Child trafficking in India

Introduction

Child trafficking can be defined as any person under 18 who is illegally recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received by threats, force, and coercion or inducing fear for the purpose of exploitation, either within or outside a country. Child trafficking is a common malpractice in India. Child exploitation is done for several reasons. Some of the primary reasons are:

• Sexual exploitation : children, especially girl children are lured into moving to another city and are forced into prostitution, sex tourism and pornography.
• Illegal activities : kidnapped children are often forced to beg, and sometimes their organs like kidney etc. are sold. These children are also often used for drug trafficking purposes.
• Labour : children brought into the city are sold as bonded labour to industry owners. They are often placed at factories of carpet weaving, diamond cuƫng etc.

Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt” kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labor and exploitation.

Though statistics regarding the magnitude of child trafficking are difficult to obtain, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.

International human rights instruments

These legal instruments were developed by the UN in an effort to protect international human rights and, more specifically, children’s rights.

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
• Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989

Causes of Child Trafficking

Poverty

Poverty is the leading cause for child trafficking worldwide. Often parents are not able to provide for their families and consequentially exploit their children for financial reasons. These influencers lead to children being more inclined to take riskier jobs in order to sustain life for themselves and their families. The decision for parents to expose their children for child trafficking, due to poverty, is not always for money incentives, but also because a lack of education causes them to believe that migration elsewhere will provide their children with more opportunities, which will help them escape chronic poverty.

Lack of Education

A lack of education and literacy furthermore makes families more vulnerable to traffickers. Parents are often unaware of the negative consequences of child trafficking and voluntarily send their children away. Additionally, children are often not aware of their rights and lack understanding regarding which of their rights are violated.

Scenario in India

Child trafficking is a serious problem that is prevalent especially in India. The majority of India’s trafficking problem is internal, and those from the most disadvantaged social strata- lowest caste Dalits, members of tribal communities, religious minorities and women and girls from excluded groups – are most vulnerable.

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.

In India, there is a great need for convergence and implementation of comprehensive child protection mechanisms. The Indian children are exposed to multiple vulnerabilities. With thousands of children still working in brick kilns, construction sites, dhabas and agricultural land, trafficking for the sake of forced child labour is widely prevalent. Apart from this children are also sold by their parents to work in factory ,dhabas and industries are highly dangerous with toxic environments.

Constitutional and Legislative Provision in India:

• Trafficking in Human Beings or Persons is prohibited under the Constitution of India under Article 23 (1)
• Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012,which has come into effect from 14th November, 2012 is a special law to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) is the premier legislation for prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
• Criminal Law (amendment) Act 2013 has come into force wherein Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code has been substituted with Section 370 and 370A IPC which provide for comprehensive measures to counter the menace of human.
•  Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006,
• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976,
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986,
• Juvenile Justice Act.