SHILLONG, JUNE 8 – Non-governmental agencies fighting against the malaise of trafficking of women and children have expressed grave concern that the evil is growing with increasing numbers women and children from Meghalaya and other north-eastern States being lured and deceived into the flesh trade in the metropolitan cities in the country. Voicing concerns, Praveen Patkar, India’s representative for ‘End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), has called for concerted action by the State authorities, NGOs and the public at large to wage a war against the exploitation of women and children and deprivation of their fundamental rights.
Interacting with members of the Press at the Shillong Press Club here on Friday, Patkar expressed apprehensions that a big and powerful network of traffickers comprising local people is operating in the State which is responsible for feeding the insatiable demand for ‘sex slaves’ in the metropolises. “It is amazing how the trafficking network is always several steps ahead of the authorities,” Patkar observed, adding, “Government agencies, NGOs and the public need to build a stronger network to counter the traffickers.”
Patkar is also the Director, Anti-Trafficking Centre for Prerana, a Mumbai-based organization working mainly on the issue of trafficking and convener for Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (ATSEC). Priti Patkar, executive secretary, Prerana and Hasina Kharbih, president, Impulse NGO Network, which is working for the rights of children in Meghalaya, were also present at the interaction with the Press.
All the three activists were unanimous in their opinion that awareness of the issues involved was grossly poor among the governmental agencies and the public and appealed to the media to become active partners in the fight against trafficking. Patkar, however, lauded the prompt response of Meghalaya Police and Social Welfare department when 34 young girls trafficked from Meghalaya were rescued from brothels in Mumbai recently.
“Unfortunately, the police and other government agencies in Assam and some other north-eastern States are yet to wake up to the gravity of the situation,” the ECPAT India representative lamented. Calling for appropriate steps to prevent trafficking, Priti Patkar stressed that an effective system needs to be put in place to restore the victims to the mainstream. This would involve a care and support system, short stay home, legal support,vocational training, etc.
Citing the constraints of law as one of the main stumbling blocks in the fight against trafficking, Praveen Patkar demanded that The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, be thoroughly revised to provide more teeth to the legislation. The Act has not even defined what constitute trafficking and has not provided for any punishment to the customers. He also demanded stringent punishments to the traffickers for damages to the victim, his/her family and the State. The section 18 of the Act which provides for confiscation of the property of the traffickers must be strictly enforced.
For the first time in Mumbai, two brothels were sealed following the rescue of minor girls from Meghalaya, in exercise of the Section 18 of the Act. Patkar demanded that the sealed properties of the traffickers should be merged into a fund to pay damages to the victims and also to rehabilitate them.