Child trafficking

What is child trafficking

Child human trafficking is a heinous act yet one of the most common atrocities we as a community face. Concrete steps need to be taken for prevention of child trafficking in India as it is a clear violation of child rights.

Child Trafficking is a very imminent crisis in our society- nationally and internationally. It is a shameful, heinous act- yet one of the most common atrocities we as a community face. This exploitation and violation of childhood has now become a massive chain of organized crime, which with time, is threatening to taint the most innocent form of humanity- Children.

Child Trafficking in India

Child human trafficking is very much prevalent in India. The government, the civil society and law and order agencies must take concrete steps for the prevention of child trafficking in India. What is child trafficking? It is a form of human trafficking which amounts to recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt” kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation.

Various Forms of Child Trafficking and its Victims in India

There are various causes of child trafficking in India, the chief ones being lack of education, poverty and lack of awareness. When it comes to types to child trafficking, we see that children in India get trafficked for domestic labour, forced child labour, illegal activities such as begging and organ trade and even for commercial sex.

It is often children from the extremely poor or marginalized communities that are exposed to the risk of being pushed into trade that will destroy the most important developmental years of their lives. Trafficking includes forms of forced labour, sexual exploitation or prostitution, domestic servitude, forced marriage, begging, adoption, child pornography and organ transplant.

Children, regardless of their financial and social background have the right to get protection from all forms of violence, abuse and mistreatment of their lives. Most children trapped in these situations lose the ambition to build a better life. Females are the most common victims of trafficking. Forced into prostitution, marriage or domestic work, Trafficking is absolute abuse of their freedom.

Abuse comes in many forms- Emotional, Physical and/or Sexual. But the result remains the same- their trauma threatens to bind their minds in the chains of mistrust, fear and helplessness for the rest of their lives if no help is provided. Children suffering from abuse, tend to develop very anti-social behaviors that affect their present and future relationships with those around them.

Child Trafficking is all pervading. Over 40% of India’s population is economically deprived, without access to basic opportunities. Economic deprivation is one of the major contributors towards Child Trafficking. At least 60,000 children are trafficked in India every year. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has even reported cases where children have “disappeared”, with a frequency of one in eight minutes. The lack of strong legal precedent against Child Trafficking emboldens the Traffickers, leading to the recent rise in numbers for the same.

The only way to attain justice and safety for the children who suffer at the hands of this injustice, is to pledge together as one against Child Labour, Child Trafficking. Spreading awareness amongst parents and the communities is imperative to start a change in the chain of thought. The availability of income resources, education resources and a protective environment is what an organization like Bal Raksha Bharat aims to provide. These are some critical measures to prevent this social evil in India. We at Bal Raksha Bharat believe that: Every child deserves to have his/her best chance at life.