Anti-trafficking bill set to get Cabinet’s nod

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE DRAFT

The Union cabinet could soon consider and approve the country’s first anti-humantrafficking law, according to a senior government official familiar with the matter.

The law, two years in the making, proposes punishment of up to 14 years for traffickers, measures to rehabilitate victims, and the mandatory registration of placement agencies that recruit and place domestic helps, said the official who asked not to be identified.

In a first, the draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2017, piloted by the Union women and child development (WCD) ministry, treats a trafficked person who gets into prostitution as a victim rather than offender.

In the existing law, there is no distinction between the trafficked person and the trafficker. Both are treated as criminals, punishable with jail terms of up to seven years.

The draft bill also recommends the creation of an antitrafficking fund and new identities for victims.

Around 8,100 cases of trafficking were recorded in India in

NEW DELHI:

Trafficked person will be treated as victim instead of offender

Traffickers will invite a maximum punishment of up to 14 years jail

10-year jail, fine of ₹1 lakh for those guilty of giving hormones and drugs to trafficked girls Anti-trafficking fund to rehabilitate victims Mandatory registration of placement agencies

2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. The data show around 23,000 victims of trafficking were rescued that year.

Experts say that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with the actual numbers of people trafficked being much higher.

The proposed bill was held up over objections of the Union home ministry to a separate law on trafficking. The ministry wanted to amend the existing provisions of the Indian Penal Code to address trafficking cases.