Sociology1 COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION & TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN SUBMITTED TO: SUBIMTTED BY: Dr. Anupam Bahri Harkiran Singh Brar 87/10 VII th Semester Sociology 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this project. My deepest thanks to my Sociology Lecturer, Dr. Anupam Bahri, the Guide of the project for guiding me and correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. She has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary corrections as and when needed. I would also thank my Institution and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and well-wishers. Sociology 3 Table of Contents Who is a child?........................................................................................................................................ 4 Trafficking of Children ........................................................................................................................... 5 What is Trafficking of Children? .......................................................................................................... 6 Why are Children Trafficked? ............................................................................................................. 7 Who may be Traffickers? .................................................................................................................. 10 What are the techniques used for trafficking? ................................................................................. 10 Figures in India .................................................................................................................................. 11 Interventions On Trafficking In Children ........................................................................................... 11 Government initiatives .................................................................................................................. 11 NGO initiatives and other programmes ........................................................................................ 13 Law & Policy ................................................................................................................................ 14 Policies and Plans ......................................................................................................................... 15 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children ....................................................................................... 17 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 17 What is meant by Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children? ..................................................... 18 The Scope of the Problem ................................................................................................................. 19 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 20 Measures to Curb Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking of Children ....................................................... 22 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................... 23 Sociology 4 Who is a child? Defining what age a person is or ceases to be a child is a constant debate in the India. The Census of India considers children to be any person below the age of 14, as do most government programmes. Biologically childhood is the stage between infancy and adulthood. According to the UNCRC 'a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier'. This definition of child allows for individual countries to determine according to the own discretion the age limits of a child in their own laws. But in India various laws related to children define children in different age limits. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 finds that no child below the age of seven may be held criminally responsible for an action (Sec 82 IPC). In case of mental disability or inability to understand the consequences of one's actions the criminal responsibility age is raised to twelve years (Sec 83 IPC). A girl must be of at least sixteen years in order to give sexual consent, unless she is married, in which case the prescribed age is no less that fifteen. With regard to protection against kidnapping, abduction and related offenses the given age is sixteen for boys and eighteen for girls. According to Article 21 (a) of the Indian Constitution all children between the ages of six to fourteen should be provided with free and compulsory education. Article 45 states that the state should provide early childhood care and education to all children below the age of six. Lastly Article 51(k) states the parents/guardians of the children between the ages of six and fourteen should provide them with opportunities for education. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 defines a child as a person who has not completed fourteen years of age. The Factories Act, 1948 and Plantation Labour Act 1951 states that a child is one that has not completed fifteen years of age and an adolescent is one who has completed fifteen years of age but has not completed eighteen years of age. According to the Factories Act adolescents are allowed to work in factories as long as they are deemed medically fit but not for more than four and half hours a day. The Motor Transport Workers Act 1961, and The Beedi And Cigar Workers (Conditions Of Employment) Act 1966, both define a child as a person who has not completed fourteen years of age. The Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and Apprentices Act 1961 don't define a child, but in provisions of the act state that a child below fourteen is not permitted to work in occupations of the act. The Mines Act, 1952 is the only labour related act that defines adult as person who has completed eighteen years of age (hence a child is a person who has not completed eighteen years of age). The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 states that a male has not reached majority until he is twenty-one years of age and a female has not reached majority until she is eighteen years of age. The Indian Majority Act, 1875 was enacted to create a blanket definition of a minor for such acts as the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890. Under the Indian Majority Act, Sociology 5 1875 a person has not attainted majority until he or she is of eighteen years of age. This definition of a minor also stands for both the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. Muslim, Christian and Zoroastrian personal law also upholds eighteen as the age of majority. The first Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 defined a boy child as below sixteen years of age and a girl child as below eighteen years of age. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 has changed the definition of child to any person who has not completed eighteen years of age. Because of its umbrella clauses and because it is the latest law to be enacted regarding child rights and protection, many are of the opinion that the definition of child found in the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 should be considered the legal definition for a child in all matters. Trafficking of Children Introduction "Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders annually, and between 14,500 and 17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the United States each year. More than half of these victims worldwide are children!" - Child Victims of Human Trafficking, Department of Health and Human Services, USA and the U.S. Department of State Human trafficking is the third largest profitable industry in the world. Child trafficking unlike many other issues is found in both developed and developing nations. Trafficked children are used for prostitution, forced into marriage, illegally adopted, used as cheap or unpaid labour, used for sport and organ harvesting. Some children are recruited into armed groups. Trafficking exposes children to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. According to UNICEF a child victim of trafficking is "any person under 18 who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received for the purpose of exploitation, either within or outside a country". Trafficking is one of the hardest crimes to track and investigate hence data is hard to obtain. The latest figures estimate that 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year. Child prostitution has the highest supply of trafficked children. India is a source, destination, and transit country for trafficking for many purposes such as commercial sexual exploitation. Majority of the trafficking is within the country but there are also a large number trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. Children are trafficked to Middle Eastern countries for sport such as camel racing. There are no national or regional estimates for the number of children trafficked every year. But 40% of prostitutes are children, and there is a growing demand for young girls in the industry. NGOs estimate that 12,000 - 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from neighbouring states for the sex trade. Thousands of girls are trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal. 200,000 Nepalese girls under 16 years are in prostitution in India. An estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Indian children are smuggled out of the country every year to Saudi Sociology 6 Arabia for begging during the Hajj. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have the largest number of people trafficked. Intra state/inter district trafficking is high in Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Delhi and Goa are the major receiver states. Trafficking from north eastern states is high but often over looked. In 2008, 529 girls were trafficked from Assam alone. There is a rising demand for live-in maids in urban areas. This has resulted in trafficking of girls from villages in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to live under extremely poor conditions first in "placement agencies" and later in the employers homes. Placement agents keep the girls in small unhygienic rooms packed together. They are often made to do the placement agent's household work and subjected to sexual abuse. Falling sex ratios in Haryana and Punjab has led to a need for trafficking of brides from villages in Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal, who have been sold off by the parents. India has legal provisions to counter trafficking as per the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1986. The MWCD has taken a number of Initiatives to combat trafficking of Women and Children. What is Trafficking of Children? The problem in dealing with this very complex phenomenon begins with its very definition. There is no single definition of trafficking. In the absence of a common understanding, it becomes difficult to design policies, guidelines or even interventions to tackle this issue. A broader understanding of the issue is that illegal movement of any human being in any part of the world is trafficking. There is as yet no internationally recognised definition of “trafficking in persons”. The preamble to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (“Whereas prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community, ...”) assimilates trafficking with prostitution. The Convention in its very first article makes trafficking punishable, defining it in terms of procurement, enticement or leading away of a person for prostitution or sexual gratification of another person. The United Nations General Assembly, 1994 (Resolution 49/166) defined it as- “The illicit and clandestine movements of persons across national borders, largely from developing countries with economies in transition, with the end goal of forcing women and girls into sexually or economically oppressive and exploitative situations for profit of recruiters, traffickers and syndicates, as well as other illegal activities related to trafficking, such as forced domestic labour, false marriages, clandestine employment and false adoption.” Sociology 7 At the World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, “trafficking” was taken to refer to the illegal moving and selling of human beings across countries and continents in exchange for financial or other compensation. The Global Alliance Against the Trafficking of Women (GAATW), on the other hand, defines “trafficking” as “the recruitment and transportation of (a) person(s) within and across national borders, by means of violence or threat of violence, abuse of actual or perceived authority arising from a relationship, or deception, in order to subject them to the actual and unlawful power of (an) other person(s)”. Another useful definition is that advanced by the Netherlands Advisory Committee on Human Rights and Foreign Policy, “The traffic in person could be defined as transporting a person from one place to another in order to subject him or her to the actual and unlawful power of other persons by means of using violence or the threat of violence or by using a position of authority arising from a relationship or by misleading the other person.” Why are Children Trafficked? The root causes of trafficking in children are multiple and complex. However, some of the more frequently cited are poverty, lack of employment opportunities, low social status of the girl child, a general lack of education and awareness, inadequate legislation in the countries concerned, and weak law enforcement machinery. Political uprisings are now emerging as a factor responsible for trafficking for prostitution, labour and also as child soldiers to fight for the “cause”. There are also certain cultural factors that are responsible. Sometimes it becomes difficult to distinguish between the cause and the purpose, as is with the case of prostitution which has religious sanction. Some of the causes for child trafficking and vulnerable groups identified by various persons working on this issue are: Lower socio-economic status: The lower socio-economic status of certain groups makes them easy targets for traffickers from outside as well as from within the family and community. In India, trafficking is also a caste issue. It has been found that 61 percent of commercial sex workers in India belong to Scheduled Castes, other backward classes and Scheduled Tribes. The children of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are especially vulnerable to trafficking. They often do not share the language, educational access or even the right to citizenship of the majority population. So they lack the economic opportunities, the knowledge and the rights which could help protect them from traffickers and pimps. Traditional religious and cultural practices: Prostitution is traditionally and culturally sanctioned in some parts of the region and is a contributing factor to the phenomenon of trafficking. It derives customary sanction from oppressive upper-caste temple traditions. Every year thousands of girls are dedicated to goddess Yellamma, Renuka (mostly in the state of Karnataka and Maharashtra) and after a brief period of concubinage, they become Sociology 8 accessible to urban prostitution. Within these mechanics we find that three socialised instruments perpetuate the fate of these women, namely: Economic Organisation, Brute Force and the Religious Rituals. The status of women, the discriminatory laws against women and children, denial of property rights: have created a condition wherein women are seen as a burden on the family, thereby making them more vulnerable as a prey to the flesh traders. The current laws in South Asian countries ignore exploitation of children by their own family. Globalisation and Commodification of children in the market economy: “Disintegration of the rural communities and the grim reality of the poor and the marginal people, mainly women and children, is the primary cause of trafficking. Globalisation has severed the traditional socio-economic relations and has made women and children vulnerable. They are increasingly becoming a commodity to be sold in the World market”. “Greater media exposure and the representation of women as sex objects have been identified as one of the causes of increasing trafficking of women and children. Media representation of women reinforces the notion that women are sex objects for the gratification of men”. In a scenario wherein everything is based on market value and purchasing power, sale of human beings for parts of their body, or buying a “baby” is almost “acceptable”. Trafficking is a lucrative trade: Trafficking of humans, especially for labour, is not new. People have been taken as indentured labour from India from the colonial times. Now, trafficking for other purposes too is becoming profitable. As with countries such as Thailand, sex–work is being recognised as an industry and therefore trafficking of children for prostitution is increasing. According to Mr. Joseph Gathia of Centre of Concern For Child Labour (CCFCL), “Flesh trade is the biggest industry in India”. “Prostitution in India is a Rs. 40,000 Crore annual business. 30% of sex-workers are children, who earn a whopping Rs. 11,000 Crore”. Other purposes such as adoption, organ trade are also gaining marketability. It is now widely admitted that global trafficking of women and children today is more profitable than arms or drugs smuggling. In South Asia trafficking is already a multi-million dollar business and a lucrative commercial sector for investment. Growth of tourism: Tourism is a fast growing industry in India, especially since India became a part of the global market economy. Rise in demand for children for pornography seems to be linked with tourism. The growth of tourism has led to an increase in demand for children as sex objects. Tourists come to the developing countries from different parts of the world for easy and cheap sexual gratification. Not only is it the perverse psyche that makes them use children as objects of sex, but it is also the scare of AIDS that generates a demand for virgin girls. The Indian Government‟s decision to make tourism the second largest foreign exchange earner has increased threat to the dignity and safety of our children. Sociology 9 Growing demand for adoption: With birth rates falling in many of the developed worlds, adoption from developing countries with higher fertility rates is common. The “need” for children has put pressure on sending countries to respond quickly to the growing demand, often without having the necessary infrastructure and mechanisms to proceed properly. This situation has led to abuses and the creation of a veritable international market for adoptable children. Trafficking of children for the purpose of adoption is continuously increasing, and in some countries it is reported that the fees charged by intermediaries to handle adoptions range from $5,000 to $30,000 per child. Trafficking for and through adoption is not only an inter-country phenomenon. Even within the country the childless couples are opting for adoption, leading to growth of adoption rackets or infant sale rackets. Obscure beliefs like ‘sex with virgin’ will cure STDs and sexual dysfunctions: increase the vulnerability of children, especially the girl child. Children are trafficked for sexual exploitation because of the belief that they have lesser chances of being HIV/STD carriers. Trafficking tends to worsen in conflict or post-conflict and other emergency situations: Any situation of calamity or disaster (natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, cyclones or conflict situations and wars) makes women and children more vulnerable to being trafficked. “Traffickers exploit the situation, in particular of the fact that many persons are in vulnerable situations, undocumented and separated from their families”. Children who are without families are the first targets for labour, prostitution and adoption. In a situation of economic distress caused by the disaster, parents too have been found to be parties to the trafficking. Loss of family and ideological brainwashing also results in the trafficking of children as “child soldiers”. In situations of conflict children are recruited as child-soldiers and used in armed conflict. With the advent of the security forces, prostitution has emerged as a growing menace in Nagaland. Added to these are the means of drugs and alcohol, easily available in the state. Despite police denial, many feel that a trafficking network exists, connecting Tezpur, Nagaon, Goalpara and Dimapur. Local residents confirm the presence of middlemen who deal in girls. To sum up: The broad economic, social, political, religious and cultural conditions along with the globalisation process, has contributed significantly to the process. As a broad scenario, trafficking of women and children cannot be stopped without understanding how capitalist patriarchy, the phenomenon of modernisation, concept of nation state, militarisation, concept of development, growth model, etc. are contributing to the increase in this trade. At the political level, there is no commitment. Language and attitude towards the women and children who are trafficked are not positive. Sociology 10 Who may be Traffickers? Family Parents Relatives Husband Community Friends School teachers Local politicians Villagers and village headmen Unemployed adults who become agents in flesh trade as they find it a lucrative business Temple priests in case of prostitution with religious sanction Organised Crime Syndicates Employment agents Local criminal nexus Corrupt officials, including local police, border police, officials on duty at the airport, passport officials etc. Traffickers operating as social workers Government and non-governmental institutions such as children‟s homes, crèches etc. Pimps Women who are already in the flesh trade Brothel owners Customers/clients of prostitutes Tourists and travel agencies Labour contractors Doctors and medical personnel who run adoption agencies or baby firms Paedophiles What are the techniques used for trafficking? Approaching the family of the victim as well-wishers. Seeking the help of a local person or contact to approach the victim‟s family. Making contacts with unsuspecting women and children at bus stands and railway stations. Making friends with children while at play or in school. Sociology 11 Approaching poverty stricken families and persuading them into parting with their child. This is how they get the parents to sell their children. Luring women and children with false promises of well-paid jobs or marriage with rich men. Forcing the parents to sell their child in order to meet their debts. They use false debt bonds. Using false documents and passports to traffic people from one country to another. Paying bribes to the officials to procure false documents or escape from legal entangles. Kidnapping/abduction Rape or other forms of sexual abuse Figures in India In 1998, between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepalese girls, some barely 9–10 years old were trafficked into the red light districts in Indian cities, and 200,000 to over 250,000 Nepalese women and girls were already in Indian brothels. According to UNICEF, 12.6 million children are engaged in hazardous occupations. In 2009, it was estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide for sexual exploitation, including for prostitution or the production of sexually abusive images. Only 10% of human trafficking in India is international, while almost 90% is interstate. Nearly 40,000 children are abducted every year of which 11000 remain untraced according to a report by the National Human Rights Commission of India. NGO‟s estimate that 12,000-50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from neighbouring states for the sex trade. There is an estimated 300,000 child beggars in India. Every year, 44,000 children fall into the clutches of the gangs. Interventions On Trafficking In Children Government initiatives India pays attention to the problem of trafficking through its Department of Women and Child Development as well as through the National Commission for Women. Both the Centre and the States have undertaken some initiatives to combat child trafficking. The Central Government‟s initiatives include: In pursuance of the Supreme Court Directives of 1990, the Government of India constituted a Central Advisory Committee on Child Prostitution in 1994, comprised of government and non-governmental agencies to examine the issue of sexual exploitation of children particularly girls and identify policy and programme interventions. A desk has been set up in the Department of Women and Child Development to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Committee. Sociology 12 In 1997, under the directive of Supreme Court, a Committee on Prostitution, Child Prostitution and Children of Prostitutes headed by the Secretary of Department of Women and Child Development, was set up. This committee looks into the problems of prostitution and trafficking of women and children in order to evolve suitable programmes. The government under section 21 of ITPA has established Protective Homes for girls and women detained under this act. Currently there are 80 such homes, which provide custodial care, education, vocational training and rehabilitation including arranging marriages for the inmates. A network of short stay homes under the sponsorship of the Department of Women and Child Development and juvenile homes under the Juvenile Justice Act have been established for the protection and rehabilitation of victims. Medical services and counselling are made available at these homes. The Central Social Welfare Board provides financial assistance to NGOs to run development and care centres for the children of prostitutes. Some of the States have undertaken their own initiatives in addition to interventions being designed at the Central level. These State Government initiatives are: The State governments have also set up State Advisory Committees. Advisory boards of social workers and NGOs in red light districts conduct regular raids and take measures for the protection and rehabilitation of trafficked victims. West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar as well as some of the southern states have their own stated policies on trafficking of women and children, especially into the sex industry. Certain interventions on the part of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar include cross border component as well, with Nepal and Bangladesh. The Government of Karnataka has initiated Devdasi rehabilitation and training schemes. A component of this includes moral education and social upliftment. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has sanctioned a project in 1997-98 for the rehabilitation of victims of prostitution who are HIV positive. The Government of Maharashtra has set up special juvenile homes with facilities for counselling, vocational training and health unit for child prostitutes infected with HIV. The Government of Madhya Pradesh has initiated a scheme called „Jawali Yojna‟ in 1992-93 targeting the „Bedias‟ (community in the prostitution trade). The programme emphasises primary education for girls at age six, middle school, and/or vocational education and training. State Governments have also demonstrated their active engagement on this issue by organising raids and rescuing „victims‟ of prostitution. Sociology 13 NGO initiatives and other programmes More than 80 NGOs in 10 states of India work actively among sex workers, and play a major role in advocacy to influence policy reforms. There are other NGOs that are working on trafficking of children for labour, against children being used for pornography and sex tourism. They are involved in investigative research, documentation, advocacy, running health and education programmes and rehabilitation efforts. Most of the studies, data and activity in the field of anti-trafficking work in the country have focussed on trafficking into the sex industry. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also constituted a core group only to study the problem of child prostitution in Delhi and Karnataka in order to formulate preventive and rehabilitative strategies. A lot of research and documentation as well as interventions are being undertaken on child labour, but not within the framework of trafficking. The efforts of these groups have led to some significant prosecutions and raising of awareness. In many cases such as in Goa, NGOs are working in co-operation with the government to tackle this issue. In 1997, the Directorate of Social Welfare set up an advisory committee in Goa and notified NGOs were issued identity cards by the police and included in the committee. NGOs have played a significant role in rehabilitation of the victims of trafficking. However, the biggest challenge before them comes when they send the victims back to their family, who do not accept them due to the social stigma. As a result the victims often fall back into the trap of getting further victimised. NGOs realise that unless there are adequate “back-up” systems, simply rescuing the victims through “raids” by the police only drives the victims further into bondage. This is true also of child labour, but even more desperate for children in prostitution. As yet there is no formal network of groups that work on the issue of child trafficking in its entirety. This is because the nature of the problem is so vast, disparate and multi-dimensional. Some of these groups who are working on labour issues are members of the various child labour campaigns that exist in the country. USAID has approved a $1.3 million grant to the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for a program to combat trafficking of women and children in South Asia. This three-year grant is to undertake regional activities that directly complement the bilateral efforts of USAID mission programs in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The grant will assist grassroots, national, and regional NGOs in South Asia to expand their advocacy activities and strengthen their networks against trafficking. Regional prevention efforts will increase public awareness about the realities of trafficking. The UNIFEM regional office in Delhi has initiated a regional campaign on trafficking of women and children. UNIFEM will assist NGOs to design and evaluate models of successful prevention efforts. A South Asia Anti-Trafficking Information Centre is being established in Sociology 14 the region to promote stronger collaboration among NGOs working on anti-trafficking projects and greater exchange of information on prevention and prosecution programs. NGO projects to develop and conduct training programs to improve anti-trafficking coordination among law enforcement officials and local NGOs. Strengthened law enforcement and prosecution of traffickers is critical because the crime remains a high-profit, relatively low-risk transnational criminal enterprise. Improving coordination among law enforcement officials and NGOs serving victims ensures that traffickers are detected and punished, and that victims are afforded the protection and assistance they need to rebuild their lives. Law & Policy The laws and legislations do not seem to be adequate or comprehensive in dealing with the various forms of trafficking and often frees the culprit and penalises the victim. India is a signatory to several international covenants, conventions and treaties dealing with exploitation of women and children. The most important amongst these, in the case of children is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989, ratified by India in 1992 (Articles 3, 11, 21, 34, 35, 36, 39 and 44 of the CRC). The CRC provides a platform for NGOs to bring their child rights concerns to notice in the form of alternate reports that can be sent to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for consideration. Besides, it also clearly provides for the State Parties to consult NGOs in the preparation of the Country Report to be presented before the Committee so that issues concerning children get adequately addressed. As regards the national scene, it must be pointed out that we have a Constitution that is applauded all over the world, but, while Article 51 A in the Constitution of India makes it a fundamental obligation on all citizens to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women, it does not lay down the same in the case of children. Neither has one known of any trafficking case coming up before the court of law on grounds of violation of the fundamental duty laid down in the Constitution. As women and children are considered a weaker section of the society, the Constitution, following the principle of protective discrimination, allows for making and implementing laws specific to them, for their protection and well-being. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956 (ITPA) is in line with this principle. Unfortunately, this Act deals only with trafficking of girls and women for prostitution. It does not cover trafficking of boys for sexual purposes. As the laws stand, the only legal provision that can be invoked to combat trafficking of boys is Section 377 of the IPC, which deals with “unnatural offences”, and covers sodomy. The Karnataka Devadasi Prohibition Act deals with trafficking of girls for religious purposes. Some of the other laws relating to trafficking are the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, a number of Begging Prevention laws e.g. the Bombay Begging Prevention Act, the Prevention of Illicit Sociology 15 Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1989, the Bonded Labour Act and so on. Besides the criminal law of India i.e. the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Evidence Act provide for various forms of trafficking. However, there are enough loopholes in the laws and the legal system that result in the crime being perpetuated without fear. The existing legal framework is limited to defining trafficking only in terms of trafficking for prostitution: There is no comprehensive legal framework to cover trafficking of children for labour, begging, pornography etc. In trafficking, it is not just the “moving” of children from one place to another, it is also breach of trust and it is the pain and agony and trauma suffered by the victim both while being trafficked and thereafter. We need a law that addresses all these concerns. All other forms of trafficking other than prostitution is currently covered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The IPC has no specific provision on trafficking. IPC provisions that can be used to deal with a case of trafficking are the provisions relating to kidnapping and abduction, procuration and importation of minor girls for illicit intercourse, selling and buying of girls for prostitution, slavery and forced labour contained in sections 360, 361, 362, 363 A, 365, 366, 366 A, 366 B, 367, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373 and 374. The IPC does not contain any provision for abetment to trafficking or attempt to trafficking in any form whatsoever. In the case of Freddy Peats, the paedophile caught in Goa, the police initially brought the case under Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural offences as well as sections 291 and 293 of the IPC dealing with dissemination of obscene pictures, especially of minors. In such cases a bail cannot be granted, but Freddy Peats managed to get released on bail. After much struggle Peat was sentenced to life. There is a need for a comprehensive legislation on child trafficking, which goes beyond child prostitution and addresses other grave forms and purposes of trafficking of children. Policies and Plans There is a need for a comprehensive policy on child trafficking. Unlike the National Policy on Child Labour, 1986, or the National Policies on Health, Education and Nutrition (adopted in the years 1983, 1986 and 1993 respectively), there is no National Policy to Combat Child Trafficking or Trafficking as such. India however, does have an old National Policy for Children of 1974, which has not been changed in all these years. This policy does not contain anything specifically for child victims of trafficking though it does talk about protection of children against neglect, cruelty and exploitation. One of the major goals of the National of Action is Improved protection of children in especially difficult circumstances, which includes tackling the root causes leading to such situations. This category of children is comprised of physically handicapped; mentally Sociology 16 handicapped; drug addicts, victims of natural and man-made disasters, refugee children, street children, slum & migrant children, orphans & destitutes; children suffering from AIDS, children of parents with AIDS & AIDS orphans, children of prostitutes and child prostitutes and juvenile delinquents and child labour. Although the National Plan of Action, 1992 deals with children in prostitution and children of prostitutes in its section concerning children in especially difficult circumstances, like most other government documents it does not recognise child trafficking per se as an issue for action. Sociology 17 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Introduction Commercial sexual exploitation of children is both old and new, old in that it includes traditional practices, and new in that globalization and advances in technology are posing a different set of challenges to the problem. Sexual abuse of children entails economic, social and political aspects, and it takes place in most countries. The global sex sector is growing, as is the demand for increasingly younger children, facilitated by inadequate government interventions and lax law enforcement, particularly in terms of protective measures for children. The underlying causes of commercial sexual exploitation of children are diverse and include war, natural disasters, economic injustice and disparities between rich and poor, large-scale migration and urbanization. They also include societal and family disintegration, lack of protection available to children at risk and under-funding or failure of social services. Legal systems commonly fail to prevent injustice toward children or to protect them from criminal acts, and systems of governance more often than not display indifference toward exploitation of children. Further, discrimination, gender gaps in education and a double standard of morality for men and women contribute to a climate of inequality and exploitation. The sex sector involves pornography, prostitution and trafficking in children for sexual purposes and for a profit. Child exploiters are known to deliberately seek occupations that bring them into frequent contact with children, and can often be found even among the most highly esteemed members of a society. Paedophiles constitute a significant group of the offenders. The child victims of commercial sexual exploitation are both boys and girls, although they are primarily girls between 10 and 18 years of age. Research suggests that the age of the children involved is decreasing, and sexual exploitation of children as young as 6 has been documented. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is an issue of health and it is a concern for public health. The consequences for abused and exploited children include profound physical, developmental, emotional and social problems. Many suffer from a range of illnesses, including TB, respiratory problems, headaches, exhaustion, results of infections and wounds, the effects of substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, from injuries resulting from violence inflicted either by those involved in controlling and organizing the sexual transactions, or resulting from self-harm. They may be malnourished or debilitated because of the inevitable hazards of a poor living environment, of poverty or from neglect. In the past, emphasis was placed on addressing the supply side of the phenomenon through, for example, anti-poverty measures, social development and income generation schemes for families. It is increasingly recognized, however, that the demand side is a crucial area of Sociology 18 concern; the sex exploiters, the customers and the sex sector and its actors need to be targeted in developing measures to combat the problem. What is meant by Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children? "... the commercial sexual exploitation of children is an atrocity. It has rightly been called the ultimate evil. It denies children their fundamental rights. It has devastating psychological and physical consequences for them. It is a perversion of the natural order - adults should be there to protect and nurture children, not take advantage of their emotionally and physically vulnerable state." Commercial sexual exploitation of children is the exploitation by an adult with respect to a child or an adolescent – female or male – under 18 years old; accompanied by a payment in money or in kind to the child or adolescent (male or female) or to one or more third parties. The ILO considers commercial sexual exploitation of children an abhorrent violation of the human rights of children and adolescents and a form of economic exploitation similar to slavery and forced labour, which also implies a crime on the part of those who use girls and boys and adolescents in the sex trade. Commercial sexual exploitation in children includes all of the following: The use of girls and boys in sexual activities remunerated in cash or in kind (commonly known as child prostitution) in the streets or indoors, in such places as brothels, discotheques, massage parlours, bars, hotels, restaurants, etc. The trafficking of girls and boys and adolescents for the sex trade. Child sex tourism. The production, promotion and distribution of pornography involving children. The use of children in sex shows (public or private.) Similarly, the Stockholm Declaration adopted at the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (1996) defines the commercial sexual exploitation of children as “a form of coercion and violence against children (that) amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery,” while the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Palermo Protocol) defines the term “exploitation” to include “the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” The 2006 Report of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence against children also recognizes that the exploitation of children under 18 in prostitution, child pornography and similar activities constitutes violence. Sociology 19 The Scope of the Problem The illicit recruitment and sale of children across national borders, between developing and developed countries, and among developed countries is an organized industry ranging from small businesses to large enterprises. The business involves deception, kidnapping and enslavement, smuggling, false passports, bribery and corruption. Powerful interests control and maintain the structures within the sex sector. National case studies indicate that the sex sector continues to flourish partly because it is protected and supported by corrupt politicians, police, armed forces and civil servants who receive bribes, demand sexual favours and are themselves customers or owners of brothels. The growth of the sex sector is closely tied to economic progress and modernization, and it may be an intentional policy of some countries to promote prostitution as an economic activity. Government policies, such as for the promotion of tourism, migration for employment and the export of female labour are large and significant sources of foreign exchange earnings, and may have indirectly encouraged the growth of prostitution and sale and trafficking in children. Other policies may also have led to the growth of the sex sector through their impact on poor families and the strategies adopted by them for survival, especially in the absence of social safety nets. Due to the criminal nature of the sex sector, precise figures on the number of children involved are difficult to obtain. According to the ILO, the problem is especially alarming in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal. Children are trafficked into India from Nepal and Bangladesh, and it is reported that children from Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka are brought into Pakistan. Approximately 200-400 young Bangladeshi women and children are smuggled every month into Pakistan according to human rights activists. Young girls are being kidnapped in Nepal and shipped across the border to India; the Government of Nepal has reported that there are 200,000 Nepalese women and girls in India's brothels. In Thailand, victims have been abducted and brought to Myanmar, China, India and other countries. Vietnam and Cambodia have serious problems of child prostitution and trafficking, and Sri Lanka's sex industry has seen an explosive growth in recent years. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, prostitution in the U.S. is growing dramatically among young people; the problem of teenage prostitution is particularly acute. In Europe, trafficking is increasing rapidly, and the ages of the women and girls involved are decreasing. The problem is particularly severe in the East European countries; Defence for Children International has reported an alarming growth of prostitution among Russian, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian and Czech children. Trafficking routes are extending and there is evidence to suggest that children are trafficked across continents and into the sex industries of industrialized countries such as Japan, Australia and throughout Scandinavia. In Africa, many countries are faced with a rising child prostitution problem and the linkage with tourism is evident. Algeria has been reported as a place of transit for traffickers, and Senegal, Kenya, Sudan and Libya are on the list of countries where child prostitution is increasing. Sociology 20 Conclusion Clearly, trafficking takes place for a range of purposes. Prostitution is but the most visible form of this abusive and degrading trade of women and children. At the same time, trafficking of children also takes place for labour such as work at construction sites, work in the carpet industry, domestic work, pushing children into bonded bondage, begging, marriage, to provide jockeys for camel races in the Gulf countries, for pornography etc. The purpose and method or cause is sometimes closely linked for example in the case of marriage or religious prostitution. The number of victims of trafficking and the purpose to which they are put, depend on global trading patterns and the demand and supply trends of a particular economy. Women as adults have a right to decide for themselves and the ways they want to earn money, while that is not the case with children who are trafficked. Women are in a better position to demand for and get better working conditions than the child victims of trafficking. In cases of child trafficking, there can be no element of „willingness‟ or „voluntariness‟ on the part of the trafficked child. Those already trafficked need to be rescued and rehabilitated. The best interest of the child has to be the governing principle. The commercial sexual exploitation of children involves coercion and violence, forced labour and is a contemporary form of slavery. Inadequate institutional mechanisms to promote children's rights, or lack thereof, are predisposing factors in exposing children to various forms of exploitation. Oppressive aspects of tradition, societal assumptions about gender, sexuality, the need to police a woman's sexuality, and the low value placed on women and girls put young girls in a particularly vulnerable position. The problem of children involved in the sex sector is described in many countries as a problem imported from other cultures, sometimes in an attempt to take away attention from domestic policies and the root causes of poverty, marginalization and the indifference to the welfare of children. It is, however, the poor who are most vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Moreover, the poor are not only defined in terms of lack of access to employment, goods and services, but also more specifically through their lack of access to power. In this hierarchy, in both developed and developing countries, children are on the bottom. The economic and social bases for prostitution remain strong in many developing countries. Although absolute poverty has declined, social safety nets are still largely absent, income inequalities remain wide, and child protection mechanisms are ineffective or non-existent. Sexually exploited children frequently fall outside the social welfare net. It is crucial that legislators and policymakers adopt a clear position on children in the sex sector. A major hurdle is that "they have shied away from directly dealing with it as an economic sector, and coherent and effective government policies and programs targeting the business are lacking". Sociology 21 In view of the differences between child prostitution and adult prostitution, separate measures for each, rather than a single policy stance, are recommended. Child sex workers should be treated as a much more serious problem than adults because children are clearly more vulnerable and helpless against the established structures and vested interests in the sex sector, and much more likely to be victims of debt bondage. There are few doubts that the sexual exploitation of children results in serious, often lifelong or life-threatening consequences for physical, psychological, and social development, including the threat of early pregnancy, maternal mortality, injury, retarded development, physical disabilities and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. At the community level, the commercial sexual exploitation of children represents an erosion of human values and rights. When children lack a healthy environment, access to health care, education and recreation, and minimum standards of food, clothing and shelter, they become particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The Convention on the Rights of the Child reaffirms that people under the age of 18 are entitled to full protection from all forms of commercial exploitation by adults. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a fundamental violation of children's rights - the goal is to eradicate these practices and to ensure that children are given equal human rights. Sociology 22 Measures to Curb Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking of Children International Treaties, Laws and Instruments United Nations Treaties 1923 Convention for the Suppression of the Circulation of, and Traffic in, Obscene Publications (amended in 1947) 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child 1992 UN Programme of Action on the Prevention of the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography 1993 Elimination of Violence Against Women ILO Instruments ILO Conventions 29 (Forced Labour, 1930) and 105 (Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957) ILO Conventions 138 (Minimum Age, 1973) and Recommendation 146 (Minimum Age, 1973) Refugee Law 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme International Humanitarian Law Regulations Regarding the Laws and Customs of War on Land Annexed to the 1907 Hague Convention IV Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) Revised Hague Convention on the Protection of Children Sociology 23 Bibliography <http://www.ilo.org/ipec/areas/CSEC/lang--en/index.htm>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_trafficking_in_India>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://www.haqcrc.org/sites/default/files/Child%20Trafficking%20in%20India- A%20Situational%20Analysis.pdf>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/07/22/human-trafficking-will-not-end-until- it-ends-in-india/#ixzz2eslQtDrx>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://www.childfund.org/child-trafficking-in-India/>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://www.childlineindia.org.in/child-trafficking-india.htm>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Item id=74&jumival=10154>, last visited on September 14, 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_trafficking_in_India>, last visited on September 14, 2013.
Report "Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children"