Human Trafficking: Exploiting People for Profit

September 08, 2022

Human Trafficking: Exploiting People for Profit

“Hello there! I’m here to provide you with a bit of information on what human trafficking is, its various facets, and the Indian laws relevant to this abuse. What you, as a survivor, are experiencing, post confronting a traumatic experience is normal. What you, as a bystander, are going through while supporting a survivor is absolutely okay and typical too! If you need additional resources or just someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to The Neeti Project."

Written By: Shashank Ramachandran

What is Human Trafficking?

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines Human Trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit.”

Human trafficking is an extensive crisis. In many cases, trafficking gives rise to further crime. The trafficked victims may be used for domestic slavery or bonded agricultural labor. The trafficked victims are commonly sexually exploited (Profits and Poverty: Economics of Forced Labour, 2017).

Are there Various Forms of Human Trafficking?

Yes.

1. Trafficking for Forced Labor:

The International Labor Organization estimated that as of 2014, forced labor generates $150 billion in profits per annum. Trafficked victims are viewed as cheap labor that can be utilized to any extent. They are coerced into employment and made to work in inhumane conditions with little to no pay. They are widely employed in labor-intensive and dangerous jobs such as mining and construction. The victims have no identity and are left defenseless in a foreign land (Profits and Poverty: Economics of Forced Labour, 2017).

2. Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation:

One of the biggest sufferings that trafficked victims experience is sexual exploitation. They are physically tortured, beaten, and locked in rooms. Invariably, women and children are the primary victims of this Gender-Based Violence (GBV). They are lured with offers of employment in the domestic service sector and are then deceptively taken to brothels, where they are forced to engage in sex work.

3. Trafficking for Organ Trade:

A study in May 2020 that was published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information estimated that illicit human organ trade generates almost 1.5 billion dollars each year. This staggering amount of money is due to extremely long waiting lists for patients to get organ transplants legally. Victims are often coerced into giving up organs using force or blackmail.

Sometimes, victims agree to sell their organs for a certain amount but are then given less than the agreed amount or worse, nothing at all. Almost always, the organs are harvested carelessly and in unsanitary conditions, which means that victims suffer from post-procedure complications long after the actual harvesting is done (Gonzalez, Garijo & Sanchez, 2020).

4. Trafficking for Children (Child Harvesting):

Did you know that worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children? This means that human trafficking is at the stem of some of society’s biggest problems. The trafficked children are forced to toil in working conditions that resemble slavery (Profits and Poverty: Economics of Forced Labour, 2017) (Srivastava, 2020).

A 2017 guide for child welfare agencies consistently reports that 50-90% of child sex trafficking victims in the US were part of the child welfare system. These children are vulnerable and unfortunately, do not experience any healthy relationships in their life and this is used against them by the perpetrators (Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies ,2017).

5. People Smuggling:

People smuggling involves facilitating people to illegally enter a country. People are ready to take dire measures to escape poverty and conflict in their home country and complex, organized smuggling networks take advantage of this desperation. The Syrian Civil War is one of the biggest migrant displacing events in history, with people smugglers helping them find asylum in Europe. These smuggled people find themselves at risk of being victims of rape, assault and robbery.

Are Certain Genders Disproportionately Affected by Human Trafficking?

The Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative, launched in 2017, conducts extensive global research on human trafficking and found that 71% of all trafficked victims are female, making them the gender that is disproportionately affected by this crime. A surprising discovery by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that in about 30% of the countries where gender of the trafficker was provided, women were the majority traffickers and women trafficked women

(United States Office on Drugs and Crime, n.d.).

What are Your Rights Relevant to Human Trafficking?

It is essential for every single person to be aware of the laws in place to safeguard the basic rights of Indian citizens against human trafficking.

Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956: The ITPA is the primary legislation that is used to prevent the sexual exploitation of women and girls.
Section 366A, Indian Penal Code: Whomsoever induces a girl under the age of eighteen (minor) to a place with the intent to force her to undergo intercourse, shall be punished with imprisonment.
Section 370, Indian Penal Code: Whoever buys or sells a person as a slave, or accepts or detains any person against their will as a slave, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 374, Indian Penal Code: Whoever unlawfully compels a person to labor against their will shall be punished by law.
Activists are pushing for a new Anti-Trafficking Bill, that would widen the scope of the term ‘victim’ by including transgenders, along with women and children. The Bill would also provide for more rigorous punishment for aggravated offences.

In 2013, a 14 year old girl from Darjeeling started spending a lot of time on her phone every day with one of the boys from her school. She went missing and her father lodged a complaint at the police station. Upon investigation, a taxi driver recognized her and said that he had driven her to Siliguri, a city in West Bengal. The Central Bureau of Investigation stepped in and conducted a raid after tracing a call received from her, and the girl was finally rescued.

How Can You Report Human trafficking?

If you notice or suspect any incidence of human trafficking around you, make sure to report the same and help change a life. 1098 is the national Government helpline you can reach out to for child trafficking. You can call Shakti Vahini, an organization established in New Delhi, on +91-11-42244224 or +919582909025.

Remember, being a citizen is not simply living in a society, but attempting to change it. Do your part to make the world a safer place, for all of us.

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References

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2017). Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-agencies/

Dasgupta, S. (2021). What is draft anti-trafficking bill 2021 and how it is different from the 2018 bill. The Print. https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/what-is-draft-anti-trafficking-bill-2021-and-how-it-is-different-from-the-2018-bill/692096/

Gonzalez, J., Garijo, I. & Sanchez, A. (2020). Organ Trafficking and Migration: A Bibliometric Analysis of an Untold Story https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7246946/#:~:text=With%20a%20shortage%20of%20legally,12%2C000%20illegal%20transplants%20%5B2%5D

Interpol. (n.d.). People smuggling.

https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/People-smuggling

Interpol. (n.d.). Types of Human Trafficking.

https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Human-trafficking/Types-of-human-trafficking

iPleaders. (2019). Law against Human Trafficking in India.

https://blog.ipleaders.in/human-trafficking/

International Labor Organization. (2017). Profits and Poverty: Economics of Forced Labor. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013120502/http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_243027.pdf

Singh, S. (2022). Activists press for new anti-trafficking Bill. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/activists-press-for-new-anti-trafficking-bill/article65703823.ece

Srivastava, R. (2020). In India, child labour victims struggle to receive state compensation. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-humantrafficking-children-trfn-idUSKBN24400H