V o l.

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I s s ue . 0 3 Tuesday Conference
Theology e-magazine To make humanity united in worshipping God

On Human Trafficking Our Heavenly Patron

Tuesday Conference reaches you an article On Human

Trafficking. Th is is as often ar gued the m oder n ver sion
of slavery and an invisible threat to humanity. The following write
up is designed as follows; we begin with a definition, its types and
causes and we deal with some specified forms of trafficking and
with a note on compacting it. We hold the argument of Pope
Francis on human trafficking, a form of slavery, a crime against
humanity, a grave violation of human rights, an atrocious scourge.
Human Trafficking (HT) is one of the three most lucrative
types of organized crime, besides drugs and arms. The extent of
human rights violation is unimaginable. This crime is spreading
its tentacles unabated, reaching undefined proportions.
The more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to
protection of men against the cruelty of men- Gandhi

Human Trafficking is one of the worlds

largest crime against humanity. Yet it goes
unnoticed by the majority of the society.
 Human Trafficking can be defined as the acquisition of
Page - 02 people by improper means such as force, fraud, or
deception, with the aim of exploiting them.

Historically, trafficking has been

defined as the trade in women and
children for prostitution or other
Law immoral purpose. Trafficking in
enforcement humans beings involves the least
agencies and risk when compared to other two
organized crimes. Reports estimate
other more than 12.3 million persons are victimized throughout HT
stakeholders every year and it is more 32 billion dollar industry.
Various forms of Human Trafficking
feel that HT
Sexual exploitation,
can be tackled
Slavery,
only by Organ transport,
stringent law Forced marriages,
enforcement. Bonded labour
Adoption. Two Perspectives to Combat HT
1) Law Enforcement Problem: Accused Oriented
For long we have been trying to combat HT from a law and
order perspective. It presumes that HT is a legal problem and the
Trafficking is focus is on punishing the trafficker and prosecuting is the matter
basically an of concern.
exploitation 2) Human Rights Violation: Victim Oriented
of victims Here believing HT, is a gross violation of human rights
violation and the victim suffering should be provided proper
vulnerability.
protection, their concentration is rescue and rehab of the victim
with which no much concern for the prosecution.

Required Convergence
Both are limited and incomplete approaches to address an issue as serious as
HT. There is need to strike the balance on the both aspects truth seeking and victim
protection. This is exactly a question as to how much focus on treatment and
punishment
 Page - 03
Causal Factors Contributing to HT

Social Factors Environmental Unnatural Factors

caste & class structure, Factors war,
gender based discrimination, natural catastrophe, ethnic clashes
religion and tradition, famines , insurgency
chronic poverty. drought,
flood .
Other Forces
detrimental laws,
forest felling ,
land grabbing,
dislocation, etc.

1. Bride Trafficking in India

The girls are purchased as brides from all regions like,
The police Haryana,
inspector of Rajasthan,
Ladwa, Punjab,
Kurukshetra, West Bengal,
termed these Western Utter Pradesh.
molki They are called molki or paro. This molki women were
women as used akin to a toy on a use and throw basis.
The media and the so called main stream nongovernmental
a gifted organizations are not aware of molki women. In the beginning
sex toy, but they stared this marriage business;
refused to 1) to acquire (bonded) labours for their booming agriculture
2) the poor parents married their daughters to the dilliwalahas
consider this
because they did not ask for dowry.
is a case of
trafficking or Brother, they bring molki for enjoyment, all (male
bonded members) take advantage of her and for the neighbors

labour. they have a girl to show off. A panchayath member from

the village of the Safidon admitted the bare fact.
 There seems to be conspiracy of silence among all those
who keep quiet to gain by trapping and exploiting these Page - 04

women.

The molki These women are promised by traffickers of

women are good marriage
cheaper and or well paid jobs,
long lasting but they sell them for a few bucks.
alternative for The price fixed for them depends on their age & physical
the sexual appearance.
needs and They may be sold, many times in their life.
their social The prolonged suppression and the mental trauma faced by molki
women leave no other option but to accept the servitude or to
standing is no
leave the family foe a better alternative. According to the Sarpanch
more than a
Rajkala Malik, of Pathiri village, the entire village ensures that
prostitute. such women do not escape or meet any stranger.

Most of the NGOs see the import of girls as

an effect of declining sex ratio in Haryana.
These unfortunate living beings are
totally unaware of the language,
customs and ethos here! And they live
a very inhuman life. They are served as
the fodder to satisfy the sexual desire
2.Surrogacy & Child Trafficking of men. - D R Chowdhary.

For 3,000 pounds we can rent a womb for nine months. Between some
estimates, Indian surrogacy is already a 250 million pounds a year business and its
growing rapidly. India legalized commercial surrogacy in 2002. Commercial
surrogacy may not technically fall within the definition of HT as laid down by U N;
it is bound to increase cases of trafficking for surrogacy. If the measure of poverty is
not taken into account, we will have many more children either taking into crimes
or being trafficked and put into situation that may bring them some money, but at
the cost of their dignity, self worth, and protection. To believe that there is no
exploitation if both the parties agree to it, is incorrect.
 Little children are people with Big rights- Dr
Page - 05
Klaus Kankel

3. Child Trafficking: the Alarm that Fails to Ring a Bell

The trouble is Children are the unfortunate & underprivileged humans
too many upon whom,
people grow immeasurable,
up; they do unfathomable,
not remember grave excesses,
what it is like aberrations,
to be a 12 year take place daily by preparators of crime. Children are trafficked
because there is a demand for them. The supply comes easy as
old Walt
children, more than anyone else, are the most vulnerable and can
Disney
therefore be manipulated, coerced, and bartered or bought and
sold.

4. Adoption and Child Trafficking

Over the years there have been an increasing number of reports of children
being bought and sold into adoption or lease that do not follow the legal process of
law. The fact that many Indian parents find it difficult to adopt children legally and
hence resort to illegal adoptions also, cannot be ignored.
Inter- country adoptions also raise a great deal issues. If placing children
aboard is about giving them a better life then millions of Indians,
Bangladeshis and Pakisthanis would require similar treatment and
should not be deprived of it., says a UN official.

This is a myth that adoption always

leads to better life. Everyone thinks
adoption is noble work. Yes it is. But
activists on international adoption
issues, find a lot of problems in this
area on which no one wanted to talk
or think.
 Page - 06
All over the world women speak the same
language- of silence- Anasuya Sengupta
Moral
6. Immoral Woman or Victims? Prostitution in
supremacy of India
people outside The dishonor attached to this profession mostly comes
of sex work is from how the profession is viewed by the society. Therefore,
something one of struggles of sex workers has been to view their work as
that the sex any other work and their choice to go into the profession as
workers have that of any other individual .
to constantly The organization of sex workers
deal with. in the recent past has steered a
lot of debates around
prostitution for sex work to be
The considered under the ambit of
prostitute labour rights and its recognition
as services offered.
is often
Making a distinction between trafficking and sex work by
referred to
choice enables one to see the woman in the prostitution not as
as a moral someone who is always forced in the profession, but as
outcast. someone who might take it up as a conscious choice.
HT is a complex
phenomenon and quite
Seeing HT as
separate from prostitution
synonymous
per se. It has been
to prostitution
established as a crime that
is not justified.
extends beyond the realm
of prostitution.

Help Me!!! One victim summarized how the social inequalities could
ultimately determine whether girls become sex trafficked into Kolkata; you know
the concept of no choice is not a choice? Like , if you have only one choice, that
due to your social status, due to your educational
level, due to your financial level, you can only do sex
work to support your family? And then if you join sex
work, then it is really not choice. It is a no- choice.
One choice is no choice at all.
 Empowering the Vulnerable Persons Page - 07

Initiatives in generating the zero tolerance among the vulnerable section have
an undeniably demonstrative effect in preventing HT. The vulnerable person needs
to be empowered. It has several stages;
1) Becoming aware,
2) Recognize,
3) Resist,
4) Revolt,
5) Report,
6) Reassure.
Initially the vulnerable person may be totally ignorant of the lurking danger;
Such a gullible person needs to be educated. Knowledge makes her aware...then she
moves to stage of recognizing that she is vulnerable...later she makes her
resist ..Further more strength helps her to revolt and save herself. The victims
statement has a great legal value in punishing the offender. Finally the victim has a
right to be assured of redressal of grievance and against repetition of violence. An
ideal stage of empowerment with all these steps can bring in zero tolerance against
all exploitation and is the ideal situation in preventing HT.

Conclusion
We believe that tackling such issues does not only mean making polices and
laws, it also means being sensitive and motivated enough to make a difference to the
lives of thousands of women caught in the web of trafficking. Join hands to fight
trafficking in Human beings.
If you are not a
part of the
solution, then
you are the
problem.- Sh iv
Khera.

Editor: Tony Maliyekal VC. Published from Vincentian Vidyabhavan, Aluva.