CHILD TRAFFICKING

Child trafficking, according to UNICEF is defined as any person under 18

who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received for the
purpose of exploitation, either within or outside a country. [1] There have been
many cases where children just disappear overnight, as many as one every
eight minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.[2] Children
are taken from their homes to be bought and sold in the market. In India,
there is a large number of children trafficked for various reasons such
as labour, begging, and sexual exploitation. Because of the nature of this
crime; it is hard to track; therefore making it impossible to have exact figures
regarding this issue. India is a prime area for child trafficking to occur, as
many of those trafficked are from, travel through or destined to go to India.
Though most of the trafficking occurs within the country, there is also a
significant number of children trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh.
[1]

Filmmaker Manish Harishankar has taken the subject of Child trafficking in

India in his film Chaarfutiya Chhokare Produced by Sunill Khosla & Vibha
Dutta Khosla, intensively and shown this problem, nexus, modus operandi
and repercussions.Recently Pradeep Sarkar's Mardaani also raised strong
voice against child sex trafficking in India. Rani Mukherjee was widely
appreciated for her portrayal of an officer who rescues many such trapped
girls.

Reasons
There are many contributing factors to child trafficking, which include
economic deprivation, conditions, lack of employment opportunities, social
status, and political uprisings. Many of the families in India are unable to
afford the basic necessities of life, which forces the parents to sell their
children off to gangs, and the gangs to exploit them. Having approximately half
of those in India living under the poverty line, [3] this results in desperate
measures being taken to make any money they can. As there arent even decent
employment opportunities available, parents will do anything from sweeping
the streets to selling their kids, even if it only makes them a few rupees. The
fact is that children, are more vulnerable than adults, making them an easier
target and a commodity for gangs. They are looked upon as more expendable
than the rest of the population which makes them available as objects to be

sold. Another cause of sexual exploitation is that people around the world find
pleasure in the outcomes of this abuse, therefore causing a demand for it.
Political uprisings lead to a demand for soldiers, and as children are more
vulnerable, they are forced to conscript and use their bodies as sacrifices.
Labour
Legally,children in India are allowed to do light work, but they are often
trafficked for bonded labour, and domestic work, and are worked far beyond
what is allowed in the country. They are often forced to work, in the use of
contraptions that bound them to be unable to escape and then forced to
submit to control. Others may be bound by abuse whether physical, emotional,
or sexual.[4] Those forced into labour lose all freedom, being thrown into the
workforce, essentially becoming slaves, and losing their childhood.
Illegal activities
Children, over adults are often chosen to be trafficked for illegal activities such
as begging and organ trade, as they are seen as more vulnerable. Not only are
these children being forced to beg for money, but a significant number of those
on the streets have had limbs forcibly amputated, or even acid poured into
their eyes to blind them by gang masters. Those who are injured tend to make
more money, which is why they are often abused in this way. [5] Organ trade is
also common, when traffickers trick or force children to give up an organ.

Sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation is an issue that is faced among many developing countries
and is defined as the sexual abuse of children and youth through the
exchange of sex or sexual acts for drugs, food, shelter, protection, other basics
of life, and/or money.[6]
Prevalence
Child trafficking takes place all around India. There have been reports from
many areas about the increase of trafficking taking place in India. According to
the US State Department, there are approximately 600,000 to 820,000 people
trafficked a year across international borders, and up to 50% of those are
children.[7] This is definitely seen as a growing issue in Asia, with the many
children that are and continue to be trafficked for many reasons as well as
being exploited.

In 2005, a study was conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of

India (NHRC) after they received an alarming number of reports from the press,
police, and non-government organisations (NGOs) about the rise of human
trafficking within India. They found that India was fast becoming a source,
transit point and destination for traffickers of women and children for sexual
and non-sexual purposes. The areas of the greatest concern were poverty
stricken areas such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, [more in[Karnataka]], Uttar
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and West Bengal.[8]