GUWAHATI, March 5 - �I want to punish the people behind human trafficking�� �I want education that would help me become independent�� �I want a family�� �I want to help all other victims who are in trouble�� �I want training in the homes to stand on my feet�� �I want love from everyone�� �I don�t want to be sold again�� �I want to work in a nice person�s house�� �I want to laugh with my family�� �I want the people in my village to like me�� �I want my father to stop drinking��
These are some recommendations put forward by the victims of trafficking who survived and are currently under the care and protection in Ujjawala Homes of the State, to the Charter of Demands of the Survivors of Child Trafficking prepared and published by the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR).
The charter is an outcome of a series of consultation programmes carried out by ASCPCR. According to a statement, the Commission since 2017 has been working with special focus on combating child trafficking and has organised one State-level and five zonal-level consultation programmes to ensure rights of the survivors.
In the charter of demands, pointing to the responsive measures to combat child trafficking, ASCPCR said that there is a need for more government-run shelter homes in Assam along with regular and timely flow of fund.
It also said, �Active participation of the survivors in all decisions related to their case management should be ensured by the shelter homes and child welfare committees. Cases of child sexual abuse should be given priority treatment in all hospitals and the Department of Health and Family Welfare should issue a circular regarding this matter. All survivors who are interested in continuing their education should be mainstreamed into formal education and incentivised through existing scholarship schemes and programmes where the education department should have to take steps to ensure such facilities in time.�
It also laid stress on timely disbursement of interim victim compensation by appointing trained para-legal volunteers and called for providing employment assistance to trafficking survivors by forming a network of survivors to create solidarity and financial independence in the face of societal stigma. The charter stated that all survivors of trafficking should have access to the provisions of the national mental health scheme.
�Sensitisation of judiciary, police on exercising their mandate powers in addressing the gaps that delay justice should be conducted. Specialised curricula on technical and adaptive challenges in dealing with cases of trafficking should be developed for their induction and in-service training. The Department of Cultural Affairs should develop special scholarship for talented survivors. Adequate infrastructure should be in place for rescue, rehabilitation and prosecution where resources of the Digital India initiative could be leveraged to develop an app-based monitoring mechanism through stages of rescue, investigation and prosecution,� the charter added.
