COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity for all of us to look at deeply entrenched inequalities in our economic development model, which are feeding marginalization, gender-based violence, exploitation and trafficking of all sorts.
Trafficking in persons (TIP) is one of the most
shameful facets of the modern world. As a criminal act, it is an egregious
human rights violation. TIP is a US$ 9 billion industry, and is estimated to be
the fastest growing criminal
enterprise of the 21st century. Being a signatory and
ratifying the Palermo
Protocol, India has amended its penal code in 2013, which explicitly
prohibits trafficking of persons for purposes of prostitution. The POCSO
ACT, 2012 further prohibits various sexual offences committed against
children under 18 years of age. Despite such laws in place, the country is
estimated to have 14
million victims of human trafficking, which includes victims of
sex trafficking, bonded labour, domestic servitude, child labour and forced
marriages. India acts both as a destination and a transit place for labour and
sex trafficking. While 90 per cent of trafficking in the country occurs domestically (intra-state
or inter-state), 10 per cent occurs across its national borders.
Influencing Factors
The most definite primary factors contributing to the
rising numbers of trafficking in India, or any such developing country, are the
weak legal landscape and implementation along with factors like gender
discrimination, poverty, lack of access to education, social practices,
globalisation, lack of economic opportunities and growth. Beyond these, there are
certain secondary causes like low employment prospects for people, lack of
awareness of women’s rights, marginalisation of females, a highly patriarchal
society and cultural ideas like dowry and violence prevailing in our society.
Lack of opportunities in the highly patriarchal society is a major cause of
trafficking. In 2012, only 43
per cent of women worked on a regular wage or in salaried
positions. The victims are generally of a very young age, illiterate and belong
to impoverished families from rural backgrounds. In males it is generally seen
that trafficking is tied with forced labour especially to pay off the debts
which is widely seen in the Indian social structure.
Effect of COVID-19
COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the lives of
everyone forcing them to adapt to the ‘new-normal’. Likewise the criminals
involved in trafficking have adjusted their strategies and business models
accordingly. Economic and social inequalities – the root causes of human
trafficking – have notched up a level due to the pandemic situation. Martin
Wolf recently stated that the current economic crisis due to COVID-19 is
clearly the greatest
since Great Depression in both size and intensity. The restrictions on
movement caused due to the corona virus pandemic in the form of lockdowns are
creating a major obstacle for escapes and finding help for these victims. There
exists a threat of abuse or neglect by the captors of the victims who are still
in confinement. We can already witness a surge in the levels of domestic
violence, which is a worrying factor. In the times, where individuals are
prioritising their actions towards limiting the spread of corona virus, it acts
as an aid to these traffickers to hide their actions and makes the victims’
identification and referral to protection platforms a huge challenge.
Due to the
confinement at homes the access to assistance and support from related NGOs or
government schemes, in-person counselling, representation and legal aid become
difficult.
The victims are also highly exposed to contacting the
virus, since they are less equipped to prevent it and there exists a lack of
healthcare to ensure their recovery. Violence, especially against children,
along with sexual abuse is much more rampant in the current times since children
are being forced on streets in search of food and income bringing them to the
forefront of the risk of both infection from the virus and exploitation.
Virtual Exploitation: Cybersex Trafficking
The modern day slavery is on a rise due to closure of
schools, which makes children vulnerable to online sexual predators. Virtual
world is the platform for learning and socialising widely used today. There is
a spike in the child sexual exploitation material on the internet, which acts
like a profitable business for huge tech platforms. The pandemic is giving a
push to such new materials, which are created in exchange for remuneration or a
payment. Live streaming – the new modus operandi of offenders – is becoming a
platform for on-demand sexual abuse. There is this idea of impunity from a
perpetrator’s point of view and the assumption of anonymity, which emboldens
them to force and exploit children. While the barriers for perpetrators are
extremely low, the barriers of recovery for these victims are extraordinarily
high exposing them to the evils of the world through a screen.
There is a high possibility that once the lockdown if
lifted and normal activities are resumed, factory owners might opt for
employing cheap labour. The desperate and vulnerable workers will contribute to
this massive pool of cheap labour, since they cannot possibly negotiate their
wage terms with the employers. Children will be trafficked to work where they
would be paid meagre or no wages at all while facing extreme physical, mental and
sexual torture.
Mechanisms to Combat Trafficking
There are many programmes and schemes already in place which focus on
protecting the vulnerable like the Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking
Units (IAHTUs),
which has been set up in more than 600 districts and are 226 in number with an
allocation of Rs 832 million as funds; Swadhar Programme developed by the Ministry of Women and
Child Development providing over 200 shelters for the victims of sex
trafficking; Ujjawala Programme introduced in 2007 with over 6350
beneficiaries; and Child Line Services, the toll free number 1098, which is
available to all children in distress and is operational in 372 cities.
The Immoral
Trafficking Prevention Act 1956, Bonded Labour
Abolition Act 1976, Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation Act) 1986 and the Section 370 of Indian Penal
Code, 1860 have provisions for prevention of trafficking
and punishments for all such acts.
The problem does not
lie in the formulation of laws, but on the implementation front.
The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and
Rehabilitation) Bill 2018 must be re-visited by the Parliamentary Standing
Committee since it lacks clarity, as the approach is scattered across various
laws and seems to be inconsistent with the objectives. Further, it is not
comprehensive also. Even UN has raised concerns over the provisions of
the Bill
being ambiguous and for including penal activities not
necessarily connected to trafficking. The burden of proof of the offence also
lies on the victim, and so it creates a high bar to claim immunity and defeats
the very purpose of the provision.
The
COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity for all of us to look at deeply
entrenched inequalities in our economic development
model, which are feeding marginalisation, gender-based violence,
exploitation and trafficking of all sorts. The law enforcement officials must
remain vigilant and ramp up the relief programmes. There is a dire need to make
parents and caregivers aware about the situation, since it is the youth which
is often targeted. It has been a trend for traffickers to seek out for children
with behavioural problems, low self-esteem, history of abuse or neglect,
poverty or substance abuse. It becomes critical for parents to build a healthy
relationship with their children, explain them about gender roles and
stereotype threats early, talks about sexual education and the importance of
consenting to such acts. These are some of the ways to protect and prevent any
sort of cybercrimes. Businesses can provide internships or training to the
survivors of trafficking and college students too can take action to raise
awareness or take up research work in the field.
