Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Annexure 12
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has to be taken accordingly. This includes traffickers, transporters, financiers, abettors, conspirators
and all those who are involved, by their acts of omission and commission, which lead to
exploitation. The group also includes the clients who abuse and exploit women and children.
The study has shown that the majority of them look for sex with children and, therefore, such
clients have to be dealt with stringently. The burgeoning demand for child sex, both brothelbased
and non brothel-based has to be aborted ruthlessly. Since child sex amounts to rape even
with consent (vide s.375 IPC), the clients need to be booked under substantive law too. At the
same time, the study has shown that there are some clients, especially teenagers, who come to
brothels for sex mostly out of curiosity or lack of guidance. These clients could be dealt with by
counselling and education. They should be made aware of women’s rights, human rights and
child rights. Such programmes for action can be planned only after understanding the demand
scenario, which needs to be mapped in detail by involving the clientele. Since this study has
brought out different patterns in different states, it would be appropriate that such micro-level
mapping is carried out by the district administration, as mentioned above, so that necessary steps
can be locally initiated, by involving all the stakeholders.
Addressing the Vulnerabilities
The most important issue in prevention is to address the vulnerabilities of women and children.
Economic and social empowerment are the cornerstones for prevention of trafficking. The
different policies, programmes and projects of the government with respect to the various
departments need to be dovetailed in such a way that they necessarily have an anti-trafficking
component, which would be integrated into the larger plan of action by the concerned government
department. Self Help Groups (SHG) and PRIs can be effectively utilised for this. The Tamil
Nadu example shows that PRIs can be very effective in the empowerment of women and children
at the grassroots. The role of corporates has been discussed earlier. They have an important role
to play in prevention of trafficking by addressing the vulnerable sections of society. Since the
study shows that the majority of the existing intervention programmes are focused on the supply
side, there is a need to reorient the focus to the demand side too. The study has shown that
trafficking has caused an exodus-like situation of women and children from the economically/
socially oppressed sections of society and those affected by natural/man-made calamities. When
such circumstances prevail, the girl child and women become highly vulnerable. In such situations
it has become a common feature to convert the girl child, who is considered a liability, into an
asset by selling her or abetting in trafficking her. Therefore, preventive strategies need to focus
on such vulnerabilities. Developmental programmes should specifically address social and
economic empowerment of these vulnerable sections. There is a need for significant inputs
through education, public awareness and community involvement.
Public Awareness Campaigns
Lack of awareness of human rights of women and children is the springboard from which the
exploiters gain impetus. Once the vulnerable sections are adequately aware of their rights, they
themselves will feel strengthened. Though the public relations department of the government
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