Sex Trafficking-
a Global malaise and a blot of the sub-continent 

by Nisha Ghosh, Friendship Link
Coordinator SIGBI, SI Pune Metro East
India

 

Picture: Nisha and me
with Ruchira at CSW59

‘Bringing an End to Sex Trafficking: We Can Do
It!’ This SI event on the first day of
CSW59 sessions, highlighted the varied work that Soroptimists across the world
are doing on sex trafficking, an ill that plagues developed, developing and
under developed countries. The SI statement reiterates,
“Regardless of the form it may take, trafficking in persons builds on the
victims’ ignorance and vulnerability and leads to modern slavery and
humiliation which practically eliminate the opportunities for the education and
empowerment of women and girls.”Member states are
obviously not doing enough or not effectively, as human trafficking has only
multiplied, rampantly aided now with the misuse of technology.

Picture: Ruchira receiving the global Citizen Award from Bill
Clinton and his foundation in 2009

It is not
coincidental that this year, UN Women’s Woman of Distinction Award went to strong Ruchira Gupta.  Her globally acknowledged work on sex trafficking has escalated
her from an investigated journalist to film maker and then as a consultant
working on this same issue for the UN and several countries. Ruchira has helped
formulate policies, national plans and teach courses on modern day slavery. She
formed a coalition of supporters of her work, and Apne Aap Worldwide, an NGO, took
shape.
A nongovernmental organization that tackles issues of sex trafficking and promotes women’s rights and  also works for
rehabilitation, empowerment and capacity building for those she has rescued
from the jaws of the sex trade. More than 20,000 girls and women have been
rescued through her efforts.

Picture:  Ruchira taking Gloria Stienem around to the villages
where the trafficking of girls is highest

In her home country
India, she has provide policy support and worked in conjunction with ministries.
It is small wonder that Ruchira’s work on sex trafficking began when
she stumbled upon missing girls in a small village in near her hometown. That
made her investigate and opened several cans of worms. 

For the subcontinent,
sex trafficking is a huge blot.  The ‘trade’ that involves selling of girls as
young as 13 to metro cities flourishes, unabated. Poverty, lack of education,
unemployment and the attraction of the big city play a major role in luring
girls from their miserable backgrounds.

Ruchira enumerates the challenges she works
with – no data of numbers trafficked, the archaic laws and very often a nexus
between the traffickers and men with political muscle making intervention by
law agencies next to impossible. A report (2013) indicated that failures on
the part of the Government and Police were the root cause behind crimes against
women. Pressure from NGOs
and women’s groups have led to the Amendment of the Criminal Code in India.

 

Picture: International president, Ann Garvie, Chairs ‘Bringing an End to Sex Trafficking: We Can Do
It!’ at CSW

 Things may change but
it’s a long haul say the activists.  A person may be
trafficked for labor and then may be sexually exploited as well. It is very
important for India to have strict laws against trafficking for labor
exploitation. India has to make bigger legal changes:“It has
created a new paradigm with how we deal with trafficking,” “We
have shifted the blame from the victim to the perpetrator". Also, while the law has
changed, there is no budget allocation to provide legal, health, housing or
capacity-building services to victims and survivors of prostitution. And on
prevention, there is absolutely no policy at all. A holistic approach that
links different departments, such as women and child, social welfare,
education, police, is needed. Schemes need to be linked.

One of the important
take home points from CSW59 was that it this is a global war – whether in Mexico.
Canada, Eastern Europe, or an Asian country – women groups are putting their
all into elimination of sex trafficking. Delegates from the sub-continent group
that were part of the Asia Pacific Caucus had serious dialogues on hope to
prevent this grave violation of human rights, Soroptimists in the sub-continent
countries could evolve projects that help in rehabilitation of rescued victims,
or education and empowering them to a life, but most importantly what CSW
initiates, is to start the dialogue to engage communities.