Anguished Indians Want Strong Anti-Human Trafficking Laws, Victims Tell Horrifying Stories

India always stands united against the social evils in the society. People usually speak in one voice to end the harmful practices and look forward for an equal and inclusive society. Human trafficking is one such practice that seeks the utmost attention of the lawmakers. It has to end now.

Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that deals with the illegal trafficking of humans needs to be made stronger; requires more teeth, urges an anguished Suresh Manjhi of Gaya District in Bihar, whose family has been in agricultural bondage for several generations.

Manjhi along with nine other trafficked victims in a pained and painstakingly way reveal their horrifying physical and mentally draining loss of self and dignity, and as fortunate survivors post dehumanisation appealed to the nation¡¯s lawmakers to pass a strong and punitive anti-trafficking bill without delay.

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Presently, under Section 370 of the IPC ¡°exploitation shall include, prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the forced removal of organs.¡±

¡°Whoever imports, exports, removes, buys, sells or disposes of any person as a slave, or accepts, receives or detains against his will any person as a slave, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine,¡± it further states.

An emotionally distraught Manjhi says he has just received Rs.20,000 as compensation, whereas as per existing law, he is entitled to receive a minimum compensation of Rs. 2,00,000.

¡°I was released from bonded agricultural labour on October 14, 2014. I was born into an agricultural bonded family. We have been victims for generations. We had 10 Kattha (One Kattha is standardized to 720 square feet of area) of land. This was in the possession of the human trafficker and his family for generations. Now, I want this land back and the house that has been built on it transferred to my name. There are no basic facilities, no employment under MNREGA (The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 that guarantees the right to work for at least 100 days),¡± said Manjhi.

Kalu Devi from Uttar Pradesh, a mother of six girls and five boys, today takes pride in being the ¡°Pradhan¡± or ¡°Head¡± of her village, but can¡¯t erase the horrific memory of bondage that she endured and suffered till 2009 in the mining belt of the area.

Recalling her tale, she said, ¡°Now, I run a grocery store in my village in UP. I suffered five years of bonded labour. Eighty-seven of us were rescued from bonded labour in 2009. Sixty-four of these 87 have got fixed compensation of Rs.20, 000/- each on a fixed date in bulk from the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) on orders of the Ministry of Labour. We know we are entitled to more. The prosecution of our case is proceeding very slowly. It is torture. I can¡¯t see the light at the end of this dark tunnel.¡±

The case of Satyawati, who was forced into the commercial sex trade at the young age of twelve, is no different.

¡°The law on trafficking is not tough. Enforcers of these crimes are being allowed to escape and continue to enjoy their lives. There is always a delay in the delivery of justice. I am now residing in a juvenile home making jute-based products. I am yet to receive compensation. Such activities only stop when there is a police raid. These raids take place infrequently. So, there is no hope,¡± she claims.

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There are others, like Deva of Tamil Nadu, now a second year engineering student, but who was trafficked to a textile mill owner in Tirupur District at the age of 14.

Naseema of West Bengal¡¯s North 24 Parganna District is among 70 of the 121 survivors of human trafficking who have formed an anti-trafficking body called Utthan.

¡°A major problem is that most of us are trafficked to other states from our home state. In my case, I was trafficked from Kolkata and sent to Mumbai. After being rescued, I experienced the horror of stigmatization from neighbours on my return home. I am trying to make a life for myself again, but it is very difficult. Our government should also have a provision for video conferencing of depositions between states so that we victims are not made to run from pillar to post. Compensation should also be provided to us immediately,¡± she said.

There are other cases such as Anita of Chhattisgarh, who was trafficked to a brick kiln owner in Odisha¡¯s Bhadrak District and was eventually rescued by Jan Jagriti, an NGO. Surya of Tamil Nadu was trafficked for Rs. 5000 at the age of 14. Lalita was trafficked for a paltry Rs. 25, 000 from Sajjapur in Madhya Pradesh to Pune in Maharashtra.

Another victim from Tamil Nadu, a power loom worker, said he was deprived of a kidney in Sri Lanka on the promise of receiving Rupees seven-and-a-half lakhs. He said that he received only Rs.2, 00, 000 and claimed he was threatened by the district collector of Namakkal District for not withdrawing his case.

These hopeful survivors of human-trafficking came together to seek early passage of the draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, which was introduced in parliament¡¯s Monsoon Session on Wednesday by Union Minister for Women and Child Welfare Maneka Gandhi.

Members of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha; Manoj Tiwari and Kothapalli Geetha extended their strong support for the early passage of the Bill after hearing the horrific experiences of these eleven survivors from eleven states of India.

Sinha said: ¡°Survivors have narrated a horrific tale and delayed justice is something we should worry about. ¡®Yeh bill der se aaya hai lekin durust aaya¡¯ ¨C Though a little late, but it¡¯s very good that this bill has been introduced and I am hopeful that it gets passed in the monsoon session. I feel more committed to strongly support this Bill whenever it comes up for discussion.¡±

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Echoing his colleague, Mano Tiwari said, ¡°Your voice has inspired me to fight against these social evils with more energy and valour. I assure you all that I will be with you in this fight always.¡±

"This subject is very close to my heart, because I am a woman and I believe every woman in parliament will support this bill and this bill will be passed at the earliest,¡± said Geeta.

Former senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and Founder General Secretary of Prayas, Amod Kanth said, ¡°We strongly support this long overdue Bill as it takes care of all the concerns.¡±

Objectives of the consultation:

? Put survivor voices in the forefront about the current Trafficking in Persons Bill 2018

? Identify concrete gaps in the delivery of justice to victims of trafficking

? Identify ways policy making can fill in these gaps

? Identify survivors¡¯ expectations from the new law

Human trafficking is the third largest organized crime after drugs and arms trade across the globe. Men, women and children continue to be vulnerable to human trafficking for domestic work, forced labour, forced marriage and sexual slavery.

The existing law around trafficking, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 is centered round solely sexual exploitation and has been mostly used to persecute sex workers instead of the actual perpetrators by allowing for their arbitrary arrest and penalisation.

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The new Trafficking of Persons Bill (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) 2018 covers all aspects of human trafficking, including aggravated forms of trafficking like forced labour, begging, administering chemical substances and hormones for early sexual maturity, forced marriage, etc. It provides for prosecution of promoting or facilitating trafficking of a person which includes producing, printing, issuing or distributing unissued, tampered or fake certificates, registration or stickers as proof of compliance with government requirements; or commits fraud for procuring or facilitating the acquisition of clearances and necessary documents from government agencies.

The Bill provides for fast-tracking of trials and timely repatriation of foreign victims within a period of one year from taking into cognizance. Another provision is the seizing of property of traffickers (even in international locations) considering the global nature of the crime.