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child rightssociety groups’ responsibility toengage in a wide range of ways be itpolitical, social or administrativestructure of a society.Good governance is no longerequated with “sound developmentmanagement” that is, “the manner inwhich power is exercised in the managementof a country’s economic andsocial resources for development”only. The key aspects of governanceso understood were public sectormanagement, accountability, a legalframework and information. In thisunderstanding ‘politics’ or the manyways in which democratic citizensdetermine the shape of their societieswere not taken into account.The UNDP account of governanceadopted in 2000, defines governanceas “the exercise of political, economicand administrative authority toAstudy conducted by theUnited NationsPopulation Fund saysthat there are an estimated4 million womenand girls who are trafficked. Today,unfortunately, trafficking hasbecome an international industry,perhaps even stronger than the narcotics.Traffickers use modern andinnovative methods to change theirpattern and to circumvent the lawwhile the legal system sticks to itsarchaic ways.The manner in which cases of traffickingare handled, coupled withsimple numbers that indicate therise in the number of children beingtrafficked, reflects that we areleagues behind the powerful networkof traffickers. We will continue to lagbehind if the enforcement of thecases is handled in the currentbureaucratic manner where it takesdays to register a simple case againstthe trafficker. The State machinerymanage a country’s affairs. It comprisesof the mechanisms, processesand institutions through which citizensand groups articulate theirinterests, exercise their legal rights,meet their obligations and mediatetheir differences.” (MarthaNussbaum in UNDP, Essays onGender and Governance, 2003, p.4)This definition suggests that a studyof governance must include not onlyeconomic management but also politicalparticipation very generally –and participation in both formalinstitutions of the state and theinformal groups, movements andinstitutions of civil society.In a democratic country like India,civil society groups’ monitoring ofwhat the government spends onchildren would lend a strong andeffective voice to the children whoincharge of the prosecution rarely cooperatesand refuses to be proactiveabout the rights of the victim.Invariably, the arrests are made onlyof the brothel owner, while the entirenetwork of players is ignored. Thevictims are “rescued” and kept ingovernment homes. Thereafter theyare “rehabilitated” which means,quiet simply, that their parents arelocated and the girls sent back tothe parents. The victims then have achoice between hostileparents and seeminglywelcoming brothelowners.Prostitution hasdeparted from the traditionalways that it wasonce understood.“Friendship clubs”, earmarkedbars, escortservices and many morenew forms haveemerged. Child pornography,sex tourism,friendship centers, massageparlours are somecannot vote, lobby or speak out forthemselves.Thus monitoring and scrutinisingall the union and state budgets aswell as the questions asked by ourlegislatures could go a long way inparticipating in governance andmaking reliable data available onthe priorities of the government asreflected in its actual expenditureand justifications thereof. It hastremendous potential as attentioncan be drawn to areas that needemphasis and focus.Rita Vohra is the Programme Coordinator,Children andGovernance, HAQ: Centre for ChildRights NewDelhi working towardsthe recognition, promotion and protectionof all children.CLSexual Exploitation Of ChildrenBY APARNA BHAT27 combat law • April - May 2004Prostitutionhasdepartedfrom thetraditionalways thatit wasonceunderstood.of the extensions of the commercialsexual exploitation of children in theglobalised world. These forms are asignificant departure from traditionalchild prostitution in identifiedbrothels.However, the victims who areforced or cheated into prostitutionremain the same. These are largelyhelpless, illiterate, uneducated,young, unexposed, persons who comefrom a disadvantaged socio economicbackground, have adeprived personal life,and have landed up inprostitution in theirsearch for betterprospects. As depictedby Prerana, a MumbaibaedNGO, “they arethe victims of criminalconspiracy, cheating,deception, andcoercion.”One of the mostshocking developmentsin the recent years isthe fact that the mini-