Activists to press for passage of Trafficking Bill

  • June 12, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Activists to press for passage of Trafficking Bill

Subject :Governance

Section : Vulnerable section

  • Trafficking in Human Beings or Persons is prohibited under the Constitution of India under Article 23 (1) .( Fundamental Rights -Part III )
  • The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) is the premier legislation for prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
  • Criminal Law (amendment) Act 2013 has come into force wherein Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code has been substituted with Section 370 and 370A IPC which provide for comprehensive measures to counter the menace of human trafficking including trafficking of children for exploitation in any form including physical exploitation or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery, servitude, or the forced removal of organs.
  • Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which has come into effect from 14th November, 2012 is a special law to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. It provides precise definitions for different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative sexual assault, sexual harassment.
  • There are other specific legislations enacted relating to trafficking in women and children Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, apart from specific Sections in the IPC, e.g. Sections 372 and 373 deal with selling and buying of girls for the purpose of prostitution.
  • State Governments have also enacted specific legislations to deal with the issue. (e.g. The Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012)

Administrative measures and interventions

  • Anti Trafficking Cell (ATC): Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell was set up in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (CS Division in 2006 to act as a focal point for communicating various decisions and follow up on action taken by the State Governments to combat the crime of Human Trafficking. MHA conducts coordination meetings with the Nodal Officers of Anti Human Trafficking Units nominated in all States/UTs periodically.

International Convention:

UN Convention: India has ratified the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC) which has as one of its Protocols Prevention, Suppression and Punishment of Trafficking in Persons, particularly Women and Children.

Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care & Rehabilitation) Draft Bill 2021

The Trafficking of Persons (Pre­vention, Protection and Reh­abilitation) Bill, 2018, was passed in the Lok Sabha that year but could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha and subsequently lapsed.

Draft of the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021, was published by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in June 2021 and is likely to be ta­bled in the upcoming ses­sion of Parliament.

Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care & Rehabilitation) Draft Bill 2021

  • It extends to all citizens inside as well as outside India,
  • Persons on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be or carrying Indian citizens wherever they may be,
  • A foreign national or a stateless person who has his or her residence in India at the time of commission of offence under this Act, and
  • The law will apply to every offence of trafficking in persons with cross-border implications.
  • Victims Covered
    • It extends beyond the protection of women and children as victims to now include transgenders as well as any person who may be a victim of trafficking.
    • It also does away with the provision that a victim necessarily needs to be transported from one place to another to be defined as a victim.
  • Defines ‘Exploitation’
    • The exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation including pornography, any act of physical exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or forced removal of organs, illegal clinical drug trials or illegal bio-medical research.
  • Government Officers as Offenders
    • Offenders will also include defence personnel and government servants, doctors and paramedical staff or anyone in a position of authority.
  • Penalty
    • A minimum of seven years which can go up to an imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh in most cases of child trafficking.
    • In case of the trafficking of more than one child, the penalty is now life imprisonment.
    • Similarity to Money laundering Act:
    • Property bought via such income as well as used for trafficking can now be forfeited with provisions set in place, similar to that of the money laundering Act.
  • Investigation Agency
    • The National Investigation Agency (NIA) shall act as the national investigating and coordinating agency responsible for prevention and combating of trafficking in persons.
  • National Anti-Human Trafficking Committee
    • Once the law is enacted, the Centre will notify and establish a National Anti-Human Trafficking Committee, for ensuring overall effective implementation of the provisions of this law.
    • This committee will have representation from various ministries with the home secretary as the chairperson and secretary of the women and child development ministry as co-chair.
    • State and district level anti-human trafficking committees will also be constituted.

Issues with the Bill

  • While the Bill provides rehabilitation to the survivors, it does not extend the relief beyond shelter homes.
    • There is a demand for a community-based rehabilitation model that provides health services, legal aid, access to welfare schemes and income opportunities crucial for ensuring “all-round reintegration of victims’’ back into their community and family.
  • According to the United Nations’ human rights experts, it was not in accordance with the international human rights laws.
  • The Bill seemed to combine sex work and migration with trafficking.
  • The Bill was criticised for addressing trafficking through a criminal law perspective instead of complementing it with a human-rights based and victim-centered approach.
  • It was also criticised for promoting “rescue raids” by the police as well as institutionalization of victims in the name of rehabilitation.
  • It was pointed out that certain vague provisions would lead to blanket criminalisation of activities that do not necessarily relate to trafficking.

Significance

  • The transgender community, and any other person, has been included which will automatically bring under its scope activity such as organ harvesting.
  • Also, cases such as forced labour, in which people lured with jobs end up in other countries where their passports and documentation is taken away and they are made to work, will also be covered by this new law.

Way Forward

  • The Bill should be better realigned with the existing provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and other relevant Acts to avoid duplicity or confusion for enforcement agencies.
  • Since the effective implementation of the Act is dependent on lucid and consistent rules, it would be useful for the Central Government to prepare model rules for use by the States.
Activists to press for passage of Trafficking Bill Governance