Essay – Child trafficking
Child trafficking Essay: India being a developing country is embedded with a plethora of social and economic problems. As a result, the children are anaemic, malnourished and subject to a number of health problems. The families to which these children belong are unable to meet their needs and thus they are forced to work as child labourers. Unfortunately, these children had to work in inhuman and unhygienic working conditions. Faced with insurmountable problems, these child labourers often become the victims of child trafficking. In 2021, 2.189 children were the victims of child trafficking which is even more than the cases recorded at 1714 in 2020.
Discussion
As opined by UNICEF, any person under 18 years of age harboured or transferred for the reason of exploitation whether within the country or outside the country is referred to as child trafficking. There are certain underlying causes of child trafficking. These are sexual exploitation, child laundering, sundry activities, surrogacy and labourers.
India has the largest number of child labourers which accounts for 3.48 per cent of the total population. Children are employed as servants in domestic work, farms, hotels and at hazardous construction sites and industries. In addition, child laundering occurs when children are laundered from their families by means of purchases and adoptions. Later on, these children are sold in exchange for a large amount of money. Surrogacy has become one of the most common forms of lucrative trade of child trafficking whereby young girls from developing countries are sold to couples who cannot give birth to a child due to infertile conditions. These people mostly belong to developed countries that decide to accept surrogacy. In addition, the children who are forced into trafficking become a part of sundry activities such as smuggling and drug peddling. They are trapped under criminal groups who exploit them persistently.
Child trafficking leads to various psychological consequences. Children who are subjected to this suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and affected disorders. Records have also shown that there is an increased prevalence of sexual violence and physical violence among trafficked children. Given the clandestine nature of child trafficking, the exact number of child trafficking in India is unknown. Physical trauma that is undergone by the child consists of being beaten up, raped, and subjected to abuse for a long period of time. Furthermore, they also suffer injuries, impairments, serious infections and physical exhaustion. The children who are trafficked also go through a phase of ostracism whereby they feel guilty or ashamed of the situation for their reason for relocation. The victims who later on escape from the human trafficking trap cannot earn money on independent terms due to the absence of working skills.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that human trafficking is a serious issue that needs to be cautiously addressed by the government. Although the government has implemented the Immoral Traffic Act, of 1956, it is not able to function and redress the grievances in the most suitable ways. There is an urgent need to curb this social menace and protect innocent lives from the shackles of trafficking.
FAQs on Child trafficking
Q1. Name the law in response to child trafficking in India.
Ans: Immoral Traffic Act, of 1956.
Q2. State any one reason for child trafficking in India.
Ans: Poverty is one of the main reasons for child trafficking in India.
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