Human trafficking manual helps police in NE

[Guest guest]

Human trafficking manual helps police in NE

The manual brought out by an NGO is proving a boon for police in the Northeast

where trafficking is a major issue

Published on 02/21/2011

Shillong: What does human trafficking mean, why is it done, what punishment can

it attract and how do we rehabilitate victims? A manual on human trafficking

brought out by an NGO is proving a boon for police in the Northeast where

trafficking is a major issue.

Impulse, the NGO, has simplified the law and put it together in a handbook which

has been adopted in police training schools across the northeast and it is

bringing in winds of change in the region.

Hasina Kharbhih of Impulse has her focus clear — to combat trafficking and

rehabilitate victims " because without rehabilitation there is always the risk of

the victims being pushed back into the vicious cycle " .

" If awareness level is low, then prosecution of the culprit becomes difficult.

You can sensitize officers at the IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and IPS

(Indian Police Service) level, but at the police station level that becomes a

challenge, " Kharbhih said, reports IANS.

" No one has the time to read legal books, and from our ground-level experience

we know that a lot of cops are not aware of the anti-trafficking laws, " said

Kharbhih.

Therefore, three years ago, the NGO decided to put together a comprehensive

handbook which starts from scratch and explains what trafficking means and the

reasons why it is done — commercial sexual exploitation, paedophilia, forced

marriage, camel jockeying, child or bonded labour, domestic servitude and organ

transplantation.

The handbook simplifies laws like the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the

Juvenile Justice Act and also gives a summary of various offences under

different sections of penal provisions and the punishment or fine for them.

It also talks about how to prevent trafficking, the investigation process and

alternative strategies to combat the menace. The manual also gives guidelines on

victims' protection and rehabilitation.

The handbook has been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs and is backed by

the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Kharbhih said the NGO

hopes that the handbook would be adopted at the national level.

" The reality is that NGOs can't work alone. It has to be a collaborative effort

in which all stakeholders, like law-enforcement agencies and society as a whole,

are involved, " Kharbhih said.

According to Kharbhih, trafficking in the Northeast is linked to

underdevelopment, political strife, porous borders, poor health services and

lack of awareness.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data, 22,939 women and girls were

kidnapped and abducted in the country in 2008. In 2009 the number rose to

25,741. Latest UNODC data on Southeast Asia says that 150,000 people fall prey

to trafficking every year.

" While trafficking across the border is rampant, it's also happening within the

country. Advertisements luring young girls with jobs in airlines or in the

beauty industry are becoming a trap. Victims (women) are sold to middlemen for

Rs 15,000-30,000, while children are sold for Rs 5,000-7,000, " she said.

The 15-year-old NGO has also developed a model, the Meghalaya model, which has

been verified for replication in South Asia by the USAID, the UNDP and the

Indian Government.

" Combating trafficking involves five Ps - prevention, protection, press,

policing and prosecution and four Rs - reporting, rescuing, restoration and

rehabilitation. Based on this we developed the Meghalaya model, " Kharbhih said.

After a child or woman is reported missing, the information is fed into the

NGO's database, publicized in media and passed on to its partners in other

States and a First Information Report (FIR) is registered.

Once a victim is rescued after raids, he or she is sent to a shelter while the

NGO or its partners start tracing the victim's family.

" We follow up the progress of the rescued victim for two years. The final step

is hopefully the prosecution when we follow up with police on the progress, " she

added.

http://igovernment.in/site/human-trafficking-manual-helps-police-ne-39323