Anti-Trafficking Bill: ‘Raid & rescue’ outdated

On July 26, with minimal discussion and debate, the Narendra Modi government passed the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 in the Lok Sabha.

Activists accuse the government of passing the Bill by subterfuge (because the Draft which was made available for consultations and comments was not the one which the government discussed with a chosen few NGOs and individuals and introduced in the Lok Sabha).

Before the Bill was introduced, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) was the only legislation that India had on trafficking, and the law still continues to remain in force. The Bill, which if made into law, will have force alongside the ITPA and will give unbridled powers to the state and police to decide what women want for themselves, said Tripti Tandon of Lawyers’ Collective.

Rejecting the Minister’s claim that the Bill does not target adult, consenting sex workers, Kusum of the All India Network of Sex workers and Nisha Gulur of the National Network of Sex Workers – both of them were former sex-workers who later took to activism- said that the provisions directly and indirectly criminalise sex workers.

“Clause 39 criminalises “soliciting” through electronic messages and “obscene photographs” – this is “clearly curbing communication,” says Gulur before adding, “proposed offences of trafficking and exposure to HIV and pregnancy are aimed at sex workers.”

Dr Prabha Kotiswaran, who has studied legal response to trafficking internationally, blasted the Bill’s uncriticial application of raid, rescue and rehabilitation in “protection homes”, which are used to house “rescued” sex workers, to other situations of exploitation.

“Protection homes” remain the mainstay of rehabilitation for trafficked victims. There is no compensation, monetary assistance or livelihood guarantee, which is what victims need most to rebuild their lives.

Dr. Samarjit Jana, who was part of a Supreme Court-appointed committee in the case of Buddhadeb Karmakar Vs State of West Bengal on rehabilitation of sex workers, said the Bill did not distinguish between trafficking and sex work and failed to assure dignity to consenting adult sex workers. He said it would also be a roadblock in HIV prevention, because most patients would be forced to go underground and conceal their disease out of fear of being prosecuted.

The persistent agrarian crisis and lack of sufficient decent jobs – whether in cities or in rural areas has been lost sight of. “Instead of focusing on economic and social security, the Government is criminalising the poor and the vulnerable and their safety net” said Konnonika of the National Federation of Indian Women.

Gautam Mody, Secretary of the New Trade Union Initiative, said,“The approach of the Bill in focusing on rehabilitation is significantly different from laws like the Contract Labour Act and the Inter State Migrant Workers Act, which mandate registration of workers and require them to have benefits. The phrasing of the Bill limits responsibility to individuals, taking away from corporate criminal liability for trafficking caused due to their production lines or supply chains.”

“Those who have been involved in drafting the Trafficking Bill, which otherwise was an opaque and closed process, such as Kailash Satyarthi’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan and Sunita Krishnan of Prajwala are bound to give full marks to it,” he said.“But, if they are so confident of it, why should they oppose it being sent to a Standing Committee in Parliament? After all, scrutiny by a Parliamentary body will only improve the legal response to trafficking and not weaken it. Supporters of the Bill must have faith in democratic processes and Parliamentary institutions,” Mody concluded.