AWARENESS PROGRAMME IN
RAJASTHAN
The meeting began at 10 a.m.at St. Angela school
staff room, Jaipur Rajasthan; with a prayer and a Bhajan by Sr. Aurora M.S.A. thereafter
Sr. Carol welcomed all the 11 members from Ajmer, Jaipur, Kota, Udaipur, and
Chandigarh (Punjab).
We are privileged to have 3 resource person namely
Mr. Govind Beniwal- Member Child rights commission Rajasthan, Mr. Vijay Goyal-
Resource Institute for Human Rights Jaipur, Mr. Shiv from Allaripu; each members came their introduction.
Mr. Govind said that it is not
olnly the problem of India but the problem of the whole world. The whole family
is affected. Women, men, and children fall prey to trafficking worldwide. They
are viewed as valuable commodities in the sex trade or labor industry,
vulnerable individuals are targeted by traffickers poised to exploit their
desperation, misfortune, and ignorance. They may be lured by false promises of
employment opportunities and a better life, abducted, or sold outright by
families who themselves are in need of money or hope to provide a better life
for their children.
Explaining further 'what is
trafficking' he said Human trafficking is a horrific crime against the
fundamental rights and dignity of the human person and there are several forms
of human trafficking such as:
o The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or
obtaining of a person for:
o
sex trafficking in which
a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the
person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or
o
labor or services,
through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to
involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
o
Coercion includes
threats of physical or psychological harm to children and/or their families.
Any child (under the age of 18) engaged in commercial sex is a victim of
trafficking.
Indian law had
accepted this as problem/issue and this is always done by force if done by
mutual consist than it is not come under trafficking. Owing to the lack of anti-human trafficking laws,
enforcement of such laws where they exist, along with the ease and ability to
re-exploit individuals, human trafficking has become one of the fastest growing
sources of profits for criminal enterprises worldwide.
Traffickers lure vulnerable men,
women and children with false promises of good jobs, an education, economic
security and even love. Once lured, the traffickers are able to keep their
victims from seeking help by confiscating identification documents, using
threats of violence against the victim or their family, as well as subjecting
the victim to physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse. No sector or
industry is immune from human trafficking. Victims have been identified in
factories, restaurants, construction work, agricultural fields, hotels, spas,
nail salons, and even private residences.
How to Identify a Human Trafficking
Victim? These are some red flags:
- Seems anxious, fearful or paranoid. Avoids eye contact.
- Tearfulness or signs of depression.
- Unexplained bruises or cuts or other signs of physical
abuse.
- Appears to be in a relationship with someone who is
dominating.
- Never is alone and/or always has someone translating or
answering questions on their behalf.
- Not in control of their own finances.
- Presents with secrecy or unable to answer questions
about where they live.
- Inconsistent details when telling their story.
- Has no identification such as a license, passport or
other ID documents.
- Inability to leave their job or residence. Says they
cannot schedule appointments.
- Being a recent arrival to the United States and does
not speak English.
- Is under 18 and providing commercial sex acts. Or at
any age unwillingly providing commercial sex acts.
- Is afraid of law enforcement or receiving help from an
outside entity.
If you can find an opportunity to
get he/she alone, ask him/her the following screening questions:
- Can you leave your job or house when you want?
- Where did you get those bruises or is anyone hurting
you?
- Do you get paid for your employment? Is it fair? How
many hours do you work?
- (If foreign national) How did you get to the present
destination and is it what you expected? Are you being forced to do
anything you don't want to do?
- Are you or your family being threatened?
- Do you live with or near your employer? Does your
employer provide you housing? Are there locks on doors or windows from
outside?
Mr.
Vijay & Shiv shared with us the various rescue operations held in Rajasthan
especially, Jaipur, Kota, and Ajmer and how challenging it is. We need to
network with BGOs and Law Enforcement officers who are involved in these rescue
operations; need to visit the places children works railway stations,
factories, bus stands, hotels, Dhabha etc. Build up rapport with the children
and win over their confidence and then only they will share with us.
After
the tea break we went into groups district - wise and discussed how and what we
can do as way forward. The Resource persons explained to us the following:
Way forward: Prevention is very important and how we
can focus on certain ideas
v Maping to
identify the destination/ source areas
v Organize
awareness building programs and social protection programs
v Pressure
building on govt.
v Prevent Child
marriages, Child labour.
v Security of a
child and woman.
v Shelter Homes,
Shishu Homes
v In our country,
there are places where these children are kept like shelter home etc.
v Child welfare
committee.
v Human rights
Education in Schools and in communities/ colonies
v Childline – 1098
v Access to
entitlement
v formation of
village child protection committees at P.S. level; inorder to check the
trafficking source & destination, child
& family migrants
v Crisis
management centers for Counseling & Legal Aid services
v Identify the
child labourers and inform the child Welfare committee of the place.
v Get involved in
rescue operation.
The following are the district-wise Action
Plan:
Ajmer : Sr.Carol MSA , Sr.Lillian PSA, Sr.Cecil PSA,
v
Base line survey and data
collecting.
v
Crisis management center.
v
Get involved with Alaripu NGO
Kota Sr. Aurera M.S.A., Sr. Sudha P.S.A., Sr.
Terisita
§ Visit
the children in the Railway Platforms, Dhaba, renbasera, mess centre build up
confidence with them, gather informations about them and continue the contact
with these children
§ Visit
on Monday and thirsday from 7 to 10 am .
§ Maintain
Record and other informations gathered.
§ Continue
with child line information
§ Crisis
management for mentally tortured children.
§ Awareness
programs about human trafficking.
Udaipur Sr. Mala, Sr. Kirti
Jaipur Sr.Helen MSA, Sr.Tejohono
SMA, Sr.Jerin SMA
v
empower our own children.
v
give awareness program through
children.
v establish
child guidance center.
Panjab &
Chandigarh Sr.Joyal PSA, Sr.Josain PSA, Sr.Sunila
PSA
Through family visiting, we will do a survey of the
bounded labours especially about those people who have come from outside like
Orissa, Bihar, Nepal etc.
We will have continues meeting with the labours and
children for having a good relationship.
In the school level, we will keep an awareness
programs for the children regarding child abuse.
We
have fixed the next meeting to be held in the 1st week of February.
Sr. Lillian P.S.A. gave a vote of thanks and thanked our resource persons for
giving us this golden opportunity to learn, and understand about human
trafficking. We also plan to organize a
training program for those who wish to get involved in this program; date is
not fixed.
Sr.Aurora
MSA