Harrowing tales of human trafficking!

HYDERABAD: Even as India was taken off the ‘watch-list’ for human trafficking by the US, a meet of survivors in the city brought forth the web of human trafficking that exists. The tales of 40 survivors from different parts of the country had a common thread- the lack of sensitisation among police and need for proper rehabilitation.The vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation made the women from socially poor background vulnerable. Lured by promise of a job in the city, they are entrapped in the trafficking racket. “My father had abandoned us when I was child. There was no option but to look for work. I was promised the job of a housemaid in Delhi but found myself at a brothel instead as a 10-year-old,” said DK Munni of Anantapur, now 41 and working at the NGO which rescued her.T Anvesha, a 14-year-old from Meghalaya narrated her experience at the police station, where she had gone to lodge a complaint- “The officer-in-charge refused to register a complaint and tried sending me away. They did not lodge an FIR until I said I will not leave.” Most victims of trafficking are forced into prostitution. Though some are rescued by NGOs and police, the most difficult part is getting their lives back on track. “I have been married for a year and stay at my in-laws. Though my husband knows of my past, my in-laws have been kept unaware,” says Sapna Kumari, a survivor.A major impediment in rehabilitation of women is the lack of employment opportunities. Often they fall back on sex-work, finding it difficult to make ends meet. Aparna Bhat, a Delhi-based advocate on the common panel of Supreme Court, points out the state has a responsibility of protecting its citizens and monetary compensation should be paid to victims of human trafficking. “Being unable to prevent human trafficking is a failure on part of the state and financial support should be provided to victims to start life afresh. Let us not call it an aid but monetary relief for survivors,” said Bhat.“It is for us to decide whether we want to be strong and carry on as survivors or whether we crumble under pressure,” said Dr Sunitha Krishnan of Prajwala, a city-based NGO.