Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Annexure 12
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The second aspect of the definition should be its emphasis on exploitation - which
could be physical, sexual or emotional.
The third aspect of the definition should be its focus on the commodification of the
trafficked person and the commercialisation of the activity by anybody. It should be allencompassing
to include all types of violation of human rights and dignity and should
include even customary activities which are exploitative, e.g., ‘dedicating a child’, and
similar customs prevalent in certain places. All such activities of trafficking should be
covered by the Act.
(d)
At times, it is possible that definitions can become too restrictive and, therefore,
counterproductive. In such a situation, as an alternative, the difficulty can be solved by
introducing a section giving legislative guidelines on what is intended to be achieved
by the key words used in the statute and how the interpretation should go in favour of
the victims when there are ambiguities.
Redefinition of Brothel
Considering the fact that commercial sexual exploitation of women and children has moved out
of traditionally known brothels to beauty parlours, massage parlours, beer bars and other such
places, it is essential to cover all such places under the ambit of the law.
Definition of Child
A child should be redefined, as in the JJ Act, 2000, to include all persons who have not attained
18 years of age, and this definition should apply in all matters relating to children in all legal
matters. It requires appropriate amendments in all concerned laws. Simultaneously, ITPA should
provide for separate treatment (care and attention) of child victims and child offenders, in tune
with the JJ Act, 2000.
Section 2(f)
This section of ITPA provides definitions of prostitution and prostitute. The definition should be
amended to include both males and females.
Section 2(g)
This section of ITPA defines protective homes and other homes. These definitions must be in
harmony with the definition of homes in the JJ Act, 2000. Secondly, the definition of corrective
homes needs to be changed. If Section 2(b) of ITPA is read with 2(g) ITPA, the corrective home
defined in 2(b) appears to include jails/prisons. The concept of corrective home is different from
incarceration or punitive detention centres. The term needs to be redefined to include the social
philosophy of the Act. As Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer says, there must be “a dynamic set of definitions
dealing with correctional, curative, protective and salvationary institutions. There must be stress
in preliminary classification, categorisation, psychological diagnosis and observation before
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