UNIT 11 NATIONAL MODELS Structure 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Objectives 11.3 Prevention by Controlling the Demand 11.4 Prevention by Controlling the Supply 11.5 Rehabilitation of End Users, Slave-owners Clients and Johns 11.6 Rehabilitation of Victims and Survivors 11.7 Gaps and Challenges 11.8 Summary 11.9 Terminal Questions 11.10 Answers and Hints 11.11 References and Suggested Readings 11.1 INTRODUCTION India has yet to develop a national framework for the prevention of trafficking or for rehabilitation of victims and survivors of trafficking. It has signed but not ratified the UN Protocol for the Suppression of Trafficking, especially women and children. Once it . ratifies the UN protocol it will be Jegally obliged to change its law to meet the standards of the UN Protocol and to develop a national framework to counter trafficking. Current prevention models developed by civil society organisations, UN agencies and the Ministries of Women and Child, Health, Social Welfare and Home range from awareness campaigns that allow high risk individuals to make informed decisions, community vigilance, education to parentson the dangers of trafficking,helping to reduce risk through programmes like increasing education for girls, economic empowerment of women, and reduction of caste-based discrimination. For children of prostituted women, a number of organisations offer education and shelters so that they in turn are not pulled into prostitution, pimping, domestic servitude or bonded labour. There are few prevention programmes to reduce the demand for trafficking. The current Indian ant-trafficking law,Immoral Traffic PreventionAct (ITPA), lacksclear guidelines on who is subject to prosecution and who should be protected 1 . In practice more victims and survivors get arrested than pimps and johns. A UNODC initiative to train police officials and prosecutors had some success in increasing convictions and enabling law-enforcement officials to see the issue of trafficking from a victim's perspective. Current rehabilitation models developed by civil society organizations, UN agencies and the Ministries of Women and Child, are limited to shelters for women and children who are victims and survivors of trafficking run by NGOs under the Swadhar scheme of the Ministry of Women and Child or through private donations, a few corporate social responsibility initiatives to provide skills and job training to survivors and the formation of small self-help groups for women to support each other and start small businesses. There are no rehabilitation schemes for perpetrators of trafficking to reform 5 them or prevent them from becoming second time offender. Existing Models in Prevention and 11.2· OBJECTIVES Rehabilitation After going through this unit, you should be able to: • describe the meaning of prevention and rehabili tation in the context of trafficking; • list National Good practices in Prevention; • list National Good practices inRehabilitation Efforts; • list gaps and challenges in National models in Prevention and Rehabilitation; • describe the Role of Rehabilitating johns in combating trafficking; and • know the importance of confronting the demand to prevent trafficking; 11.3 PREVENTION BY CONTROLLING THE DEMAND The Prevention of human trafficking requires first and foremost deterring the demand for trafficking. The current Indian anti-trafficking law, Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), lacks clear guidelines on who is subject to prosecution and who should be protected'. ITPAprovides for the constitution of special courts and summary trials, but provides no procedures for establishing such courts or conducting such trials'. In the absence of a non-bailable offence, the exploiters and abusers are able to secure bail easily and are then able to influence or intimidate the victims who are rescued and may testify against them". This forces many ofthe victims to turn hostile in the trial and thus defeat the prosecution. Conversely, when the child is the perpetrator and given bail, si he is often returned to the guardian despite the fact that the guardian is the one who facilitated the child's commercial sexual exploitation'. This impunity thatjohns, pimps, brothel keepers, transporters, recruiters, brothel managers, money lenders, escorts to advertisers, enjoy enhances the demand for trafficking. The first step in prevention would be to amend the existing ITPA to define a trafficker and buyer of trafficked people clearly and introduce stronger punishment for them. The second would be to remove criminal liability in any form for victims and survivors. The two sections ofITPAmentioned here are SectionS, which needs to be strengthened to punish buyers and johns and deletion of Section 8 under which women are picked up for being forced to stand in a public place by pimps and brothel managers to solicit for customers. India is on the verge of becoming a party to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, 2003. It has signed the Protocol and is likely to ratify it this year. Once it does so, it will be legally obliged to amend its laws in keeping with the standards outlined in the Protocol. Since India has signed the Optional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children, the definition in the protocol should apply until a definition has been introduced into local legislation'. I Bhatt, Aparna, Report on Laws «ud Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in India ( ECPAT). 2 Bhatt, Aparnu, Report on Laws and Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in India ( ECPXI} 3 ITPA sections 22-AA, 22B. 4 Bhatt,Aparna, RCPOlo1n Laws and Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial Sexual Exploitationof Children in India (ECPAT).See discussion at p.42 above in Gaps and Discussion on Protections tor Child Victims. , Shalt, Aparna, Report on Laws and Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in India (ECPAT). See discussion at 36-38 above in Lack of Protections for Witnesses. I> The Supreme Court of India in two of its leadingjudgmcnts, Nilabati Behera v. State of Oris sa and Vishaka and others v. State of Rajasthan and others, held that international treaties/conventions to which the State is a party apply around the country in the absence of domestic legislation to that effect or to the contrary. 6 Under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, the judgment of the Supreme Court of India is applicable to the entire country and is the law of the land. Applying these principles, it can be argued that these international definitions should be applied locally, but the practice is otherwise. Current Indian Good Practices Criminalization of' the offence of National Models 1) The only law that defines trafficking in persons trafficking in India is a state law, The lack of specific and/or adequate legislation the Goa Children 's Act, 20037. on trafficking in persons at the national level is which says: "child trafficking" one of the major obstacles in the fight against means the procurement, trafficking. There is an urgent need to recruitment, transportation, harmonize legal definitions, procedures and transfer, harbouring or receipt of cooperation at the national and regional levels in accordance with international standards. The persons, legally or illegally, within development of an appropriate legal framework or across borders, by means of that is consistent with the relevant international threat or use of force or other instruments and standards will also play an forms of coercion, of abduction, important role in the prevention of trafficking of fraud, of deception, of the and related exploitation. The UN Trafficking abuse of power or of a position Protocol requires the criminalization of of vulnerabili ty or of giving or trafficking in persons. The UN Convention receiving payments or benefits to against Transnational Organised Crime, Article achieve the consent of a person 5 of the Trafficking Protocol, also requires the having control over another criminalization of the full range of conducts person, for monetary gain or related to trafficking in persons as defined in Article 3 of the Protocol. In other words, it is otherwise. not sufficient to criminalize some underlying 2) Some state governments in India offences of human trafficking, but human have been using existing sections trafficking' in its entirety needs to be art he ITPAalongwith sections criminalized. Additionally, the UN Trafficking in the Indian Penal Code to Protocol requires the criminalization of the overcome the problem of a attempt to commit trafficking, participation as proper definition of traffickers or an accomplice, and organising or directing a client-end user, trafficking and others to commit. trafficking. .the extremely light punishments Extract from the Toolkit to Combat Trafficking for offences under ITPA. They in Persons, Global Programme against are using statutory rape laws, Trafficking in Human Beings, United Nations, anti-pornography laws, child 2006. marriage restraint laws, debt bondage and anti-smugglings laws to nail down traffickers and end users. These have significantly prevented the number if children and women are being trafficked" . .' Self' Assessment Question 1) What is Child Trafficking? .................................................................................. , , , . 3) The Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982, and Andhra Pradesh