II-INTERNAL ASSESMENT

NAME - SANKET MUDAKANNAVAR

COURSE - BA.LL.B. (H)
SUBJECT - Economics
PRN - 22010125468
YEAR - SECOND YEAR
SEMESTER - THIRD
DIVISION - E
TOPIC - Drafting a Social justice Policy
TOPIC CHOOSEN - Child trafficing and prostitution in the
Indian Sub - Continent .
BATCH - 2022-20227
 1. Introduction to the Topic-

 In 1994, the UN General Assembly defined trafficking as the "illicit and

clandestine movement of persons across national and international borders,
largely from developing countries and some countries with economies in
transition with the end goal of forcing women and girl children into sexually
or economically oppressive and exploitative situations for the profit of
recruiters, traffickers, crime syndicates, as well as other illegal activities
related to trafficking, such as forced domestic labour, false marriages,
clandestine employment and false adoption."1

 BASIC FACTS-
 Almost 30 million Asian women and children have been trafficked for sexual
exploitation in the previous 30 years.
 Between 2013 and 2014, at least 67,000 children in India went missing, of
whom 45% were minors trafficked into prostitution. According to the National
Crime Records Bureau, a girl is abducted every eight minutes in India2.
 Child trafficking includes sexual exploitation, adoption, underage labour,
participation in armed conflicts, marriage, camel racing, and organ sale.

1
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/child-sex-trafficking
2
https://lawwire.in/the-unguarded-and-powerless-child-prostitution-in-india/
2. BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM -

 Girl child, tribal, ethnic minority, stateless, and refugee kids become the target
audience as they wish to escape poverty. Some children (or their parents) are
persuaded by promises of education, while others are kidnapped from their
villages/towns and sold like commodities. They are packed onto boats and
trucks without oxygen, drink, or food. Smugglers may abandon or kill children
if discovered. Families lose contact with trafficked children. They're taken to a
new place, frequently abroad, where they don't know anyone or the language.
 Sexual abuse is one of several risks. They can't get aid because they're
children and illegal immigrants with fake or no documents. Girls are forced to
work as maids and are routinely sexually abused by troops, while boys are
trafficked to fight. The caste system and bonded labour in India make tribal
and low-caste youngsters more vulnerable to trafficking. Personal and familial
networks and sophisticated international criminal networks facilitate child
trafficking. Bad economic conditions, poverty, unemployment, an increase in
international organised crime, the low status of girls, lack of education,
inadequate or non-existent legislation, and poor law enforcement all contribute
to child trafficking. The main issue is – how does one ensure justice for all
these people.

2. DENIAL OF JUSTICE–
 There is no doubt that these kids are denied the access to justice. The
government is trying numerous strategies to execute the 1986 Child Labour
Act to end child labour. All citizens, including children, have basic rights in
our nation. Under Article 21-A of the Indian Constitution, the Right to
Education Act, 2009 mandates compulsory schooling for children aged 6 to
14. All of this is inclusive of the right against inhuman treatment, right to live
with dignity, right to health and medical assistance and right to shelter. Further
the right against exploitation is specifically mentioned under Article 23 and 24
, with the latter’s main focus being on children.

Surpressed and Silenced

Trafficking routes
 3. RELATED LAWS AND RIGHTS-

 Section 366 of the IPC mentions the punishment for the Procuration of
minor girl and importing girls below the age of 21 into India from the state
of J&K or abroad for sex work. Punishment includes 10 years in prison along
with a fine. In Ramesh v. State of Maharashtra [4] case it was held by the
Supreme Court that where a woman, below the age of 18 years, follows the
profession of a prostitute, and in following that profession she is encouraged
and assisted by someone, an offense under this section is not committed by
such person, girl accustomed to indulge in promiscuous intercourse for money
in carrying on her profession acts with intent or knowledge that she will be
forced or seduced to illicit intercourse3.

 Section 370 (A) of IPC to 373 further shed light on this topic. From the
exploitation of minors, to selling them and dealing with the keepers of brothels
which is specifically mentioned in the case of Bombay High
Court in Emperor v. Bhagchand Jasraj Marwadi4 these sections brought
new platform for crime related to child prostitution.

 The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act which was amended twice in 1978 &
’86 - addresses the immorality of prostitution and penalises those who own or
operate brothels. Any individual who detains a kid for prostitution faces a
minimum sentence of seven years in prison, a maximum sentence of life in
prison, and a maximum fine of one lack. Every person who engaged in sexual
harassment of a kid in a public setting faces a minimum seven-year sentence
as well as a possible life sentence in jail.

 Kishori Shakti Yojana: This holistic programme promotes health, hygiene,

and nutrition awareness among 11-18-year-old girls and connects them to life
skills, school, and social awareness.

 Community-Based Child Trafficking Prevention:

 The Indian government's 2008 Integrated Plan of Action to Prevent and Fight
Human Trafficking focused on children and women. CACCP and State
Advisory Committees monitor the Integrated Plan of Action to Prevent and
3
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1623865/
4
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1004481/
 Fight Human Trafficking with a special focus on children . The State
Committees include selected local and international NGOs, UN agencies,
women's commissions, top police authorities, and social welfare directors.
 In 2008, the Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development
established a Think Tank on Public Private Partnership to Prevent and Fight
Trafficking of Women and Children to incorporate the corporate sector in the
multi-stakeholder approach to combating trafficking.
4. ANSWERING THE 3 W’S-
 The Ministry of Women and Child Development in India operates numerous
shelters and houses for victims of trafficking around the country.
 It has formulated UJJWALA- a “Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of
Trafficking & for Rescue, Rehabilitation and Re-Integration of Victims of
Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation”.
 Objective of this scheme
 Combatting commercial sexual exploitation of women and children by social
mobilisation and local community involvement, awareness generation
programmes, public discourse through training, workshops/seminars and other
innovative activities.
 To rescue victims from exploitation and secure them.
 To offer victims with housing, food, clothing, medical care, counselling, legal
assistance, and vocational training and reintegrating them into family and
community.
 The IAHTU (Integrated Anti Human Trafficking Unit) is another body that
works for this cause. It is a special unit set up within the existing police
machinery to deal with crimes of human trafficking in a holistic manner. By
ensuring a victim centric and gender sensitive approach along with applying a
organized crime perspective , it deals with the cases in the best way.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOLUTIONS –

 The three core solutions in order to tackle this problem include-
 Fostering the spread of education
Low literacy due to poor enrolment and high dropout rates – resulting in
people having low self-esteem and lack of opportunities. Uneducated parents
are easily convinced by conmen to give their kids a better life in the city and
thus fall prey to their tactics.
 Spread awareness among parents and communities
Lack of awareness can create situations that traffickers can exploit. A lot of
India’s poor children find themselves trapped in substance abuse which can
further lead to them getting trafficked. Community events, using sports, arts
and theatre can be taken advantage of to raise concerns in the civil society .
Grassroot activism helps to fight poverty and exploitation, the basis of
trafficking. NGOs like Save the Children are contributing toward
empowerment by creating income resources and enabling them to get access
to information services.
 Proper implementation of the laws that are in place along with
encouraging businesses to not use child labour can also go a long way in
preventing child trafficking.

 In my opinion , the following suggestions can be taken into consideration –

first and foremost this illegal transaction will continue until systemic
corrections are made. It’s important for all authorities to create a plan. Overall,
governments and international organisations struggle to fight trafficking
without global data. The information collection mechanism must be improved
and countries should be encouraged to report crimes. Particularly in India,
focus should be on enhancing state machinery. According to me, focusing
more on better implementation of the Juvenile Justice act would benefit too
since it would divert the attention to child protection units. NGO’s and
psychological counselling can also be of great help for these victims.
.