The Hindu : Call to improve the lot of poor children

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 21, 2003

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National

Call to improve the lot of poor children

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI SEPT. 20. The clandestine nature of the crime makes figures difficult to verify but estimates show that the number of women, children and men trafficked in each year range from 7,00,000 to four million. The purpose of trafficking includes prostitution, debt bondage and domestic labour. However, available information shows that the majority of trafficking takes places for sex trade, because of an increasing demand for child labour in the $ 7 billion entertainment and sex industry globally.

The situation is bad in the South Asian countries with India occupying a dubious position on account of its dimension, geographical and ethnic varieties. It serves as the source, destination and transit point at the same time. Also, India faces a greater risk of HIV/AIDS linked with trafficking due to poverty, inadequate health infrastructure, inequalities due to caste, gender and class and greater inter-regional and international mobility in search of employment.

These facts and figures were revealed at a workshop on "Saving Tomorrow's Children: The Corporate Response to Trafficking in Children'' organised by the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice and the United States Embassy in association with the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

According to the general secretary of the Prayas, Amod Kanth, the disintegration of traditional economies and cultures, marginalisation of communities and women and increasingly young people assuming key roles as income earners were major factors related to the supply side of human trafficking.

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