have any food, and they are not able to attend school because their parents simply cannot afford it. International Needs can help. Rodeheaver says, "With those child sponsorships comes an education, but also our staff are providing preventive information and training to help these young girls avoid the child trafficking opportunities."
"Child trafficking a $343 billion trade in India PUBLISHED ON 3 NOVEMBER, 2014 BY RUTH KRAMER." Mission Network NEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ child-trafficking-343-billion-dollar-trade-india/>.
The numbers come with baggage. "West Bengal district is very poor, very rural, and there is a lot of illiteracy. When you put all of those things together, it adds up to creating some vulnerabilities that increase the activity of human trafficking." Rodeheaver goes on to say that slavers use West Bengal as a catchment area. It was a good place to set up International Needs' response to the trafficking problem. "We have been doing, for a number of years, a group home, which has reached out to young girls who have either been on the verge of being trafficked or who have been rescued from trafficking, and others who have been rescued from abuse."
"Child trafficking a $343 billion trade in India PUBLISHED ON 3 NOVEMBER, 2014 BY RUTH KRAMER." Mission Network NEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ child-trafficking-343-billion-dollar-trade-india/>.
his month, the United Nations is acknowledging the challenges presented by this human rights issue. Universal Children's Day is November 20, a day set aside to promote the welfare of the world's children. Though long in practice, the issue of human trafficking has taken center stage in India and Nepal. Through the observance, they're encouraging communities to be vigilant, noting that as children grow and change, they require different levels of protection.
"Child trafficking a $343 billion trade in India PUBLISHED ON 3 NOVEMBER, 2014 BY RUTH KRAMER." Mission Network NEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ child-trafficking-343-billion-dollar-trade-india/>.
Child at work In the area of child trafficking, UNICEF India supports the Government with a twofold strategy aimed to strengthen rescue mechanisms and reduce at the same time children's vulnerability to trafficking through a special focus on preventive action. For this purpose, a National Communication Strategy on child trafficking has been developed and is now being implemented at community-level through UNICEF state offices. Manuals have been developed for social workers, judiciary, and counselors working on issues of child trafficking in order to enable rescue and rehabilitation processes which are in the best interest of the child. As a part of its efforts to formulate strategies and legislations on issues related to child protection, UNICEF also supports the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, to undertake a national level study on children affected by violence and to conduct regional and national consultations on child marriage and to hold dialogues on Offences Against Children Bill.
"Girl children are especially vulnerable to exploitation." UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://unicef.in/Story/744/ Girl-children-are-especially-vulnerable-to-exploitation>.
UNICEF India's programmatic approach to child protection aims to build a protective environment in which children can live and develop in the full respect of their fundamental rights. Translated into action, this approach led to a multilayered programme whose scope is to understand and address the multiple vulnerabilities of children in need of special protection rather than tackle only their immediate manifestations. UNICEF Child Protection Programme in India focuses mainly on three areas of intervention: child labour, child trafficking, and children in difficult circumstances. In the area of Child Labour, projects implemented in various states of the country adopt an essentially holistic approach, combining strategies aimed not only to the withdrawal of children from work, but also to enhance cummunities' awareness, ownership and collective action for the protection and promotion of children rights
"Girl children are especially vulnerable to exploitation." UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://unicef.in/Story/744/ Girl-children-are-especially-vulnerable-to-exploitation>.
Definition: Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime. In 2000, the US Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), reauthorized in 2003 and 2005, which provides tools for the US to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad.
"Guyana Trafficking in persons." www.indexmundi.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.indexmundi.com/guyana/trafficking_in_persons.html>.
Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so, and meet one of the following criteria: 1. they display a high or significantly increasing numbof victims, 2. they have failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, or, 3. they have committed to take action over the next year.
"Guyana Trafficking in persons." www.indexmundi.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.indexmundi.com/guyana/trafficking_in_persons.html>.
How do you help victims to rebuild their lives? We have implemented a range of activities and services, including rehabilitation homes and a state-funded helpline for victims of violence. Through our internationally recognised rehabilitation programme, which involves counselling and daily psycho-social therapy, we empower and eventually reintegrate victims of trafficking into mainstream society. We were also instrumental in the creation of a law which prohibits schools from using parental identity as an admission prerequisite - a practice which used to prevent children of prostitutes from getting an education.
"Human trafficking: 'We are haunted by the horror that we have witnessed.'" www.theguardian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/mar/ 14/human-trafficking-slavery-india>.
Recent reports indicate millions are involved and affected, and India is a source, destination and transit country for child trafficking. About 7,000 sex workers cross over from Nepal into the country every year, and children from Bangladesh enter via west Bengal, lured by marriage or job offers. In India, children from poor and rural communities, especially those with emotional, physical and learning difficulties, are particularly vulnerable to inter-country trafficking. They are often kidnapped or bought from their families to be sold to brothels and into beggary or forced labour.
"Human trafficking: 'We are haunted by the horror that we have witnessed.'" www.theguardian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/mar/ 14/human-trafficking-slavery-india>.
The focus is very much on raising awareness and changing the mindset of men towards gender equality, through training, education and sensitising the entire community. The other important part of our work is our rescues, which we do in collaboration with the police and informants. We have been involved in the rescue of more than 4,200 women and children, and have brought more than 150 traffickers to justice. We also work in collaboration with other organisations and we have a growing international presence with branches in the UK, US and the Netherlands.
"Human trafficking: 'We are haunted by the horror that we have witnessed.'" www.theguardian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/mar/ 14/human-trafficking-slavery-india>.
When we first started it was common place for women and children to be openly abused in the streets - even by the police. But we challenged those practices and our work has resulted in a real change of attitudes. Today we run a number of initiatives such as the Free a Girl campaign. We also have 220 vigilance committees, created to prevent trafficking among at-risk rural communities - a strategy which has been widely adopted by the Indian government.
"Human trafficking: 'We are haunted by the horror that we have witnessed.'" www.theguardian.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/mar/ 14/human-trafficking-slavery-india>.
Child activists blame the missing children phenomenon on a number of reasons, from organised traffickers to families eager to dump their daughters, whom they see as a liability. "This act of wilful crime by parents often goes unreported or unregistered with the police," Nishit Kumar, an activist with Childline - a 24-hour helpline for children in distress - told Al Jazeera. "Even though this is an unfortunate trend, I feel the primary reason for this is the lack of attention paid by parents - either poor, or single, or broken families," said Suma M, an assistant professor of computer science from Bengaluru who is concerned about her young daughter's safety.
"India faces epidemic of missing children." www.aljazeera.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/ 2013219121326666148.html>.
India has the largest number of child labourers under the age of 14 in the world. Even though law prohibits children below the age of 14 from working, as many as 12.66 million children work as labourers. "Very often we find kidnapped children are forced to work as cheap labour in factories, shops and homes. They get exploited as sex slaves or are pushed into the child porn industry," NDTV reported Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat as saying.
"India faces epidemic of missing children." www.aljazeera.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/ 2013219121326666148.html>.
One of the main reasons for the increasing number of missing children and kidnappings is "inadequate law on missing children in the country", say experts. Police in many states are often reluctant to register first information reports for missing children, which means no formal case is even filed. Their insensitivity could be because they are over-worked and ill-equipped and tracking down missing children are not their priority. Suma, the computer science professor, says the government should "set up special police stations that register 'only child-missing complaints' and see to it that such cases are taken to a logical end".
"India faces epidemic of missing children." www.aljazeera.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/ 2013219121326666148.html>.
The police in some regions have also begun a database for missing children, but forensic experts say a DNA databank needs to be established to help identify missing children. Professor Jose A Lorente, a forensic geneticist at the University of Granada known for identifying the remains of Christopher Columbus and South American liberator Simon Bolivar, says that in a big country like India where so many children go missing, "DNA can play a unique, positive role". A DNA databank can also help "to avoid stolen, kidnapped children to be sold for illegal adoptions", Lorente told Al Jazeera.
"India faces epidemic of missing children." www.aljazeera.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/ 2013219121326666148.html>.
Amending India's laws is a good step, but a law is only as good as its enforcement. Trafficking is profitable and corruption is widespread. It is all too easy for traffickers to buy off police and other law-enforcement agents. The police must face strong disciplinary consequences for turning a blind eye, and those who commit sex crimes must know that they risk speedy prosecution and stiff sentences. Meanwhile, India's government should address historic patterns of discrimination and focus increased resources on educating disadvantaged girls. Until attitudes in India toward women change and poor children gain the skills they need to take control of their futures, sex trafficking and the damage it inflicts will continue.
"Sex Trafficking in India." The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/opinion/ sex-trafficking-in-india.html?_r=1>.
Parliament acted in response to the recommendations of a judicial committee led by the late Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma. In addition to urging tougher laws protecting women and children from abuse, the Verma Report recommended stiffer penalties for sex-related crimes as well as swifter justice for the perpetrators. India's own sex trade is booming. The New York Times recently reported on widespread human trafficking of young girls in the state of Jharkhand and on the trafficking of impoverished girls into India from neighboring Nepal. Girls are also exported from India and other South Asian countries to the Gulf and Southeast Asia.
"Sex Trafficking in India." The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/opinion/ sex-trafficking-in-india.html?_r=1>.
Persistent poverty is a major factor. Many vulnerable women and girls are lured by promises of employment, and some parents are desperate enough to sell their daughters to traffickers. Rapid urbanization and the migration of large numbers of men into India's growing cities creates a market for commercial sex, as does a gender imbalance resulting from sex-selective abortion practices that has created a generation of young men who have little hope of finding female partners. India's affluence is also a factor, luring European women into India's sex trade. The caste system compounds the problem. Victims of sex trafficking disproportionately come from disadvantaged segments of Indian society.
"Sex Trafficking in India." The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/opinion/ sex-trafficking-in-india.html?_r=1>.
A 2013 report by the Geneva-based International Labour Organization found that the number of domestic workers in India ranges from 2.5 million to 90 million. And despite being the largest workforce in the country, the workers are unrecognized and unprotected by Indian law. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has formulated a national policy, which is still awaiting cabinet approval. The policy draft, which includes recommendations by the National Advisory Council, an advisory body set up to advise the prime minister, entitles domestic workers to benefits of defined normal hours of work with weekly rest, paid annual and sick leave, maternity benefits, and, most important, entitlement of minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act of 1948.
"Silent slaves: Stories of human trafficking in India." womenundersiegeproject. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/ silent-slaves-stories-of-human-trafficking-in-india>.
But for now, there is no policy that entitles domestic workers to minimum wage or to benefits such as health insurance, pension, or leave from work. And as long as the law does not account for the domestic workers, they remain easy targets who are often exploited.
"Silent slaves: Stories of human trafficking in India." womenundersiegeproject. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/ silent-slaves-stories-of-human-trafficking-in-india>.
In the western part of India's capital city, New Delhi, more than 5,000 domestic worker placement agencies operate out of a nondescript neighborhood called Shakurpur Basti. For years, the agencies have flourished by indulging in the business of trafficking minor girls and selling them as domestic slaves in the cities. To expose this racket of trafficking and to uncover their modus operandi, we waited for days with a hidden camera, posing as a family interested in employing a girl. What we found was shocking. The agencies liaise with natives of remote villages, mostly from the eastern part of India, who, as "local agents," carry out the first step in the trafficking process. The agents identify underage girls from extremely poor families and lure them to the city with the promise of a good job. Once the girls are in the city, the agents sell them for about US$120 each to a domestic worker placement agency. The agency then re-sells her to a family as domestic labor, charging between US$600 and US$700.
"Silent slaves: Stories of human trafficking in India." womenundersiegeproject. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/ silent-slaves-stories-of-human-trafficking-in-india>.
Most of the girls get trapped in this vicious cycle forever. Unaware and often illiterate, they have little knowledge of their rights and no clue of how to return home. The traffickers and agencies make the most of their vulnerability and, for years, move them from one household to another. Many are sexually exploited.
"Silent slaves: Stories of human trafficking in India." womenundersiegeproject. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/ silent-slaves-stories-of-human-trafficking-in-india>.
The girls are made to work 14 to 16 hours per day and do all of the household chores, from cooking and cleaning to baby-sitting. They are paid almost nothing. Often their monthly wage is paid to the agencies—not to them.
"Silent slaves: Stories of human trafficking in India." womenundersiegeproject. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/ silent-slaves-stories-of-human-trafficking-in-india>.
Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
"UN webiste." www.un.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.un.org/en/ universal-declaration-human-rights/>.
"A couple of decades ago, there was no understanding of the issue of missing children or trafficking for forced labor — child labor was not even considered a crime," said Bhuwan Ribhu, an activist for the children's rights group. "Though things are slowly changing, the biggest issue is the lack of political and administrative will to enforce the law, which is often outside the reach of the common person."
India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children. Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ india-slowly-confronts-epidemic-of-missing-children/2012/09/22/ 395d51b0-fd95-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html>
In India and many other developing countries, children often work in agriculture. What is only now becoming apparent is the huge trafficking industry that has grown up outside the law... Kidnapping represents just the tip of the iceberg of a vast child-trafficking industry in India. Many young children are sold by their parents or enticed from them with the promise that they will be looked after and be able to send money home. Never registered as missing, many simply lose touch with their parents, working long hours in garment factories or making cheap jewelry.
India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children. Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ india-slowly-confronts-epidemic-of-missing-children/2012/09/22/ 395d51b0-fd95-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html>
More than 90,000 children are officially reported missing every year, according to data compiled and released late last year by leading children's rights group Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which showed the problem was far greater than previously thought. Up to 10 times that number are trafficked, according to the group — boys and girls, most from poor families, torn from their parents, sometimes in return for cash, and forced to beg or work in farms, factories and homes, or sold for sex and marriage.
India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children. Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ india-slowly-confronts-epidemic-of-missing-children/2012/09/22/ 395d51b0-fd95-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html>
The organization makes a "conservative estimate" that 5.5 million children around the world are trapped in forced labor, but in India alone the government uses estimates of 5 million to 12 million children forced to work. On a recent raid with activists and police, 36 children were rescued from a series of tiny rooms where they were making bangles for 10 hours, some for just $4 a month.
India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children. Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ india-slowly-confronts-epidemic-of-missing-children/2012/09/22/ 395d51b0-fd95-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html>
Despite legal prohibition, India continues to have 12.66 million child labourers. Cases of labour migration in post-liberalised India are also linked to child trafficking. Child marriage is also considered to be a major modus operandi of child trafficking and there has hardly been any respite from this rampant social evil even after the passing of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Clearly, any attempt to measure the extent of child trafficking in India would be baffling as the figure would be close to one million a year.
India's child trafficking epidemic. East Asia Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/03/06/ indias-child-trafficking-epidemic/>
In 2010, almost one in every three missing children was untraced. But in 2013 one in two missing kids was lost forever. India's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported 65,038 missing children in the country in 2012.
India's child trafficking epidemic. East Asia Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/03/06/ indias-child-trafficking-epidemic/>
India is now a destination, and a place of origin and transit for human trafficking. For two decades there has been a steady rise in the trafficking of children and women from the region due to increasing trans-border mobility. Yet the legal framework for tackling this borderless organised crime is very weak. Social workers also complain that law enforcement authorities often fail to deal with cases seriously.
India's child trafficking epidemic. East Asia Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/03/06/ indias-child-trafficking-epidemic/>
"For many years, the majority of Guyana's trafficking prosecutions have ultimately been dismissed. A high-profile prosecution of child trafficking covered in the media was dismissed late in the reporting period, with the magistrate citing a lack of evidence." In that case, the US said, NGOs claimed that trafficking victims willing to testify were not notified of court dates and were not allowed to present evidence. The government did not report any additional action involving prosecution of a high-profile child trafficking case investigated in 2012, and there were reports that police did not investigate all alleged incidents of human trafficking." "The government did not report that it provided any specialized anti-trafficking training for law enforcement in 2013." While Guyana made efforts to protect victims of trafficking, the continued lack of accountability for perpetrators further endangered victims.
US condemns Guyana again on human trafficking." www.kaieteurnewsonline.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2014/06/ 21/us-condemns-guyana-again-on-human-trafficking/>.
"Traffickers are attracted to Guyana's interior mining communities where there is limited government control, but Guyanese and foreign nationals are also vulnerable to trafficking in urban centers and elsewhere in the country. Children are particularly vulnerable to forced labour." Guyanese nationals are also subjected to human trafficking in other countries in the Caribbean region. "The Government of Guyana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government's Ministry of Labour, Human Services, and Social Security demonstrated concrete efforts to assist trafficking victims."
US condemns Guyana again on human trafficking." www.kaieteurnewsonline.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. <http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2014/06/ 21/us-condemns-guyana-again-on-human-trafficking/>.
