Human trafficking is more dangerous than murder, and social awareness coupled with a strong legal framework was needed to curb it, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday.
Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, was speaking virtually at a panel discussion on 'Prevention of commercial sex trafficking of women', organised jointly by the Maharashtra State Women Commission and 'Alliance against Centres for Trafficking' here.
"Human trafficking is a very big challenge before us. It is said that drugs trade is the biggest trade in the world but unfortunately human trafficking is to some extent, along with drugs trade, becoming a big trade. Women and children are most vulnerable to it," he said.
Its victims suffer a lot, and it is a far more dangerous crime than murder, the deputy CM added.
Human trafficking is an issue transcending boundaries, and social awareness and a people's movement along with a strong legal framework were needed to curb it, he said.
In 90 to 95 percent of cases of sexual exploitation or abuse, people who are known to the victim or victim's family are the culprits, Fadnavis noted.
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Earlier, victims of such offences did not approach police due to societal stigma or pressures, but now this situation is changing and victims are coming forward to register police complaints, he said.
Police in the state have been instructed to submit charge sheets in rape cases in 90 days, and this norm is being complied with in 65 per cent of cases, Fadnavis said.
"But we need to go up to 90 percent and create an efficient justice system which ensures that those committing such crimes get punished and we get to see a deterrent effect of it," he added.
As per a 2019 report of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), 1,291 women were able to leave sex work in 2015 in Maharashtra. As many as 1,020 women managed to do so in 2016 and almost the same number quit the flesh trade in 2017, Fadnavis said.
Every year, 700 to 800 children and women are rescued from forced labour, but many more cases go undetected, he said.
