NCW, UNIFEM to fight trafficking in women

February 2, 2010

NCW, Unifem to fight trafficking in women

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, The Hindu, February 2, 2010

The National Commission for Women (NCW) and the United Nations Development Fund

for Women (Unifem) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to

combat trafficking in girls and women and " feminisation " of the HIV/AIDS

pandemic.

Under the MoU, the two agencies will engage in developing strategies to reduce

all forms of violence among women, including policy dialogues to end the

trafficking in women in India which would ultimately lead to creating public

awareness.

The two organisations would render all assistance to complaints relating to

women abandoned by their non-resident Indian spouses, including networking with

non-governmental organisations in India and abroad and recommending the

government on any policy or issue relating to NRI marriages.

To begin with, the NCW, in partnership with Unifem, proposes to reach out to

women and address their vulnerability in the source areas from where they are

trafficked.

`PREVENTION MECHANISMS'

" We have identified three States — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal — with

an overarching goal to eliminate trafficking by 2015 and create

institutionalised prevention mechanisms to stop trafficking at the source

through community action at the panchayat-level, " NCW chairperson Girija Vyas

said.

The mechanisms will be created at the panchayat-level community-owned centres of

action against trafficking and HIV/AIDS. More than 600 women and girls will also

be trained in entrepreneurship for sustainable livelihood.

Annie F. Stenhammer, Regional Programme Director, Unifem South Asia, said women

were primarily trafficked from rural areas where there was a dearth of

institutionalised prevention mechanisms. The programme is an attempt to bridge

the gap and make prevention services accessible and eventually institutionalised

at the zilla and panchayat-level.

" This programme seeks to get to the root of changing attitudes so that

communities act as change agents and bridge the gap and gender-based violence of

women, " Ms. Stenhammer added.

Under the MoU, efforts would be made to re-visit existing government programmes

to include women in difficult situations to make them economically independent.

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