Girl Child Trafficking in India

Syllabus: GS2/Issues Related to Children; Issues Related to Women

Context

• Girl child trafficking remains one of the gravest human rights violations in India, and Bihar’s persistent struggle with poverty, migration, and porous borders has tragically made it a hotspot.

Status of Human & Girl Child Trafficking

• Human trafficking is one of the largest organised crimes worldwide.
• According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Data 2022:
  • India registered 2,250 cases of human trafficking, identifying 6,036 victims, of which 2,878 were children, including 1,059 girls.
    • On average, eight children were trafficked every day in 2021, with 44% of trafficking victims being minors.
• Bihar and Rajasthan reported the highest number of child trafficking charge sheets between 2018 and 2022, with 1,848 and 2,711 respectively.

Bihar’s Trafficking Crisis

• Bihar has become a trafficking hub due to poverty and social vulnerability, porous borders with Nepal, railway links to trafficking-prone States, and cultural exploitation (orchestra belt), especially in regions like Saran and Muzaffarpur.
• Bihar Police rescued 271 girls, with 153 trafficked into orchestras and 118 into the flesh trade (June 2025).

Reasons Behind Trafficking (Root Causes)

• Systemic Failure: Despite strong legislations in India conviction rates remain abysmal.
  • Cases are misfiled, often as kidnappings or missing persons, and Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) are under-resourced.
  • Girls are sometimes sent back to families that sold them (Re-trafficking Risks).
• Gender Discrimination: Girls are disproportionately targeted for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced marriage.
• Demand for Cheap Labor and Sexual Exploitation: Industries and underground networks perpetuate exploitation for profit.
  • Orchestras continue to operate with impunity, even after repeated rescues.
• Migration and Displacement: Natural disasters, conflict, and rural-urban migration increase vulnerability.
• Cultural Practices: Traditions like Devadasi and Jogin systems have historically contributed to exploitation.

Legal & Institutional Frameworks in India

• Constitutional Protections: Article 23 prohibits trafficking and forced labor.
  • Article 39(e)-(f) mandates the protection of children against exploitation.
• Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA), 1956: Criminalizes trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
• POCSO Act, 2012: Protects children from sexual offenses.
• Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: Provides care and protection for trafficked children.
• Ujjawala Scheme: Focuses on prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration of victims.
• Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): Strengthens child protection infrastructure and services.
• Project Jeevanjot-2 (Punjab): Introduced DNA testing to verify familial ties of children found begging, helping identify trafficking cases.
• Child Welfare Infrastructure:
  • Childline 1098 helpline;
  • National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR/SCPCR);
• NGO Networks: Organizations like Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Praajwala, and Sanlaap lead on-ground efforts in rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
• Campaigns like Dear Men, a short film based on real-life rescues, aim to raise public awareness.

Way Forward: Prevention as Protection

• Trafficking needs to be tackled at the source. It includes school monitoring of attendance; village registers tracking child migration; railway and transport vigilance; trained AHTU personnel; strict prohibition and prosecution of orchestras employing minors; state-supervised rehabilitation.
• Prosecution as the Tipping Point: A recent report by the Centre for Legal Action and Behaviour Change (C-Lab) emphasizes that prosecution is key to stopping trafficking.
  • In collaboration with NGOs, 53,651 children were rescued, and legal action followed in each case — a clear indicator that justice deters crime.
• PICKET Framework: To end child trafficking, India needs to adopt the PICKET strategy:
  • Policy – Clear laws banning child exploitation;
  • Institutions – Empowered systems for protection and justice;
  • Convergence – Coordination between departments and NGOs;
  • Knowledge – Awareness campaigns and intelligence sharing;
  • Economic Disruption – Make trafficking financially unviable;
  • Technology – Use digital tools for tracking and prevention;

Source: TH