On 11th January 2021, Children of India hosted an Instagram live discussion to create awareness on the issue of Human Trafficking with Rescue Foundation (Mumbai) and Girls Advocacy Alliance (India). The discussion was attended by more than 100 people via Instagram. Mr Thangaperumal Popandi (Country Manager, TdH-NL) hosted the panellists- Miss Manika Khandelwal (Assistant Project Manager) and Mr Subrat Kumar Panda (India Co-ordinator) from Rescue Foundation India and Girls Advocacy Alliance respectively.
The discussion began with a brief introduction from all the panellists talking about their respective organisations and the work they’ve been doing to make a difference in the lives of marginalised communities. As it was the day of Raising Awareness for Anti-Human Trafficking, the panellists indulged in defining Human Trafficking to the audience attending the live session via Instagram.
The panelists further explained the different reasons that could lead to trafficking, some of them being poverty, lack of education, communities traditionally engaged in prostitution, gender-based violence, substance abuse and child marriage.
The representatives from Rescue Foundation India, Girls Advocacy Alliance and Children of India further explained that the traffickers are not just the pimps, brothel owners but immediate relatives, neighbours, etc. could also be the perpetrators. The honey-trap is one of the most used strategies for human-trafficking where the traffickers pretend to love and care for the girl and traffic them eventually.
Trafficking always leads to abuse which can cause depression, addiction and other forms of damage in the life of the victim. It takes years, sometimes even decades for them to get over their trauma. Therefore, it is the duty of each and every citizen of this country to fight against it, as India is one of the top contributors in this dangerously proliferating industry.
Family support, using technology to spread awareness, knowing the laws against trafficking, supporting organisations that work towards rescuing the victims are some of the ways to contribute towards Anti-human trafficking.
One must also be vigilant in everyday life and inform the police as and when something feels fishy as there have been many examples where common people have helped in rescuing the victims of trafficking just by keeping their eyes and minds open.
– By Vaishnavi Gupta, Communications Associate
