An Overview to Human Trafficking and the Related Laws

Introduction

What is human trafficking? Why is it done? How is it done? Human trafficking is an illegal way to transport people without their will with the aim of making a profit from them by exploiting them and their rights.[i] Human trafficking is a horrifying crime; it doesn’t fix the age or gender of its victims. People of any age or gender can become sufferers. Thousands of people, from children to women to men, fall into the hands of traffickers. People are trafficked for many purposes, including begging, organ trade, drug smuggling, bonded labor, domestic workforce prostitution, sex tourism, and many more things. Their main aim is to exploit the rights of victims and make maximum profit out of them by selling and buying them. They use threats, force, abuse, fraud, and deception towards other victims.

Conditions of the Victims of Human Trafficking

The majority of the group, that is trafficked, is women, as one of the major parts of this racket indulged women forcefully into prostitution, sex exploitation, and pornography. Despite the laws and the International Convention to stop the business of prostitution, it is flourishing and expanding. This business of prostitution i.e., selling a woman for sexual pleasure is well organized, and most of the time, owners of these places get information about raids and operations from their informers or through their network. Sometimes the police are able to rescue some women, but the majority of the time they hide them. The owners of these brothels act very smart; they built the tunnel rooms and small spaces between walls to hide the women, so the police cannot rescue them.

In the area of prostitution, the number of children is increasing day by day and becoming more popular among traffickers. Many young, trafficked girls are put into these brothels, where conditions are not very good. They force child prostitutes to have sex, on average, with 4 to 5 customers per day, which also affects the mental health of the child. Besides prostitution, another major reason why human trafficking is carried out is organ trading. They traffic people from different parts and remove their organs and sell them at high prices, mainly kidneys, but the number of organs removed differs from situation to situation. Further, traffickers force people into labor as slaves; they sell the people for a fixed amount, and then traffickers do not get any payment for their hard work; they live in horrible conditions; they hardly get any basic facilities.

Human Trafficking Laws In India

The Constitution of India, 1950

Article 23 of the Indian Constitution prohibits trafficking in human beings and forced labor. It states that exploitation of any human rights and trafficking them into such forced labor or in situations where they work without any payment will be a punishable offense. Apart from this Article 21 safeguards the right to life and personal liberty and Article 14 guarantees equality and equal protection before the law.[ii]

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956

This Act specifically addresses trafficking and the infliction of penalties on the person who conducts the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. This Act gives the definitions of brothel, child, corrective institution, magistrate, prescribed, prostitution, protective home, public places, special police officer, and trafficking police officer.[iii] This Act was enacted after the International Convention was signed in New York on May 9, 1950.[iv]

The Indian Penal Code, 1860

According to Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code, buying, selling, importing, or exporting any person without his consent to exploit their rights in any form like sexual exploitation, slavery, or a practice similar to slavery, servitude, or removal of organs for profit shall be punishable with imprisonment of not less than 7 years, which can be extended up to 10 years. When there is more than one person trafficked, then there shall be not less than 10 years of imprisonment, which can exceed up to life imprisonment. Section 371 punishes whoever does slave trading or traffics for the same.

Section 370 A of the IPC states that trafficking minors or engaging minors in any sexual exploitation in any manner will be punishable for not less than 5 years, which can exceed 7 years, and it will also be liable for a fine. Selling a minor for the purpose of prostitution, where they have to have intercourse with any person for unlawful and immoral purposes, the intention of this presumes, as she is disposed of in a brothel for the purpose of prostitution, and punishment for this act is imprisonment of 10 years with a fine.[v] If a minor is purchased for the purpose of prostitution, such as a brothel manager obtaining possession of a minor girl, the intention for such purpose is presumed, and the minor is used for prostitution, and the punishment for this act is ten years in prison and a fine.[vi]

Other laws

Apart from the above laws, The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act of 1976, the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, and the POCSO Act of 2012, etc. are also the other Indian legislations that deal with the protection of women and children from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018

This Bill of 2018, was drafted by the Union Government after taking into account the issue of prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking. The Bill addresses all aspects of the trafficking of persons.[vii] There exist gaps in the existing legislations, as the trafficking of persons in India is covered under the provisions of various laws. This Bill was introduced so as to bring comprehensive legislation to deal with the same. After taking into account the discussions that took place in the Lok Sabha during the bill's passage, it was redrafted as "The Trafficking of Persons (Protection, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill"[viii] and is yet to become law.

Anti-Trafficking Schemes by the Government

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has implemented a variety of initiatives against human trafficking. They started a Project on “strengthening the law enforcement response in India against trafficking in persons through training and capacity building.”[ix] Also, the government set up some Anti-Trafficking Cells with the goal of combating the issue of human trafficking. Some advanced actions were also taken, such as launching a website on anti-human trafficking and implementing anti-human trafficking measures in factories. The 'Ujjawala scheme' was implemented for the prevention of trafficking and the rescue and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.[x] It provides basic facilities to victims. Apart from these, there are more schemes, and the government is also taking more steps to prevent these issues.

International Perspective

There are many treaties and conventions to address and prevent human trafficking worldwide. In 2000, the United Nations adopted a Protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking as a supplement document to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.[xi] This was implemented to fight against organized crime and human trafficking, which mainly focuses on women and children. The main purpose was to prevent the trafficking of women and children and to protect and restore the basic human rights of victims. According to Article 5 of the Convention, it is mandatory for states to criminalize human trafficking. The Recommended Principles and Guidelines of the OHCHR[xii] also serve the purpose of securing the human rights of trafficked persons and victims.

Conclusion

Human trafficking is a very awful crime; it violates the rights and dignity of the victim. As this crime became a well-organized business, women and child sex exploitations, forced labor, and organ trafficking increased. With different levels of trafficking, it is hard to eradicate this, but it’s not impossible. With the right measures, it can be done. Many laws are made to work on the eradication of human trafficking, not only domestically but also internationally. These laws also help fight against the exploitation of human rights.

References:

[i] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimehttps://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/faqs.html#h1

[ii] The Constitution of India, art. 23, 21, 14.

[iii] The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (Act No. 104 of 1956)https://lddashboard.legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1956-104.pdf

[iv] Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-suppression-traffic-persons-and-exploitation

[v] The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860), s.372.

[vi] Id., s.373.

[vii] The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-trafficking-of-persons-prevention-protection-and-rehabilitation-bill-2018

[viii] The Trafficking In Persons (Prevention, Care, And Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/DRAFT%20TRAFFICKING%20IN%20PERSONS%20%28PREVENTION,%20CARE%20AND%20REHABILITATION%29%20BILL%202021%20%281%29.pdf

[ix] Comprehensive Scheme for Establishment of Integrated AHTUs and ToThttps://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/Scheme-AHTU-SS-271011.pdf

[x] UJJAWALA: A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitationhttps://wcd.nic.in/schemes/ujjawala-comprehensive-scheme-prevention-trafficking-and-rescue-rehabilitation-and-re

[xi] United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime And The Protocols Theretohttps://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCebook-e.pdf

[xii] The Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking(2002)https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/Traffickingen.pdfcerns

Disclaimer: The author affirms that this article is an entirely original work, never before submitted for publication at any journal, blog, or other publication avenue. Any unintentional resemblance to previously published material is purely coincidental. This article is intended solely for academic and scholarly discussion. The author takes personal responsibility for any potential infringement of intellectual property rights belonging to any individuals, organizations, governments, or institutions.

About the Author: Priyanshi Lekhwar is a first-year BA.LL.B student at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Pitampura, New Delhi.