Even as people grapple with the tragedy of being displaced by the floods in Bihar, there is a silent disaster that is unfolding.
With a large number of people migrating to Delhi and other cities, NGOs and activists warn that trafficking of women and children is likely to see an upsurge.
Of the 3.3 million people that have been affected, an estimated 42% are below 18 years. Activists say this is the most vulnerable group, prone to being misled into commercial sex work or bonded labour by middlemen on the pretext of providing help.
Rishikant of Shakti Vahini said, “Our colleagues working in the field in Bihar have said that there are a large number of women and children who are being picked up. We are monitoring the trains arriving from Bihar.” According to a Unifem-NHRC study, the population of women and children in sex work in India is said to be between 70,000 and 1 million. Of these, 30% are under 20 while nearly 15% began sex work when they were below 15.
Statistics by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that 89 cases of trafficking were registered in 2004, a 93.5% increase since 2003. Significantly, of the 89 cases, 35 — the second highest — were from Bihar.
Despite mounting vigilance, there has been little success in rescuing women and children in the past two weeks. NGO Pratidhi’s Raj Mangal Prasad, who works with children in need of care and protection, said there was no monitoring at entry and exit points.
“There is no vigilance mechanism at railway stations that are hubs to find missing, kidnapped or trafficked children,” Prasad said.
He added that every disaster led to mass displacement of vulnerable groups. “Some parents send their children to relatives in other cities. They go missing or are trafficked after that,” Prasad said. Activists have also said that identifying those being trafficked was very tough and with many people travelling ticketless, there was no way to check the passenger’s antecedents. Diversion of trains from New Delhi railway station to other stations has added to the chaos. (SOURCE TOI)