TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

indications of the processes of trafficking: majority of victims are recruited through giving false
promises and almost 90 percent of the imprisoned traffickers reported that they worked in a group.
Majority of the imprisoned traffickers reported that they involved in recruitment processes and
transportation, rather than selling of the victims. In majority of the cases, the traffickers crossed the
border during the day and more than half confessed that they were not interrogated by anyone in
the borders. Trafficking route is reported to be the main official border points between Nepal-India
and Nepal-Tibet.
Studies on entertainment sectors mainly initiated after 2000s when the surge of the female workers
are reported to be exploited in the mushrooming number of cabin, dance restaurants in Kathmandu
valley and other major towns of Nepal. Studies such as TDH, 2010; Saathi/Planete Enfant, 2014;
Chhori, 2015 and WOFOWON, 2015 establish the fact that female workers in the entertainment
sectors are economically cheated, exploited and vulnerable of sexual abuse, exploitation and
trafficking. These entertainment sectors have become destination places for the village girls as well
as source hub for the trafficking to abroad, mainly to Gulf States. Some NGOs such as Saathi, Biswas
Nepal, WOFOWON, Chhori and Change Nepal are engaged with support from the Asia Foundation,
TDH, Geneva Global, and Danish Embassies to promote and protect the rights of female workers in
the entertainment sectors. Despite this, there is lack of consolidated data on interventions and the
number female workers engaged in the various forms of entertainment sectors.
Trafficking of girls to Korea and China for the purpose of marriage is a growing phenomenon in
Nepal. This happens because South Korea and China have been experiencing low fertility and high
son preference. The NHRC-OSRT National Report 2009/10 of TIP estimated that there are at least
1,000 female migrants who went to South Korea through marriage in between 2005 and 2013.
About 300 are happily married while others are in slavery like condition. On March 7, 2015, the
Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Nepal Police raided the Chheru International Pvt. Ltd., and
arrested the rackets involved in trafficking of young girls to Korea and China for marriage. Initial
investigations show that there are at least 83 such bureaus operating in Nepal.
Another growing form of TIP is the illegally extraction of human organ – the kidney. PPR Nepal
carried out a study among 36 kidney donors of Kavre district in 2014. The study found that 16 out of
36 kidney donors interviewed were Dalit. In the sample of 36 kidney removal victims, 27 reported
that they granted consent for the extraction of their kidneys. This is very unusual finding as nobody
would be happy to sale his/her organ willingly. Economic compulsion may be the prime factor for
internalization of such wrongdoings. An overwhelmingly majority of kidney donors was contacted via
middle person – reflecting that kidney donors were commoditized. The kidney extraction can have
far reaching consequences on the individual physical and mental health such as feeling weakness,
chronic headache, and no appetite, disorder in sleeping, vomiting and impotence. As many of the
victims of the kidney removal are breadwinner in the family, the result of weak physical and mental
health can have adverse impact on income of the household and livelihood.
Child vulnerability of trafficking is enormous in Nepal as indicated by the very high estimated
number of children in child labor situation. According to the Nepal Child Labor Report 2012 (ILO,
2012), 40 percent of the 7.77 million estimated number of children in Nepal are working children.
Nearly 21 percent children are in the state of child labor and 8 per cent are in the state of worst form
of child labor.
Several forms of vulnerabilities of trafficking of girls exist in Nepal such as harmful traditional
practices, child marriage, and violence against children. According to the Informal Sector Service
Center (INSEC) report in the 2013, a total of 715 children are reported to have victims of different
crimes: rape alone constituted of 57 percent, followed sexual abuse (25.5%) and child trafficking
(9%). This pattern also holds for the year of 2014.
Studies indicated that there is linkage between trafficking and inter-country adoption. While
studying the situation of inter-country adoption in Nepal in 2009, the Hague Conference on Private
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