Latest news with #JustRightsforChildren
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Silence Is Violence: Speak Up and Act to Stop Child Trafficking
New Delhi: July 30 is the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, and the theme this year is as direct as it is urgent: 'Human trafficking is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation'. Yet we still hear people ask, 'Is trafficking really such a big issue?' 'What can we really do about it?' Trafficking is any process that results in exploitation. In India, Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits trafficking as a fundamental right that prescribes punishment and criminality. Human trafficking is the second-largest crime in the world. It generates $150 billion a year, according to global estimates. One out of every three trafficked persons is a child. With the advancement in communication, technology and permeation of social media, trafficking is no longer a poverty-driven issue. It has become an organised crime with the potential to enter our homes, here here and now. If today, we choose to look the other way we will become an ostrich, and also a part of the problem itself. Trafficking Is Hidden In Plain Sight Before we talk about laws and systems, we have to understand how trafficking operates around us — quietly, invisibly and often in ways that we refuse to acknowledge. A child can be trafficked anywhere through a message, a photograph, or a threat. Trafficking happens in our homes inadvertently when girls brought from Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bengal by unregistered placement agencies work as domestic help without contracts, wages or protection, often facing physical and sexual abuse that remains invisible behind closed doors. Many times these acts are recorded and used to continue their exploitation through blackmail. We see this play out around us, and still, we remain ignorant. In Bihar, girls are trafficked under the pretext of orchestra performances. They are forced to dance at weddings and strip in front of crowds. Hundreds watch but no one speaks up. The truth is, trafficking hides behind excuses — poverty, helplessness, demand. The worst part is not that it's happening. It's that we see it and do nothing. Until people speak out, silence is violence. Prosecution As A Tipping Point India has one of the toughest anti-trafficking laws in the world. Traffic in human beings, begar and similar forms of forced labour are offences and must be punished by law. The Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) defines trafficking as a stringent organised crime. Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receiving a person through force, fraud, coercion, abduction or deception of a vulnerable person for exploitation is punishable by up to life imprisonment. Laws mean little to a child who is being exploited and remain meaningless unless enforced. Real protection lies not in legislation alone, but in its ability to reach those who need it most. This is where civil society has stepped in. Just Rights for Children's Access to Justice for Children programme, the largest civil society initiative against child exploitation and sexual abuse in the country, has shown what is possible when the rule of law is made real for the vulnerable. Between April 2023 and March 2025, JRC achieved over 54,000 prosecutions across 28 states, rescuing more than 85,000 children, mostly from child labour. Centre for Legal Action and Behaviour Change (C-LAB) report, Building the Case for Zero: How Prosecution Acts as the Tipping Point to End Child Labour – The Case from India, drew data from 24 states to show prosecution is key to justice. As per the report, the Just Rights for Children network partners assisted in the rescue of 53,651 children from trafficking and kidnapping in 27,320 raids in 2024–25. Nearly 90 percent were in the worst forms of child labour. Top states were Telangana, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. In 2023, 18,774 prosecutions for human trafficking occurred worldwide, according to the 2024 U.S. TIP Report (India's data wasn't included). India alone had more than double that number in one year. This is scale. Scale is what organised crime demands. To combat trafficking, prevention must come before protection, protection before prosecution, and prosecution must create the deterrence that leads back to prevention. Follow The Money, Break The Chain Prosecution is the beginning of the end of trafficking. As to dismantle an organised crime, we must strike where it hurts. We must start with two principles: look beneath the surface and follow the money. Every trafficked child is part of a chain: source, transit and destination. The trafficker is part of a system. The only way to stop the system is to break every link. That means prosecuting recruiters, transporters and buyers, not just employers. We must cut off the tentacles of trafficking by making it economically unviable — attaching properties, imposing fines, cancelling procurement, blacklisting repeat offenders and shutting down premises. Without consequences, there is no deterrence. At the same time, we have to ensure long-term support and justice for survivors. We must identify vulnerable families and ensure every government scheme, scholarships, entitlements, protections, reach them. When a child is in school, they are far less likely to be trafficked. Therefore, ensuring universal access to education is critical. India has recognised education as a fundamental right until the age of 14. But to meaningfully reduce vulnerability, education must be free till 18. A National Strategy With Local Action Ending trafficking demands a nationwide push rooted in local intelligence. From data to digital tools, the response must be sharp, adaptive and led by those closest to the ground. India has one of the largest offender databases — the National Database of Sex Offenders (NDSO). It helps track patterns, identify hotspots and build heat maps of high-risk zones. This intelligence comes from survivors. They know who trafficked them. Use it. Share it. Act on it. At Just Rights for Children, our strategy follows the PICKET framework -- Policy, Institutional capacity, Convergence, Knowledge, Economics and Technology. It begins with strong, clear Policy that supports zero tolerance to child labour and trafficking in supply chains of government and corporate procurement, nimble policies that adapt with the changing nature of trafficking and accountability for implementation of existing laws. Institutions must be equipped and mandated to monitor, prosecute offenders and support survivors in their recovery. From specialised anti-human trafficking units to local village panchayats maintaining migration registers, building institutional strength is critical. Convergence across agencies is vital. NGOs, police, media and citizens must coordinate to share intelligence. Knowledge empowers children, families and communities to recognise and resist exploitation. Survivor insights provide powerful tools to dismantle trafficking networks. Economic deterrents such as attaching properties, imposing fines, cancelling procurement and blacklisting repeat offenders make trafficking financially risky. Technology is a powerful tool. Databases, artificial intelligence, machine learning, heat maps and predictive analytics track traffickers, identify hotspots and predict movement patterns. Facial recognition systems are already being used at some railway stations. They must be scaled up to identify sex offenders and traffickers. This is how a girl trafficked from West Bengal to the Andamans was rescued in 24 hours. A local NGO alerted police, who contacted the NGO at the destination, and everyone acted. That is coordination. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has saved countless children at stations. Real-time alerts, trained officers, and shared intelligence make a huge difference. What Can One Person Do? It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of trafficking, but real change often begins with individual action. We might ask, can one person really make a difference? Recently, one of my colleagues noticed a young girl crying at a traffic signal. Concerned, she stopped to check on her and discovered that the 15-year-old was a victim of child trafficking, rape, forced domestic labour and child marriage. To hundreds of passersby, she was just another child, invisible in plain sight. But when someone finally stopped to help, that person became her saviour. If you think, one person can't change the world, think again, because the world has always been changed by one person at a time. See. Speak. Report. Act. If you see a child being exploited, speak up. Call the police. Call a helpline. Don't let it pass. What you do in that moment could mean the world to that child. In massage parlours, spas, orchestras and placement agencies, our response must be faster and stronger. Institutions cannot do this alone. Civil society, media, families and communities have to act together. Political will exists, but enforcement and public resolve are key to ending trafficking. There are still 138 million children trapped in the worst forms of child labour around the world, according to estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF. We have already missed our Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 deadline. Today, India is leading by example — rescuing one child at a time, securing one prosecution at a time, holding one trafficker accountable at a time. It's time for the world to follow this model, because these 138 million children are not statistics, they are children. And the time to act is not tomorrow, it is now.
The Hindu
14 hours ago
- The Hindu
What is India doing about its child trafficking problem
Nearly all of us have seen an instance of it: a child working at a street-side tea shop, begging at a traffic light, or perhaps even as a domestic help at some homes. Not many of us realise perhaps that a large number of these children are trafficked: taken away from their families and forced into exploitative, abusive labour. July 30 is observed as the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. In today's podcast, we talk about the scope of the problem in India, the government's response, and most importantly, what more needs to be done to protect every child in our land. Guest: Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children and Child Rights Activist Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston For more episodes of In Focus:
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Gap between rescue and prosecution a hurdle in tackling crimes against children'
Panellists on Tuesday discussed how the glaring gap between rescue and prosecution is a major hurdle in effectively tackling crimes against children. They said child victims often fell through these gaps into child labour, trafficking, child marriage, and abuse. The discussion took centre stage at the State-level consultation 'Human Trafficking in India: Strengthening Convergence and Prevention Mechanisms', held in Chennai. It was organised by Just Rights for Children in collaboration with the Department of Children Welfare and Special Services. S. Santhana Kumar, Senior Civil Judge and Deputy Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority, M. Casimir Raj, member, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, M. Ragavendran, Assistant Security Commissioner, Southern Railway, G. Vanitha, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Against Women and Children, were among those present at the event.
The Print
20-07-2025
- General
- The Print
Too young to work, too poor to stop: Children of brick kiln migrants struggle for basic rights
When asked how it tastes, Rajni responds in a defensive tone: 'This is not bad… It's better than no food.' Fruits, she adds, are a rare treat — usually available only when a local farmer tosses away overripe leftovers. Just as the thin lentils begin to look ready, she pours more water into the pot in a bid to stretch the modest meal, which otherwise wouldn't be enough to feed her family of eight. Bulandshahr/Aligarh, Jul 20 (PTI) In the scorching May heat, 12-year-old Rajni cradles her infant sister while stirring watery dal simmering in a soot-blackened aluminium pot outside her hut in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district. 'This year, I ate a lot of mangoes,' she said with a grin, referring to tapkas, the ripe mangoes that fall from trees that she and her friends were allowed to collect. Rajni's family is one among thousands of seasonal migrants who travel each year to work in the sprawling brick kilns of western Uttar Pradesh. But while the kilns promise income, the real cost is borne by children like Rajni, who grow up without education, adequate food, or healthcare and are caught in a cycle of generational poverty and invisible labour. In 2021, data submitted by the government to Parliament suggested that there are 1.74 crore workers in registered brick kilns, while independent research has shown that 20 per cent of this workforce consists of child labourers. 'Therefore, it can be reasonably presumed that approximately 35 lakh children are working in brick kilns, with the number likely higher in illegal kilns,' said Bhuwan Ribhu, a child rights activist who founded Just Rights for Children. Most of the families' movement, dictated by the kiln season, spans eight to nine months a year. With no permanent address and no local documentation, the children are often excluded from even the most basic rights,'. Ten-year-old Neeraj, for instance, spends his days hauling lumps of dried mud in a wooden pan. 'I can't go to school because my father says we have come here as one unit and all need to work. If I get a chance to go to school, I would study hard and become an officer,' he said. His mother adds, 'Each one of us, including the children, has a role in this industry.' Children are typically assigned so-called 'lighter tasks,' such as fetching water, helping to mould bricks, or carrying half-baked clay, but the physical toll is visible in their frail, malnourished bodies. 'For every rupee a worker earns, nearly 25 paise goes to the agent and brick kiln owners are in direct touch with the agents, so we get just 75 per cent of the earnings, which comes to around Rs 400 per day for a family,' explained Suresh, a brick kiln worker. Elaborating further, Ramesh Shrivastav, general secretary of the Mazdoor Adhikar Manch, said the system is designed to exploit the vulnerability of the migrant workers and their children and keep them indebted. 'For kiln owners, local labourers are a risk because they can protest against exploitation as they have their community here. This, however, is not the case with migrant workers, so kiln owners only hire them as they are vulnerable and less likely to resist exploitation. Moreover, as migrant workers' children don't attend school like the locals, the kiln owners get extra hands,' he said. Among the 20-odd children PTI spoke to across kiln sites in Aligarh and Bulandshahr, none were currently enrolled in school. Only two had ever attended school, and that too briefly, as their parents began migrating seasonally. 'My sister and I studied till class 5 when our parents used to find work in our village. That was back in 2018,' said Naresh, a 14-year-old boy. Despite the Right to Education Act mandating free and compulsory education for all children aged 6 to 14, migrant children remain excluded. The government has tried to bridge this gap through the Poshan Tracker, linking anganwadis to migrant families, but the implementation is patchy. While most parents were unaware of the scheme, the prospect of sending their children away from the worksite was a deal-breaker. 'Who will fetch water or help us mould bricks if they go to school? We came here to earn, not to study. That will come later, maybe for their children,' said Munni Devi, a mother of five. Meanwhile, local anganwadi workers say they often hesitate to enrol children without documents like Aadhar. 'While Aadhaar now allows for easier enrolment, many children still don't come because of the distance. Most anganwadis are located within villages, while many families live on the outskirts. There's also fear that showing up at an anganwadi might draw attention to the fact that the children aren't attending school,' said an anganwadi worker in Bulandshahr, speaking on condition of anonymity. When PTI reached out to the brick kiln owners, they denied employing children, saying the kids only 'accompany' their families. 'It is up to the parents to decide whether they want to send their children to school or keep them here… how can we interfere?' a kiln owner said. Rights activists, however, termed it as an excuse for systemic exploitation. 'Children working alongside parents is normalised, but this is not helpful; it's hidden labour, and it violates their rights,' said Nirmal Gorana, convenor of the National Campaign Committee for the Eradication of Bonded Labour. According to a local official, the seasonal nature of the work also makes oversight difficult, as the workers come in October and leave by June before the monsoon. 'So, keeping track of their movement and exploitation becomes tough,' the district official told PTI. PTI UZM RHL This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hans India
15-07-2025
- Hans India
‘Nearly' married, minor girl saves her future, dreams
Vijayawada: Shreeparna (name changed), a 16-year-old girl from Krishna district, grew up in a household where survival meant hard work, not dreams. Her parents, both daily-wage agricultural labourers, barely made ends meet, but Shreeparna's aspirations were clear—she wanted to earn, support her family, and become independent. For her, success wasn't defined by titles but by financial freedom. After completing Class X, her parents urged her to continue with Class XI. But Shreeparna had different plans. She opted for a vocational route, choosing a Medical Lab Technician course that offered a faster track to employment. Though initially reluctant, her parents allowed her to join the residential training programme within Krishna district. It was a major step toward her long-awaited goal. At the college, she met Sai (name changed), a 25-year-old from her village who was preparing for police constable exams. Their shared background and drive to succeed brought them close. But their growing friendship stirred concern in the village. Fearing reputational damage, her parents abruptly pulled her out of the course and brought her back home. Despite her emotional pleas to continue studying and working, her parents remained unmoved. They soon began searching for a groom and fixed her marriage to a relative's son. It was at that moment that Shreeparna decided to fight back. She approached the local Aanganwadi teacher and disclosed that her parents were trying to marry her off at 16-an illegal act under Indian law. The teacher immediately alerted the child social worker from Vasavya Mahila Mandali (VMM), a local NGO working with Just Rights for Children (JRC), a nationwide network of over 250 NGOs combating child abuse and exploitation. The VMM team acted swiftly, coordinating with the child helpline, police, Integrated Child Development Services, and Child Protection officials. They visited Shreeparna's home to intervene. Her parents initially resisted, claiming the marriage was for her 'safety,' but the team emphasised the legal consequences of child marriage, including possible imprisonment for everyone involved, from parents to the officiating priest. More importantly, the officials patiently explained how early marriage could destroy their daughter's future—emotionally, physically, and economically. After prolonged dialogue, her parents finally relented and signed a written undertaking promising not to marry her before she turned 18. Dr. Keerthi Bollineni, President of VMM, said, 'Convincing parents not to push their children into marriage is often emotionally draining. But with committed intervention and government backing, we can move toward making Andhra Pradesh child marriage-free.' Shreeparna's story reflects the struggles many girls still face in rural India. But it also shows the power of speaking out. Her courage, combined with timely community support,helped her reclaim her right to dream-and to decide her own future.
