Where does Bengal stand in the Battle with Human Trafficking?

July 31, 2018Leave a comment

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Kolkata was declared the second safest city as indicated by the number of crimes per lakh of population. But, if one tries to form the bigger picture of where the state of West Bengal stands in terms of women’s safety, then the aforementioned fact is very misleading. The state of West Bengal ranks second in the number of crimes recorded against women. This state recorded the highest number of cases of human trafficking in 2016, with 44% of India’s trafficking victims belonging to West Bengal.

It’s a known fact that human traffickers prey on the most vulnerable girls and women, including those who flee their lands because of conflicts, and the poor and homeless. West Bengal saw the influx of 500,000 women from neighboring countries in the last few years. Among them were the Rohingya refugees crossing the India Bangladesh border with the help of dubious middlemen. The porous borders of Bengal allow the movement of refugees and once within the state, their unstable economic conditions make them easy targets for human traffickers.

The women and girls in some of the poorest regions of Bengal are lured with promises of good jobs in the city, and then forced to work in brothels. The fact that Kolkata is home to the largest red-light area in Asia shows the alarming state of trafficking for sexual exploitation in Bengal.

Considering how unchecked trafficking networks are in this state, there’s urgent need for better anti-trafficking systems — services that help track missing girls, efficient legal procedures that enable quick registry of and action against sex trafficking crimes, and many more measures.

Online Child Abuse: Let the Story Unfold

June 20, 2018Leave a comment

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The National Crime Records Bureau Report says – In India, a child is abused every 15 minutes.

Online child trafficking in India is on the rise. Across India and abroad. Increased usage of internet and smartphones has enabled such prolific rise of crimes, including online child abuse. Children are the worst victims; each day they are being sold across numerous social media channels and classified advertising websites.

“Technology … is providing offenders with unprecedented access to victims, new capabilities, and increasing confidence to abuse children on a mass scale,” added Baroness Joanna Shields, previously an executive at Facebook and Britain’s internet safety minister.

Each year, 1.8 million children are trafficked into prostitution.

Yes, the numbers are indeed ghastly and so are the modes of child exploitation. Online and physically, children are abused daily. Despite the fact, what necessary steps Indian judiciary and states are taking to stop this heinous crime?

Going by the facts, till 2012, India didn’t have any proper legal framework to address child sexual abuse. Goa Children’s Act, 2003 was the first and only child abuse legislation that was in motion before 2012 Act was popped up.

In the year 2012, the Parliament of India passed the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) for the victims of child sexual abuse below 18 years of age. The Act also includes gender neutrality as a clause.

Apparently, though the POSCO Act seems to be quite strong and comprehensive, when it comes to implementation, things take a different turn. Nevertheless, we can’t lose hope, as we believe there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Click here – http://www.savemissinggirls.com/the-state-of-child-abuse-in-india, to continue reading

Missing Stencil Project is doing some commendable work in the field of sex trafficking and bringing back the girls home, safely.

How the Hotel Industry Can Counter Trafficking:

June 7, 2018Leave a comment

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Brothels are characterized by their dark and shady appearance. It is much easier to conceal the illegal activities of the trafficking industry within the well-maintained walls of private hotels and restrooms. The hotel industry has always been infamous for housing illegal activities related to flesh trade.

However, the time has come to put a stop to these horrific crimes taking place within hotels, which are becoming the hotspot for sex trafficking and are rapidly replacing traditional brothels. In Maharashtra, the government has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the association of hotels to help end these odious practices. The alumni group of Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology will train staff to help them recognize possible trafficked victims. Being among the largest hotel chains in India, over 20 lakh hotels will be able to access this training facility.

Some of the measures include training hotel staffs to look out for women who appear noticeably scared or traumatized, and seem as if their actions are being controlled by another person. Caution must be raised in case guests can’t produce ID proofs and if their rooms display the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign for days at a stretch.

Staffers will be trained to identify 50 different warning signs associated with sex trade activities occurring in hotels. These include taking a note of excessive consumption of porn, a man and a minor spending too many days locked in a room, sudden requests to change bed linens and of course women and girls not being able to show authentic identification documents.

While these efforts are commendable, the journey to eradicate sex trafficking is a long and laborious one. And hotels play a key role in this.

To read the full blog, click here: http://www.savemissinggirls.com/now-hotel-staffers-can-identify-victims-trafficking

An Inside Story on Trafficking and Prostitution in India

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018Leave a comment

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India is home to over 18 million people living under the shackles of modern-day slavery. And the number of victims of sex trafficking are between 3 and 9 million. In the last year alone, about 20000 women and children were smuggled out of the country for the purpose of trafficking, indicating a surge of 25% from the previous year, according to the Centre, though the unofficial figures are much higher.

As dusk falls, red light districts of India come to life. The dingy alleyways become clogged with hordes of men buying sex: young trafficked girls are sold for as low as $3. The brothels are filled with darkness, litters and used condoms. They evoke stories of dirt, destitution and despair. Young souls, who would’ve been sitting in their classrooms in schools, are found to be trapped in the hollows of prostitution, inflicted upon by their brokers or pimps. Many local charitable organizations are working towards freeing these girls from the clutches of flesh trade, and if you go by the numbers, at least 90% of the girls are victims of sexual slavery.

The sex industry is grim and grody; young girls of age 12 or 13 are forced into selling their bodies. “Human trafficking dealers get good money,” explains an NGO worker. “You can buy a minor girl for 5,000 to 10,000 rupees ($75 to $150) in the north or in Nepal, and sell her in a metropolitan city for over 200,000 ($3,300). The younger the girl, the higher the price, especially if she’s a virgin.”

To continue reading, hit – https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/9kdjy3/indian-authorities-wont-help-millions-of-trafficked-women

A lot of charities are coming forward nowadays to help, protect and rehabilitate these women and children. Missing is one of them; through their art through activism inspired installations, this organization aims to spread awareness about trafficking and its harmful effects on the society as a whole. Time to time, it organizes various child trafficking awareness campaigns and other relatable initiatives.

Continue Reading More About Children Going Missing

Sealdah Station: A ‘Child-friendly Station’ or a Deadly Trap of Traffickers?

January 27, 2018January 27, 2018Leave a comment

News flash: In India, a child is sexually abused every 15 minutes.

Narratives of abuse are poignant and acutely disturbing. At times they appear as stabbing headlines – ‘an 18 month toddler was raped in Kolkata’ but unfortunately most of them gets died down under the overpowering layers of ignominy, societal pressure and toxic norms and beliefs. Continue reading →