NEW DELHI: The Union Women and Child Development Ministry is working on a scheme, in consultation with non-governmental organisations and the State Governments, for rescue of victims of trafficking.

It has two components: one for preventive steps such as peer education, awareness campaign and through traditional arts, the radio and local new papers.

The other component is for rescue and rehabilitation of victims trafficked in for commercial sex.

Rescue cost

The scheme will provide for the rescue cost and counselling to overcome trauma, besides shelter, medical care, legal aid and witness/victim protection.

According to an official spokesperson, the Ministry has asked the States to hold regular meetings of the State Advisory Committee constituted under the National Plan of Action to combat trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children and to monitor initiatives on prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, and repatriation of victims to their States.

Sensitising functionaries

All Chief Secretaries have been requested to sensitise functionaries at the cutting edge to issues of sexual abuse and molestation, so that perpetrators of child abuse are severely dealt under the Indian Penal Code and other child-specific laws.

Amendments have been proposed to the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 to widen its scope, focus on traffickers, human rights of victims and to delete Section 8, which provides punishment for seducing or soliciting for prostitution, and Section 20 on removal of a prostitute from any place.

The deletion has been proposed keeping in view that women involved in prostitution are victims of trafficking and that booking them under these Sections amounts to victimising them again.

Other amendments

Other amendments include new sections defining "Trafficking in Persons" on the lines of the definition in optional protocols to the U.N. Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, and punishment for persons involved in `trafficking in persons' and those who visit or are found in a brothel for sexual exploitation.

Another amendment is for constitution of a Central as well as State Authority for effectively combating `trafficking in persons.'

This Bill was already introduced in Parliament during the last session.

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