As part of a series on the occasion of International Women’s Day, we are publishing articles and opening up this platform to discuss and underline the specific vulnerabilities, concerns and needs of women affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. 

In this edition, we publish a piece by Dr. Monisha Behal, Executive Director, North East Network, on a very critical subject — trafficking of women.

A serious violation of human rights, trafficking today thrives because it brings good business and money to the perpetrator by inducing domestic work, sale of girls and sex work. There is a clear signal that trafficking is also linked  to displacement in situations of conflict. This has been witnessed in some of India’s states of the north east region. The problems that arise out of conflict are twofold. (1) The situation encourages a lack of state transparency where support systems are reported to have ‘failed’. Thus, governance slows down where health care services and support from state services are supposed to run normally. (2) The levels of discrimination in such a situation are so stark that women suffer the worst kinds of indignities, with no assets, food or money to deal with their daily lives.

Almost everything is denied to those wedged between violence and lack of support. In conflict areas exploitation, gender-based violence, and abuse of women is widespread. There is also a proliferation of drug trafficking, human trafficking, protection rackets and so on. The table below shows the numbers of those trafficked, though most cases of trafficking, especially in states of Assam and Jharkhand, are shrouded in mystery and never reported.

Crime head-wise incidence of various crimes under human trafficking during 2010 – 2012

Source: National Crime Records Bureau Report 2012. P. 103

In search of opportunities to get out of their economic and social crisis, many women fall prey to human trafficking. The irony is that they lack information about the support they can draw from the state or access to initiatives being made by various social organizations and concerned citizens. But are there state programmes to look into such women who are displaced? There is no law as yet on it. Neither are the CSOs equipped to control the situation with confidence. So, the life of a victim is an unending journey of trauma and abuse.

Trafficked women are sent via devious means to destinations in India through ‘placement’ agencies. These agencies have flourished economically, at the cost of trafficked women. A joint investigation by the Assam police and their Delhi counterparts had found, some years back, 36 Delhi-based placement agencies trafficking girls and children from Assam to Haryana, Punjab, Mumbai and several other metropolitan cities.[1] Most of the trafficked girls and children were from the tea gardens of Udalguri, Sonitpur, Bongaigaon and many other Char areas of lower Assam. The police have an important role to play in checking and preventing women from getting trafficked. But the loopholes and escape routes of perpetrators and agencies are greater than the capacity of the police, whose responsibilities are multiple. Thus dialogue and coordination must take place to decide on how the state can handle conflict and post-conflict situations as far as displaced women are concerned.

In terms of our experience with Assam, the post-conflict period often represents lack of law and order and there are large numbers of vulnerable and destitute populations, especially female refugees and internally displaced populations (IDPs). The susceptibility of these areas becoming a source of human trafficking for sexual exploitation or forced labour is significant. In this post-conflict climate, women and girls suffer disproportionately from lack of access to resources and support, thereby heightening their vulnerability to various forms of exploitation and human trafficking. This phenomenon occurs not only in the immediate post-conflict period, but often well after the conflict has subsided.

How does the state prevent women from being abused and trafficked during the process of migration that results from conflict? There is no meaningful engagement of the state to bring out clear terms of reference to deal with the issue. But if the approach to mitigate trafficking is designed within a human rights framework there are ways in which it can be done. One of the first initiatives for both the State as well as CSOs is to consult women who are trafficked so that their needs are addressed. Disaggregated data has to be brought out on the number of people living in relief areas. Secondly, the implementation of legislations that protect women against violence, be it domestic or conflict-related, have to be worked out while women are being trafficked. Another way is to find out whether rehabilitation packages planned for displaced persons have been provided. We also need to know which schemes are meant to give good counsel facilities and shelter to women disadvantaged by economic and mental trauma.

There are efforts to bring out strict guidelines for the placement agencies operating in the capital state. The Justice Verma Committee in 2013 addressed the problem and stated that a huge responsibility lay with the enforcement agencies to stop the trafficking network of agencies. It is, however, an irony that most state governments do not have a force equipped to handle cases of trafficking or of missing children.

Having said that, the quality of rehabilitation is most critical in situations of conflict and environment of trauma so that internally displaced women can find some degree of solace. Without this the issue of trafficking can never be addressed and ended. With the government’s commitment to creating One Stop Crisis Centres all over India, the need for them to be established in areas of conflict is most important. The state is obligated to fulfil promises made in the Constitution, as part of the ruling party’s manifesto and the UN human rights mechanisms to which India is a signatory.

[1] Seven Sisters Post April 2, 2012

Also see: www.northeastnetwork.org

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the ICRC