From letters and postcard campaigns to meetings with lawmakers, modern slavery victims across the country are pushing for the passage of a long-pending anti-trafficking Bill, amid fears it could be sidelined as general elections take centrestage in Parliament.
Survivors from 11 States have turned campaigners in the last few months by roping in their communities to write more than 110,000 postcards to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to ensure the Bill is passed by Parliament in the coming months.
Nearly, 1,000 survivors have sent letters to MPs, another 12,000 have signed or put their thumb prints on a petition — each accompanied with a personal story of entrapment, torture and despair — to press parties to green-light the Bill.
The Trafficking of Persons Bill was passed by the Lower House of Parliament in July and is expected to be tabled in the Upper House in the ongoing session that ends on January 8.
Campaigners, survivors and lawmakers alike fear the proposed law will be stalled or even shelved if it is not passed soon as political attention turns to next year’s general elections.
“It is high time traffickers pay for their crimes; they must be convicted and punished,” the mother-of-one, who is part of the survivor’ organisation Vimukthi, said on the sidelines of a meeting in New Delhi between survivors and several lawmakers.
Girls major victims
India is home to the largest number of slaves globally, with 8 million out of a global total of 40 million, according to the Global Slavery Index by Australia-based Walk Free Foundation.
Most of the 23,000 trafficking victims rescued in India in 2016 were women and girls, the latest government data shows.
The proposed law prioritises survivors’ needs and prevents victims, such as those found in brothel raids, from being arrested and jailed like traffickers, who would face prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life under the legislation.
Activists and lawmakers say the Bill unifies existing anti-trafficking laws and aims to make India a leader in the fight against such crimes in South-Asia — one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for forced labour, begging and forced marriage.
“It is sad to see how for money, people have shamed humanity. This must stop,” said Akhilesh Prasad Singh, an upper house lawmaker from the main Opposition Congress party. “All parties ...should discuss this Bill in this Winter Session and pass it with necessary provisions.”
While the Bill has been hailed by many campaigners, it has faced resistance from some sectors over fears that it could unfairly target consenting adults working in the sex industry.