End Child Trafficking
Child trafficking in India
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Child trafficking is a grave human rights violation; a crime of economics, power, and patriarchy; and an organized crime for the purpose of child exploitation.
Every hour, 9 children are reported kidnapped, abducted, or missing in India.
Of the 9 children, at least one has been reported as kidnapped or abducted for the purpose of child marriage.
Child trafficking is often hidden and under-reported, so it is likely that the real numbers are higher.
India is a source, transit, and destination country for child trafficking. Children are usually trafficked for the explicit purpose of commercial exploitation, resulting in child labor and slavery, although in 2022 almost 20% of children were reported kidnapped or abducted for the purpose of child marriage.
As well as the industries into which children are ‘traditionally’ trafficked into child labor, such as manufacturing, hospitality, and domestic work, new industries have become emerging destination sectors. These include spas, massage parlors, placement agencies, and online platforms.
Children trafficked into child marriage or commercial sexual exploitation also endure the crimes of child rape and other forms of sexual abuse.
Child trafficking is difficult to trace, due to its secretive nature. It is also under-reported, with some parents unaware their child has been trafficked into forced labor. Poorer families across India often feel compelled to send their children away to work, and traffickers are well-known to deceive them into believing their child will be in school, and only working outside school hours.
Our Strategy
We intend to end child trafficking by:
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prevention through community awareness and action
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targeted advocacy to tackle the root causes of trafficking
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ensuring prosecution at scale of perpetrators to deter child trafficking.
In India, children who have been trafficked for the purposes of commercial exploitation have a statutory right to compensation and backwages; this helps prevent the risk of children being re-trafficked. Children who have been trafficked into situations where they have endured sexual abuse also have the statutory right to counseling. Alongside sustained, scalable action which is focused on prevention and prosecution, realizing these rights to survivor rehabilitation is crucial to achieving justice.
Increased law enforcement is urgently needed to combat trafficking in India. Current efforts are inadequate, leaving civil society filling large gaps, such as monitoring trafficking routes and working with state and government agencies to catch perpetrators in the act.
Child trafficking should also be eliminated by enforcing a holistic and comprehensive strategy that focuses on ending the root cause of the crime: the entrenched poverty which allows trafficking to perpetuate.
Our Actions
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Focus work in districts with high prevalences of being source or target destinations for child trafficking.
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Ensure immediate child protection, rehabilitation, and caregiver vigilance for survivors.
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Strengthen institutions, provide legal and psychosocial support, and strive for sustainable child protection in India.
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Combat child trafficking and labor through awareness campaigns, advocacy to tackle root causes, and stakeholder engagement.
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Collaborate with law enforcement to enhance implementation mechanisms, and boost reporting and investigation of cases at the district and village level.
Our Impact
Access to Justice for Children partners are making a significant impact in uncovering the crime of trafficking, recovering children who have been trafficked, and realizing justice for survivors.
1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024
16,084 cases against child traffickers registered
29,224 children rescued from trafficking
While the data is not directly comparable, in 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau recorded that only 1,262 victims of child trafficking were registered; even when this figure is combined with the total number of children kidnapped or abducted, it stands at 33,421.
Saniya's Story
My name is Saniya. I am 12 years old and I come from Titabor, in Jorhat district, Assam. I am an orphan.
My world was turned upside down when my uncle, the one person I should have been able to trust, sold me into a household in Guwahati, which is in Kamrup Metropolitan district. I felt like I was drowning. I was desperate to escape, and managed to flee to a railway station nearby, hoping to find a way out.
In the rushing crowds at the station, a man saw me. He approached me with kindness, and it felt like a lifeline. As I poured out my heart to him, he listened without judgment, and I felt hope.
The man was like a guardian angel, and he took me to his home in Alekjeri village. But as time passed, the man who had seemed like my savior revealed his true colors.
He and his son started abusing me sexually and physically every day. His wife and daughter would also mistreat me, beating me up when I couldn’t complete the household chores on time. I found myself trapped once again, being abused physically and emotionally, within the confines of their home. I was treated like a servant and forced to perform household tasks beyond my capacity. Each day was a nightmare.
But I refused to give up hope, and one day I found the courage to escape from them. It was a risky decision, but I knew I had to take it, and it worked. A neighbor found me and took me to the police in Chayygaon.
The police brought me to Navajeevan, a children’s home run by the NGO Assam Centre for Rural Development [a partner of the Access to Justice program]. I told the Superintendent of Navajeevan about my ordeal, and they immediately took up my case and produced me before the Child Welfare Committee. They provided me with shelter, counseling, and the support I needed to regain my strength.
ACRD approached the Chayygaon police, and they found out that the police had not lodged a First Information Report. The police were forced to lodge a FIR, and the family who had abused me were arrested. They are now in jail, and I am still being supported with counseling by the Support Person of ACRD.
