Human trafficking is a serious global issue. Increasingly referred to as the “modern-day slavery”, human trafficking has stimulated rapid increase of anti-trafficking laws, and has countries devoting resources to eradicate this problem. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), approximately 80% of trafficking of persons across the world is done for sexual exploitation and bonded labour. For this prime reason, Asia is considered as the hub of this crime in the world.

According to UNODC, 76% of people trafficked in the country were women and girls. West Bengal is the highest recorded state with maximum number of cases. As per the statistics of the government, in 2011 about 35,000 children were reported missing and more than 11,000 of them were from West Bengal. Rajasthan stands second in child trafficking and Maharashtra in trafficking of women. Karnataka is the third highest state, being the source and the destination for human trafficking. So, why is human trafficking increasing in India? With the fundamental theory of demand and supply, men generally migrate to major commercial cities for work and hence, the demand for commercial sex has increased. Another reason is economic injustice and poverty where women and girls born into a poor family are at higher risk of being sold or lured into ‘easy money’, especially in North-East India. The other known causes are social inequality, gender preferences, corruption, forced marriages and bonded labour.

In the reality of trafficking, many victims are lost in the brutality of the system while others find solace in death. Victims experience emotional, physical and psychological trauma while undergoing the phases of trafficking: recruitment, transport and exploitation. They also experience lack of sleep, lack of control, limited freedom, limited medical facilities, lack of control over clientele, intensity of working hours, and lack of choice in choosing an alternate path of living life. They deal with threats of harm which spurs a great deal of mental health issues such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Understanding the cruelty and viciousness of trafficking, it is important to ask the question ‘why does trafficking in persons happen in the first place and how it leads to human insecurity?’ The intensity of this barbarity also needs to be taken into account to stop trafficking.

Home is our safe space. What if you do not feel safe in your own home? This was the reality for Kanaga* in Bangalore.

Our staff have been following up with children and women in the communities that we have conducted relief work with in the past year. One such family is Kanaga’s. She lived with her father and sister. During the pandemic last year, the children were staying at a hostel but were sent back to stay at home and the father struggled to keep the family afloat. To help him financially, the sisters also went to work at a factory with their father.

At work, Kanaga’s father was approached by a co-worker with a chance to sell their daughter to a couple for 15 Lakhs, promising a good life for himself and his younger daughter. Kanaga and her sister alerted one of our staff about this. Knowing the seriousness of the issue, we have kept in touch with her father for over 6 months, advising and guiding him to protect Kanaga as this can potentially lead to trafficking. In almost all the cases, traffickers are known individuals who promise a better life to the victims.

We began educating the girls and their father on trafficking and to spot the signs of trafficking. During conversations on good touch and bad touch, Kanaga opened up about her father’s friend who sexually abusing them. For a child to endure this much at a young age is heart breaking. We have worked to help the sisters find a hostel where they can be safe and secure, receiving all the health attention required.

Engaging Kanaga in conversations on trafficking, good touch and bad touch has saved her life. She is now slowly beginning to return to enjoy the good things in life!

*name changed

While many of us in the cities are grappling with our privileged obstacles, several migrants stuck in different cities are walking back home or are staying to get their salary that is due for over three months as they battle to get one meal a day. This is the reality of India today.

According to the Indian Census, 30 percent of India’s population are migrants who travel within the country. All the migrants are either below the poverty line or are in poverty. During this pandemic, they have been pushed into extreme poverty as a result of many problems. In this situation, the most affected are children and women. According to a study conducted by UNICEF and Save the Children reports that the number of children living in poor households across low and middle-income countries could increase by 86 million to reach 672 million by the end of 2020 due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. This means that children who are attending school may drop-out due to poverty. They will face various other issues like lack of access to health care, education and nutrition. Children of migrants are also at a higher risk of being sexually abused due to them living in groups and in temporary shelters during the lockdown.

In Punganur, Andhra Pradesh, where we work, 20 percent of its rural population working in the cities as daily labourers, small scale business owners and those from the informal sector have returned back to their villages. This has led to the increase in the number of women and children being abused.

The National Commission for Women reports that during the national lockdown there has been a 50 percent rise in domestic violence cases. 32 percent of the cases are due to abuse from husband and relatives. Victims of domestic violence are at-risk of acquiring chronic disease, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. Crime rates against children have also increased during this lockdown. According to the Government helpline for children, they have received 92,000 calls on child abuse and violence in just 11 days. What should be a place of protection and safety is an extended captivity not just for many women but also for children trapped in the house of their abusers.

In response to this situation, our team is spreading awareness among the beneficiaries through calls and WhatsApp groups. We are also actively partnering with like-minded organisations to develop strategies in protecting children and women from violence in a time of crisis. We are committed to implementing a robust mechanism of prevention as we work towards developing a network system with the State and Civil society.

During the lockdown, Meghala Manickam, our livelihood coordinator in Chennai saw a great need in the community where she lives. Identifying these people, Meghala began her relief work by connecting 231 widows in the Perumbakkam resettlement area with an individual who supplied dry ration for them.

Beginning here she felt the need to reach out to more people in the rural areas who have not received any relief support yet. In her search, she found people in Tirukazhukundram in Chengalpet district who had received relief support once but there were many in need. All of these people are dependent on agriculture for work but due to the lockdown their work has been on a hold. There were also daily wagers in that community. Meghala says, “This particular area had no electricity, no water or street lights. I was fortunate enough to connect with a friend who provided dry ration for 31 families in that area.“

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meghala then connected with some of her friends and started looking for more places with people in need. They identified Irulas, a Dravidian ethnic group who were living with no basic amenities in the most interior places of the Chengalpet District. During field visit, Meghala’s team found that this tribal group lived in damaged houses, with no proper water or food and their children were clearly malnourished. Meghala began speaking with the people and listing down their needs. Touched by their miserable state of life, she connected with Madras Christian College’s social work department through which 300 families were provided with dry ration. Also in collaboration with the Social Work Department, Meghala hopes to assist the Irula families in receiving legal entitlements, government proofs, etc which will qualify them for government schemes and benefits.

Meghala says, “My team at Oasis was my greatest support. I am happy to have been able to bring some kind of change and support for the people around my community at this time of need.”