The long road to winning the battle against trafficking

Context: July 30 is United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons. While an anti-trafficking policy exists in India, but where the system is found lacking is in the implementation of the laws.

India’s human trafficking crisis

• Increased vulnerability amidst pandemic: 
  • Pull factors: Rise in demand for cheap labour to recoup losses to factories from novel coronavirus pandemic.
  • Push factors: Loss of income and economic crisis reduced families’ capacity to care for children in the long-term. Further, loss of parental care due to death, illness or separation, thereby placing children at heightened risk for violence, neglect or exploitation.
  • These factors are compounded by an erosion of some of the checks against child labour and child marriage provided by law, as well as the scrutiny of schools and society.
  • Rampant child marriages: Over 10,000 cases were tracked between April and August 2020.
  • Rise in cyber-trafficking: 
  • A recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the effects of the pandemic cites an increasing amount of time spent online to entrap victims, including by advertising false jobs on social media.
  • There is an increased demand for child sexual exploitation material online due to lockdowns.
• Lack of government capabilities: 
  • India is classified by the U.S. Department of State as a Tier-2 country in its report on global human trafficking. 
  • This means that Government does not fully meet the minimum standards under U.S. and international law for eliminating trafficking but is making significant efforts to comply.

• Lack of mechanism to report incidents: Absence of any identifiable authority to approach other than police (often seen as threats themselves) make it nearly impossible for trafficked persons to report.
• Scant data, other gaps: Government admitted in Parliament as of March 2021 that it does not maintain any national-level data specific to cyber trafficking cases.
• Implementation issues:  
  • State of the Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs): In 2010, it was envisioned that 330 AHTUs would be set up. RTI responses in August 2020 showed that about 225 AHTUs had been set up, but only on paper.
  • Extremely low convictions: There were 140 acquittals and only 38 convictions in 2019, according to government data.
  • Issues associated with draft anti-trafficking Bill: 
  • Criticisms, particularly with respect to bringing in National Investigation Agency and increasing punishment for offences, including the death penalty as an option in some cases.
  • It is not proven that more stringent laws, particularly death penalty, have any greater deterrent effect.
  • Legislating without the political will to implement and monitor effectiveness is futile.

Way forward

• Global practices such as in Nigeria, Africa, should be encouraged in India, in consonance with a larger framework to protect women and children by incentivising education and creating safe employment opportunities.
• Special attention must also be paid to the challenges prosecutors and judges face in trafficking cases: Proper case management must be introduced to give meaning to the “fast track” courts.
• Ensure monetary compensation and consistent access to psychological counselling: Parts of the draft Bill recognise the importance of rehabilitation, but implementation is key.