‘Historic’ Law To Combat Human Trafficking Passed By The Cabinet 

Hailing it as a ‘historic’ step in the fight against human trafficking, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has lauded the Indian Cabinet’s approval of a new anti-trafficking law, Thompson Reuters Foundation has reported.

The Trafficking of Persons Bill, which will now go to the parliament on 5 March for approval, prioritises the survivor’s needs and prevents victims, like woman found in brothel raids from being jailed.

Under the new law, the victims will be entitled to a rehabilitation fund so they can rebuild their lives and will also be be able to give evidence of trafficking without being identified. Also, anti-trafficking committees at district, state and national levels will be created to oversee the prevention, protection and victim rehabilitation.

The new law unifies existing anti-trafficking laws, under which the traffickers can get ten years or a life term in jail and a fine of at least Rs 1 lakh. Also, special courts will be set up to expedite the cases with a maximum time frame of one year for trial and repatriation.

Human trafficking is a huge issue in India, with 8,132 cases being recorded in 2016. Releasing a statement on the bill, the government said that the bill, “addresses one of the most pervasive yet invisible crimes affecting the most vulnerable persons especially women and children”.

The new law has been lauded as one of the ‘best in the world’ at the Fourth Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour, with Union Minister Maneka Gandhi stressing that the new law was “one of compassion because it focuses on rehabilitation of the victims.

I am not going to wait for the court to convict the traffickers before we start with the rehabilitation of the victims. The traffickers are not going to spend on it. So the rehabilitation will begin almost immediately.”

Satyarthi hailed it as a ‘victory of the 1.2 million people who participated in 11,000 km long Bharat Yatra’ who rallied for the cause.

“Intrastate trafficking of children is a rapidly growing organized crime ... A strong anti trafficking law in India will send a powerful message,” he added.