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Human Trafficking:
Dimensions, Challenges & Responses
To be fair, after P. Chidambaram took over as the Union Home Minister, this area got some attention from the Ministry which is all for enhancing the former’s efforts for training and competence building in anti-trafficking. The Ministry is also implementing a scheme for strengthening the law enforcement response in India against trafficking in persons through training and capacity building. The scheme has two components, including establishment of integrated anti-trafficking units and training of trainers. The Ministry is now focussing attention on including more women officers in the police force so that they can also be encouraged to evolve into anti-human trafficking personnel in due course of time. Undoubtedly, human trafficking is an organised crime involving the overt or covert participation of several criminals at various places at different points of time. Each of these offences is a substantive offence under the Indian Penal Code. And in every case, the trafficked person is a victim of at least one or more of the offences/violations such as wrongful confinement; physical torture/injury; criminal force; mental torture, harassment and assault; criminal intimidation; outraging the modesty of a woman; rape and gangrape; perverse sexual exploitation (unnatural offences); and sexual slavery. The writer, a senior IPS officer, is a specialist in the area of anti-human trafficking (AHT) and thus competent to write on this important subject. He served the National Human Rights Commission as Nodal Officer, AHT. He also had a stint at the United Nations as Project Coordinator, AHT, with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in New Delhi. He has the credit of training over 11,000 police officials and prosecutors across India and setting up nine AHT units in the country. The subject has been handled in a methodical way and is well researched. It is expected to help all those involved in AHT operations, including the police, the advocates, the judges and NGOs. It has five chapters, all of which stand out for their brilliant analyses. The introductory chapter deals with statutory definitions, components, taxonomy, indicators and classification of human trafficking. The other related crimes such as the offenders, the supply chain, the responders, the response process and the Aids/HIV angle have all been minutely examined. The writer also examines the various dimensions of trafficking. The second chapter covers the vulnerability factors, accentuating versus mitigating factors, the demand-response and demand-supply ratios and the factors containing the demand. The chapter on institutional response to human trafficking is interesting. Here the writer deals with the legal systems and challenges and the administrative structures. The writer makes a strong case for setting up a National Coordinating Agency which can, among other things, collate, compile, monitor, update and disseminate information on trafficked persons, rescued persons, missing persons who are traced and bodies identified. Equally interesting is the chapter on the response systems, challenges in providing protection, indicators of prosecution, professionalism and various models in prevention. The role of civil society, NGOs, media — print and electronic — and Panchayati Raj institutions in combating the menace has also been highlighted.
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TRAFFICKING
has become a big threat to human life and dignity. Though the menace is
increasing day by day, the government’s response to tackle it has not
been encouraging. Indeed, very often, it has been half-hearted,
inappropriate and even retrograde.