Child Trafficking in India | Stats and What we can do
Human trafficking is one of the
profitable industry across the globe. Child Trafficking is a common issue in both the
developed and developing nations. These children if female will be inevitably
pushed in to prostitution or illegal marriage. Children of both sex is used as
cheap and unpaid labour performing hazardous tasks, illegally adopted or organ
harvesting. Children trafficked are subjected to violence , abuse , neglect and
exploitation which makes them mentally sick and traumatised. Latest figure
estimate that around 1.2 children are trafficked worldwide. As per government
data, almost 20,000 women and children were victims of human trafficking in India
in 2016, a rise of nearly 25 per cent compared to 2015.
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.
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. 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.
It is the children of the poor
and marginalized communities who are often trafficked to be forced into labour.
Parents of these children are either betrayed or lured due to their poor
socio-economic conditions thus forcing them to ‘send’ or ‘sell’ their children
for better livelihood options. The lack of awareness is a situation that
traffickers exploit especially when it comes to uneducated poor living in slums
and other backward regions in the country. Traffickers promise daily wages to
parents of young children and transport them to big cities where they are often
treated as commodities. Families in dire financial conditions are often
approached by traffickers with an offer to buy their children and with no other
escape from their pitiful conditions, parents comply.
Effective policymaking is
critical to reform this problem. NGOs like Save the Children constantly research,
document, and showcase findings of the need for reforms and engage with various
government agencies, urging them to have better legislation in place for
tackling child trafficking. Many cases have been filed under the recent
Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act (2012) and Immoral Traffic
(Prevention) Act, which have successfully translated in increased convictions,
demonstrating how legislating can curb child trafficking. Communities should be
made more aware and educated about the consequences.
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