HUMAN TRAFFICKING – A CURSE FOR OUR SOCIETY
~Harshdeep Singh
Human Trafficking is a serious crime and a grave infringement of human rights. Every year many adults, teenagers & children can be seen as a victim of this heinous crime within the borders and abroad too. Almost every country in the world is affected through this heinous crime. All men, women, children and transgenders can be the targets. Basically, the traffickers use them in the sexual rackets, for prostitution, pornography, forced labour, for smuggling of drugs across the borders, organ trafficking and many more, the list is never ending. Selling organs for commercial purpose is illegal globally except Iran. Majorly, organs like kidneys are trafficked all over the world because of people who are not aware about the importance of having both the kidneys, although some of them are forced but there are people who voluntarily indulge themselves to give their kidney for money. Approximately 70% of the donors are from the below poverty line community. Poor people are most likely to spot as a victim of organ trafficking.
WHY CHILDREN ARE VICTIM TO THIS?
Children of mainly the poor families are the ones who gets trafficked mostly and used as labour. Some of the children are even sold by their own parents to these traffickers for a few thousand rupees. The lack of awareness and education are the main reasons as majority of them belong to the slum areas or the backward regions of the country. Traffickers sometimes rather than kidnapping, pretends to be a well-wisher for them by promising to the parents that their children would be appointed in some good earning jobs in the big cities.
MAJOR TARGET - WOMEN
Women trafficking is very common in the big countries with huge population like India, China and also in small countries with lot of poverty like Nepal and Bhutan. Trafficked women are used to fulfill the Sexual desires of some big businessmen, to indulge them into the sex rackets and many of them are forced in prostitution and pornography. Women of age group 13-25 are more likely to be the victim of such crimes. They are forced to marry with the men of their grandfather’s age and also in the areas where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favor of men.
LEGAL PROVISIONS
The trafficking in human beings is prohibited in our Constitution under Article 23(1). The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) is the act for the prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 provides measures to counter human trafficking. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 is a special law for children to protect them from sexual abuse. Some State Governments have also taken steps to prevent this in their state like the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012.
#human #trafficking #children #women #smuggling #drugs
Source : mea.gov.in
Picture : blog.ipleaders.in, thehimalayantimes.com