Human trafficking in India
Encyclopedia
India
is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked
for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Internal forced labor may constitute India’s largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage
and face forced labor working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture
, and embroidery factories. While no comprehensive study of forced and bonded labor has been completed, NGOs estimate this problem affects 20 to 65 million Indians. Women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage especially in those areas where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favor of men. Children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups.
India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal
and Bangladesh
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Nepali children
are also trafficked to India for forced labor in circus
shows. Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East
for commercial sexual exploitation. There are also victims of labor trafficking among the thousands of Indians who heavily migrate willingly every year to the Middle East and Europe
for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers. In some cases, such workers are the victims of fraudulent recruitment practices that lead them directly into situations of forced labor, including debt bondage; in other cases, high debts incurred to pay recruitment fees leave them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers in the destination countries, where some are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude, including non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement, unlawful withholding of passports, and physical or sexual abuse.
These laws are ineffectually enforced, however, and their prescribed penalties — a maximum of three years in prison —are not sufficiently stringent. Indian authorities also use Sections 366(A) and 372 of the Indian Penal Code, prohibiting kidnapping and selling minors into prostitution respectively, to arrest traffickers. Penalties under these provisions are a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine.
In addition to this, bonded labor and movement of sex trafficking victims, is facilitated by corrupt officials and people having a stake in this lucrative business. They protect brothels that exploit victims, and protect traffickers and brothel
keepers from arrest and other threats of enforcement.
Usually, there are no efforts made to tackle the problem of government officials’ complicity in trafficking workers for overseas employment. Bulk of bonded labor heads for Middle East to emerging economies and there are several media reports which testify the plight of Indian workers.
State governments regularly conduct campaigns through their welfare departments along with police raids. However, sustained efforts in combating trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation usually come to a naught because of ineffectual laws as well as delays in prosecution.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation incorporated anti-trafficking training into its standard curriculum. In November, the State of Maharashtra
developed an action plan to combat trafficking; it did not, however, allocate appropriate funding to accomplish the objectives of this plan.
The government does not break down these statistics by sections of the law, meaning that law enforcement data regarding trafficking offenses may be conflated with data regarding arrests of women in prostitution pursuant to Section 8 of the ITPA.
Protection=
India’s efforts to protect victims of trafficking varies from state to state, but remains inadequate in many places.Victims of bonded labor are entitled to 10,000 rupees ($225) from the central government for rehabilitation, but this program is unevenly executed across the country. Government authorities do not proactively identify and rescue bonded laborers, so few victims receive this assistance. Although children trafficked for forced labor may be housed in government shelters and are entitled to 20,000 rupees ($450), the quality of many of these homes remains poor and the disbursement of rehabilitation funds is sporadic.
Some states provide services to victims of bonded labor, but Non Governmental Organisations provide the majority of protection services to these victims. The central government does not provide protection services to Indian victims trafficked abroad for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Indian diplomatic missions in destination countries may offer temporary shelter to nationals who have been trafficked; once repatriated, however, neither the central government nor most state governments offer any medical, psychological, legal, or reintegration assistance for these victims.
Section 8 of the ITPA permits the arrest of women in prostitution
. Although statistics on arrests under Section 8 are not kept, the government and some NGOs report that, through sensitization and training, police officers no longer use this provision of the law; it is unclear whether arrests of women in prostitution under Section 8 have actually decreased. Because most law enforcement authorities lack formal procedures to identify trafficking victims among women arrested for prostitution; some victims may be arrested and punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked.
Some foreign victims trafficked to India are not subject to removal. Those who are subject to removal are not offered legal alternatives to removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution. NGOs report that some Bangladeshi victims of commercial sexual exploitation are pushed back across the border without protection services. The government also does not repatriate Nepali victims; NGOs primarily perform this function. Many victims decline to testify against their traffickers due to the length of proceedings and fear of retribution by traffickers.
NGOs that receive funding indirectly from either the central or state government do not want to be brought within the scrutiny of anybody.
s migrating abroad on the risks of exploitation. Most of the Indian workers pay huge sums of money to agents who facilitate their emigration outside the official channels and willingly emigrate despite being aware of the conditions prevailing in those destinations. This is because of the fact that most of the destinations abroad pay better sums of money. Therefore, a dream of better future ahead often lures the people abroad and hence trafficking cannot entirely be prevented. India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Internal forced labor may constitute India’s largest trafficking problem; men, women, and children are held in debt bondage
Debt bondage
Debt bondage is when a person pledges him or herself against a loan. In debt bondage, the services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services' duration may be undefined...
and face forced labor working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and embroidery factories. While no comprehensive study of forced and bonded labor has been completed, NGOs estimate this problem affects 20 to 65 million Indians. Women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage especially in those areas where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favor of men. Children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups.
India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Nepali children
Nepali people
Nepali people can refer to:*People of Nepal*Ethnic Nepalis of Indian citizenry residing in Gorkhaland area of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and other parts of India.* Indian Gorkhas*Lhotshampas of Bhutan.*Nepali diaspora the world over....
are also trafficked to India for forced labor in circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
shows. Indian women are trafficked to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
for commercial sexual exploitation. There are also victims of labor trafficking among the thousands of Indians who heavily migrate willingly every year to the Middle East and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers. In some cases, such workers are the victims of fraudulent recruitment practices that lead them directly into situations of forced labor, including debt bondage; in other cases, high debts incurred to pay recruitment fees leave them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers in the destination countries, where some are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude, including non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement, unlawful withholding of passports, and physical or sexual abuse.
Prosecution
The Government of India prohibits some forms of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation through the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA). Prescribed penalties under the ITPA — ranging from seven years’ to life imprisonment — are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those for other grave crimes. India also prohibits bonded and forced labor through the Bonded Labor Abolition Act, the Child Labor Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act.These laws are ineffectually enforced, however, and their prescribed penalties — a maximum of three years in prison —are not sufficiently stringent. Indian authorities also use Sections 366(A) and 372 of the Indian Penal Code, prohibiting kidnapping and selling minors into prostitution respectively, to arrest traffickers. Penalties under these provisions are a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine.
In addition to this, bonded labor and movement of sex trafficking victims, is facilitated by corrupt officials and people having a stake in this lucrative business. They protect brothels that exploit victims, and protect traffickers and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
keepers from arrest and other threats of enforcement.
Usually, there are no efforts made to tackle the problem of government officials’ complicity in trafficking workers for overseas employment. Bulk of bonded labor heads for Middle East to emerging economies and there are several media reports which testify the plight of Indian workers.
State governments regularly conduct campaigns through their welfare departments along with police raids. However, sustained efforts in combating trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation usually come to a naught because of ineffectual laws as well as delays in prosecution.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation incorporated anti-trafficking training into its standard curriculum. In November, the State of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
developed an action plan to combat trafficking; it did not, however, allocate appropriate funding to accomplish the objectives of this plan.
The government does not break down these statistics by sections of the law, meaning that law enforcement data regarding trafficking offenses may be conflated with data regarding arrests of women in prostitution pursuant to Section 8 of the ITPA.
Protection=
India’s efforts to protect victims of trafficking varies from state to state, but remains inadequate in many places.Victims of bonded labor are entitled to 10,000 rupees ($225) from the central government for rehabilitation, but this program is unevenly executed across the country. Government authorities do not proactively identify and rescue bonded laborers, so few victims receive this assistance. Although children trafficked for forced labor may be housed in government shelters and are entitled to 20,000 rupees ($450), the quality of many of these homes remains poor and the disbursement of rehabilitation funds is sporadic.
Some states provide services to victims of bonded labor, but Non Governmental Organisations provide the majority of protection services to these victims. The central government does not provide protection services to Indian victims trafficked abroad for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Indian diplomatic missions in destination countries may offer temporary shelter to nationals who have been trafficked; once repatriated, however, neither the central government nor most state governments offer any medical, psychological, legal, or reintegration assistance for these victims.
Section 8 of the ITPA permits the arrest of women in prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. Although statistics on arrests under Section 8 are not kept, the government and some NGOs report that, through sensitization and training, police officers no longer use this provision of the law; it is unclear whether arrests of women in prostitution under Section 8 have actually decreased. Because most law enforcement authorities lack formal procedures to identify trafficking victims among women arrested for prostitution; some victims may be arrested and punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked.
Some foreign victims trafficked to India are not subject to removal. Those who are subject to removal are not offered legal alternatives to removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution. NGOs report that some Bangladeshi victims of commercial sexual exploitation are pushed back across the border without protection services. The government also does not repatriate Nepali victims; NGOs primarily perform this function. Many victims decline to testify against their traffickers due to the length of proceedings and fear of retribution by traffickers.
NGOs that receive funding indirectly from either the central or state government do not want to be brought within the scrutiny of anybody.
Prevention
Ministry of Labor and Employment displays full-page advertisements against child labor in national newspapers at periodic intervals. The government has also instituted pre-departure information sessions for domestic workerDomestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
s migrating abroad on the risks of exploitation. Most of the Indian workers pay huge sums of money to agents who facilitate their emigration outside the official channels and willingly emigrate despite being aware of the conditions prevailing in those destinations. This is because of the fact that most of the destinations abroad pay better sums of money. Therefore, a dream of better future ahead often lures the people abroad and hence trafficking cannot entirely be prevented. India has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.