Human Trafficking, Slavery And Prostitution (by: Aishi Ganguly)

Human Trafficking, Slavery And Prostitution
Authored by: Aishi Ganguly

Abstract

We are very familiar with the words like slavery, human trafficking, selling of young girls and women, prostitution etc. These crimes are a fatal scandal or we can say life-threatening offenses. In many news channels or reports, we have seen that these topics are given importance for a month or so but with time it fades. The JUSTICE that the victims and their family are longing for is not delivered as early as possible. In my research paper, I will provide with the maximum number of statistics, verdicts, analysis and all the information related to the topic.
The topics are not controversial but are of great importance for knowing how the government is helping the victims to get justice and how the cases of this dangerous crimes are decreasing with time. The paper will help many readers to find about all the humongous number of crimes and offences related to human trafficking, slavery and prostitution in one place. It will contain the cases and judgements passed by the court, graphs about the decreasing ratio of these crimes.
So, let's read the journal and know how these crimes started and why are people still following these disturbing paths of crimes, assault and offence.

Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is an unlawful act of transporting or forcing an unwilling person to work or provide their service to those people who are benefitting from the work by earning huge amount of money typically in the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation. It is a form of trade for the trafficker or others. Human trafficking is a crime against the person who is the victim because it violates the rights of the victim like the RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT and it exploits the dignity of a person. It enables the victim to do a crime without knowing that it is an unlawful act. Women and girl child are the main victims of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is not only happening within the country but also trans-nationally. Human smuggling which is also known as people smuggling or migrant smuggling is a related practice but with the authorization or acceptance of a person or the family’s consent of being smuggled.
These situations can transfer into human trafficking through exploitation. Trafficked people are held against their will through force or violence, and forced to work for or provide

 
services to the trafficker or others to satisfy their needs. In 2012, the 1INTERNAIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO), estimated that 21 million victims are held captive and trapped in the dangerous modern day human trafficking and slavery.
•    68% are exploited for labor work
•    22% are sexually harassed and exploited
•    10% are exploited in state-imposed forced labor
The International Labour Organization has reported that child workers, minorities, and migrants are at considerable risk of more extreme forms of exploitation. Statistics shows that over half of the world’s young workers are observed to be in hazardous sectors, including forced sex work and forced street begging.
It is the third largest crime industry after drug dealing and arm trafficking. The main victims of this horrifying crimes are young children mainly boys for forced labor and girls for sexual exploitation, women who are sometimes sold by their own family members too. It is one of the fastest growing activities of both national and international criminal organization.
The Trafficking Protocol or the Palermo Protocol an international agreement under the UN CONVENTION AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME (CTOC) which entered into
force on 25 December 2003. The protocol is one of three which supplement the CTOC. In 2014, the ILO estimated $150 billion in annual profit that was generated from forced labor alone.
The usage of the term has many dimensions. Trafficking itself means forcing a person to do something against their will through various methods of exploitation and violence.
Sometimes trafficking happens when the person is unable to pay off the debt or the money taken for some emergency purpose. Illiteracy also is one of the main reasons for this type of crimes. Some of the dimensions are:
Bonded labor- 2Bonded labor or debt labor refers to a pledge of a person's service as a
security for repayment. A labor is held “bondage” when he or she is unable to repay the debt on time. The terms of repayment are not clear during the time. That is why the person who holds the debt has full control over the labor who is in debt. The services to repay are basically undefined and the duration of repayment is also undefined. This type of bondage situation happens when a person is in urgent need of money. This situation is mostly visible

1 It is a UN agency whose main work is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labor standards. It was founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, which is the first and oldest specialized agency of the UN
2 Lakhan Subodh vs State of Chhattisgarh 4 ... on 5 February, 2020
 
in villages where the labor has to work as a bonded labor is someone else's agricultural farm to repay the loan taken.
Forced labor- 3Forced labor is a situation in which labors are forced to work against the will of the person under the threat of the superior or violence and exploitation. In this type of labor situation, freedom of the individual or group is restricted. Those men and women who are unskilled to do any proper work are mostly at risk of being trafficked. For instance, the forced labor includes agricultural labor, sweetshop factory labor, not promoting a person into higher position to maintain superiority and making them work twice as hard as possible, begging etc. The products which are produced are cocoa, coffee, cotton, gold etc.
Child labor- Child labor is basically a situation where the child is exploited through any form of work which deprives a child from his/her childhood. In this type of situation, a child's education is taken away from him/her. It is hazardous for the physical, mental, social, moral and development of the children. But because of the policies put forwarded by the government, the ratio of child labor has come down significantly over decades. There are many laws which prohibits any such exploitation against children but these laws are not applicable to all work by children as 4child labor. Few exceptions are child artists, family duties, child work practiced by Amish Children.

 
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN INDIA

Human trafficking is a problem prevalent to India as well. The trafficking of girls and women are a major problem in India. It is the 2nd largest crime in India. It is illegal and is banned from India but it still remains a problem in India. It is a very distressing problem. NGOs estimated that the issue of human trafficking affects 20 to 65 million
 
Indians. It is basically done for sexual exploitation, forced labor, drug selling etc.; where the victim is forced to do all these work against his/her will. If we go through the details, we will see that the corrupt officials are also a reason for the human trafficking which is happening in our country. According to a report by FREE A GIRL FOUNDATION, around 700-800 children are stuck in the red-light area of NAGPUR. There are various reasons of men, women and children being trafficked.

3 Ashok Kumar Singh vs State of Jharkhand on 13th January, 2022

4 Md. Parwez Alam vs The State of Bihar on 22 April, 2022
 

•    Women and girls are being trafficked within the country as well as trans-nationally for sexual exploitation and forced marriage specially to those areas where the male sex ratio is high. Villages which are in the outskirts of India and where people are not literate enough, these criminal activities are very popular.
•    Men are mostly trafficked for labor purpose or to serve as escorts in different countries, massage experts, drug selling etc.
•    Children are trafficked for factory workers, domestic servants, beggars and also used transnationally by terrorists and insurgent groups and also as suicide bombers.
India is a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh for commercial sexual exploitation. Nepali girls are also trafficked for performing in circus shows too. Indian migrants who travel to other countries willingly with low skills also end up being a part of such scandals and joining a 5brothel.
6 NHRC of India reported that around 40,000 children are being kidnapped each year that is annually, leaving 11,000 untraced. NGO's estimate that between 12,000 to 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from nearby nations as a part of human trafficking.
PROVISIONS TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN INDIA
•    Trafficking is prohibited by the Constitution of India under Article 23.
•    trafficking of Women and children for sexual exploitation is an offence under the IPC, 1860
•    Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
After rescuing the victims from the traffickers, the government put them into safe custody and are provided rehabilitation service as the victims go through exploitation and harassment which makes the both mentally and physically weak. The victims are also provided with basic necessities like food, shelter, clothing etc. and are also united with their families.
7PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT OF 14th NOVEMBER,2012-
It is one of the major provisions taken by the government of India. It is very special law made specifically for children who are being sexually exploited.
The provisions under this Act are as follows: -

5 a place where prostitution takes place.
6 NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
7 Mainly known as POCSO ACT,2012
 
•    It is a gender-neutral law
•    Not reporting abuse is a crime
•    No time limit for reporting abuse
•    Maintaining confidentiality of the victim's identity
•    New obligation under the POCSO rules- The government introduced a fresh set of rules
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS' PROTECTION ACT OF 2000 (TVPA) -
In this Act, there are basically three main components and they are:
•    Protection
•    Prosecution
•    Prevention
They are known as the 3P’s of the Act.

Following are the most important sections against trafficking:
1.    Section 370 deals with the trafficking of a person in general manner
2.    Section 370 A deals specifically with the exploitation of a trafficked person 3. Sections: 347, 367,363,365,370,506
Special provisions:
1.    Sex trafficking - section 354-A,376
2.    Forced marriage- section 366
3. Minors - Section 366A,366B,370(4),370(5),372
4.    Slavery - Section 371,374
5.    Aiding human trafficking – section 368,370A (1),370A (2),373 IMMORAL TRAFFIC (PREVENTION) ACT,1956- Section 3,4,5,6 CONSTITUTION OF INDIA,1949- Section 23,24
 
The Trafficking Of Persons (Prevention, Protection And Rehabilitation) Bill,2018.
Judgements

1.    Public Union for Civil Liberties v. State of Tamil Nadu & Others (Writ Petition Civil No. 3922 of1985)
The Apex Court directed that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should be involved in looking towards the progress of implementation of the law, national policy and program of action under the directions of the apex Court issued from time to time. The NHRC monitors the bonded labor situation in the country. In order to ensure compliance of the above situation, the Government of Haryana are responsible for enforcement of various labor laws. The Task Force is required to undertake periodic visits and inspections of the stone quarries and crushers to ascertain facts about working and living condition of the workers. The task force is carrying out its assignment by meeting regularly and submitting reports to the Central as well as the State Government indicating the status of compliance on the part of the concerned authorities with the statutory provisions and the directions of the Supreme Court.

2.    MC MEHTA VS STATE OF TAMIL NADU 1996 6(SCC) 756
The court held that Child labor was not an issue in Sivakasi alone, it is also a national issue. It observed that the rights of children were protected under Articles 24, 39(e) and 9(f), 41, and 47 of the Indian Constitution. Domestic laws such as the Apprentices Act, Beedi and Cigar Workers Conditions of Employment Act, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act also protected such rights. It was also noted that India ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which not only protects the child’s civil and political right but also extends protection to child’s economic, social, cultural and humanitarian rights.
The court took into recognition the various causes of the continuous existence of Child labor in India and cited various articles such as Child Labour in India by Nazir Ahmad Shah, Causes of the exploitation of child labor in India by Dr. Amar Singh and Raghuwinder Singh. The findings of Indian Child Labour by Dr. J.C. Kulshreshtha were also pointed out, which revealed the main causes of failure as (1) poverty; (2) low wages of the adult; (3) unemployment; (4) absence of schemes for family allowance;
(5) migration to urban areas; (6) large families; (7) children being cheaply available; (8) non-existence of provisions for compulsory education; (9) illiteracy and ignorance of parents; and (10) traditional attitudes.
The court, however, concluded that the main cause was the deteriorating financial conditions of the family which compelled the child to work and earn. Therefore, the formation of a Child Labour Rehabilitation cum Welfare Fund (hereinafter referred to as The Fund) was ordered. Any person contravening the provisions of the aforementioned legislation, in other words, any person employing a child into hazardous labor would have to pay a sum of Rs. 20,000, which shall be deposited in The Fund. The amount deposited shall be used for the growth and development of the child.
 
To ensure the efficacious implementation of the aforementioned, the court ordered that-
4.    The government shall carry out a survey of child labor within 6 months.
5.    A criterion assessing and observing the areas of employment which shall be deemed to be hazardous for employment be formed.
6.    Employment should be given to the parents or any adult of the family at the same place where the child was employed.
7.    In cases where employment is not provided to the parents or any adult of the family, an amount of Rs. 85,000 be paid to the parents of the child for the welfare of the child. In case, the parents fail to send the child for education, the payment shall cease.
8.    The education of the child in an esteemed institution or facility should be ensured.
9.    The inspectors of the concerned shall ensure that education is provided free of cost, as mandated under Article 45 of the Indian Constitution.

Slavery And Prostitution
“So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear, that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition. A trade founded in iniquity, and carried on as this was, must be abolished, let the price be what it might.”- WILLIAM WILBERFORCE8
Slavery is now also known as modern slavery or contemporary slavery. Slavery can be of many types like: Sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage, forced labor etc. Basically, slavery means when a person has to work for some other person by force and is also not paid sufficient amount of money for work.
9Prostitution is a very common term is united states and now it has been spread all over the world. Prostitution is mostly related to women and girls. But nowadays we have heard about male prostitution also. Prostitution means engaging or performing sexual activity with another person in return for a fee. The exploitation level in Prostitution is very high.
In 2005, there wee12.3 million forced labour as stated by INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION. Prostitution gives rise to human trafficking and most girls are the prey to such inhuman trafficking activities. The Central Government of India has made the provisions and tried to introduce the rules for avoiding illegal trafficking and prostitution activities but the implementation of the same was unsuccessful as a large population of our country suffers from poverty, ignorance, and hunger Such problems were prevalent especially in earlier times10.

8 24 August 1759- 29 July 1833. William Wilberforce was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to remove slave trade.
9 4 types of prostitution- street, brothel, escort, private

10 Guria, Swayam Sevi Sanstha v. State of UP Ors(31st july,2009)
 

.Importance Of Media
The importance of media for the protection of slavery and prostitution is very prominent. Films and documentaries play a very vital role for bringing the pain and suffering of those in this brutal business. In earlier times, bringing this topic out in public would create a huge controversy among the citizens and the makers and were often avoided. But now it has changed. Now people are aware of the situations and are interested in knowing about the whereabouts of those people who go through all these situations. Historians agree that films have largely shaped historical memories, but they debate issues of accuracy, moralism, sensationalism, how facts are stretched in search of broader truths, and suitability for the classroom. Berlin argues that critics complain if the treatment emphasizes historical brutality, or if it glosses over the harshness to highlight the emotional impact of slavery. Sometimes the films are shown in such a way that the actual facts are not provided, it brings the attention of the viewers by adding some extra controversies so that people find it more interesting.

Year    Film    Film genre    actor    director    book    country    author
1915    The birth of the nation    Historical drama    Lilliam Gish    D.W
Griffith    The clansman    United states    Thomas Sixon jr.
1993    Alex Haley’s
queen    Historical drama    Halle Berry    John Erman    Queen- the story of an American
family    United states    
1998    Beloved    Drama    Oprah Winfrey    Jonathan Demme        United states    Toni Morriso
n
 
1987    Cobra
Verde    Drama    Klaus
Kinski    Werner
Herzog    The viceroy of
Ouida    German
y    Bruce
Chatwin

Areas Where Prostitution And Slavery Go Hand In Hand In India
Brothels are illegal de jure11 but in practice are restricted to certain areas of any given town. Though the profession does not have official sanction, little effort is made to eradicate or impede it.
India's largest and best-known redlight districts are Sonagachi in Kolkata, Majestic in Bangalore, Resham Pura in Gwalior, Kamathipura, Sonapur in Mumbai and G. B. Road in New Delhi, that host thousands of sex workers. Earlier, there were centers such as Naqqasa Bazaar in Saharanpur, Chaturbhuj Stahn in Muzaffarpur, Lalpur, Maruadih in Varanasi, Meerganj in Allahabad, Kalinganj in Azamgarh and Kabadi bazar of Meerut.
There are many causes of sex slavery or prostitution. The most basic and common cause is social customs, lack of sex education in India, bad company, lack of money, family issues. Prostitution is legal in India but people still are unaware of the actual reasons why people are pushed into this profession. There are many girls who work as a sex slave for the basic reason of feeding their family. There are many unwanted pregnancy scenarios also in these professions. Even if a woman wants to have a child, she id denied the rights of it. Nowadays in India the topic is in light always. The youth are mostly aware about it and are open for discussion because it's nothing to be ashamed of. The prostitutes are blamed for various reason but not the opposite Gender who actually pay a huge sum of money to be there.

11 practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality.
 
Judgements Passed By The Courts In India

Budhadev Karmaskar v. State of West Bengal (2011) Appellant- Budhadev Karmaskar
Respondent- State of West Bengal
Observations of the Court
The appeal of the appellant was dismissed where he was convicted for the murder of a sex worker by battering her head repeatedly against the wall and the floor of the room. The Court filed a PIL for addressing the problems of the sex workers. A panel was constituted headed by an advocate and experts from social work backgrounds and resource persons. The Central and state government was directed to initiate schemes and policies for the vocational and skill training and the rehabilitation of the sex workers with the assistance of a constituted panel instituted for the purpose. The Court held that sex workers are like ordinary human beings and have an equal right to live a dignified life as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The major concerns that the Court pointed out were-
1.    To prevent sex trafficking
2.    To rehabilitate those sex workers who wish to withdraw themselves from the sex trade
3.    To provide dignified life and dignified conditions for those sex workers who wish to continue in this industry.
Gaurav Jain v. Union of India (1997) Petitioner- Gaurav Jain
Respondent- Union of India

Observations of the Court

The Court observed in this particular case where an advocate filed a PIL after reading the ‘red light trap’ in the India Today magazine. He prayed for separate inns and schools of vocational training for the offspring of the prostitutes as the environment they live in is not healthy for children and by residing separately they would be able to be somewhat a part of the mainstream public.
The Court also emphasized the elimination of prostitution. It also directed the establishment of juvenile homes for their vocational training and separate hostels for these children. A review petition was filed before the Court by the Supreme Court Bar Association with the assistance of the original petitioner Gaurav Jain for reflecting the nature and scope of Articles 32, Article 142 and Article 145 (1) of the Constitution and for directions formulated for the eradication of prostitution. The Court overruled the directions for eradication of poverty but it upheld the directions for the constitution of juvenile homes for the children of these sex workers.

Conclusion

Human trafficking, slavery and prostitution have been going on since ages and is still continuing. Human trafficking and slavery are not legal in India nor in any other part. But prostitution has been made legal in most of the world because nowadays there are many men and women who chose prostitution as a profession as it’s a good source of money. But however, people do not know the difference between choice and force. Forcing a person to have a sexual intercourse in rape and exploitation and anybody can file a complaint against it but if a person chose to earn through sexual
intercourse, it’s the persons choice.
People in India especially in local village areas people are unaware of these terms as there is no proper education. In India there is no sex education and the ratio of exploitation of women is very high because of all these reasons. Illiteracy is the base of all these problems. I hope with growing time these problems come to an end and the Government makes more strict laws so that the ruthless human beings who force or torture others for their own profit are punished and the victims get proper justice.