Rama Krishna Sangem
On the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, as the global community vows to intensify the collective fight against traffickers and for children, SCOPE released a statement disclosing that they rescued 215 trafficked children in the last year in Sangareddy district of Telangana.
Of these, 203 children were boys while 12 were girls. The SCOPE has been working to ensure the protection of child rights in the district and is a partner of the ‘Access To Justice’ programme which is one of the world’s largest legal intervention programs led by 180 grassroots national and local NGOs for child protection, said a press release.
It must be noted that human trafficking is the third largest organized crime in the world, only after drugs and arms trafficking, and almost one-third of human trafficking victims are children. The SCOPE demanded a comprehensive anti-trafficking law to address emerging challenges.
96 FIRs filed
The SCOPE informed that among the trafficked children who were rescued during the year, the maximum number of children belonged to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chattisghad, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Odissa, With the legal intervention by the SCOPE, 96 FIRs were filed during the time period.
Talking about the challenges the SCOPE faced during the year, Dr. Bandi Sayanna, President, Spandana Cultural Organisation for Progressive Education (SCOPE) said, “In this one year, we managed to rescue 215 from trafficking with the support and action of government authorities and law enforcement agencies at various levels. The inclusion of trafficking as an organized crime in the new section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is also laudable. However, what we urgently need now is a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that addresses crucial aspects like inter-state coordination and the rehabilitation of trafficking victims”
Access to justice
SCOPE is among the 180 organisations which are part of the ‘Access to Justice’ programme and all the grassroots organisations collectively registered 16,084 cases against child traffickers and rescued 29,224 children from trafficking between April 2023 and March 2024.
Talking about the strides taken in combating child trafficking and the present scenario, ‘Access to Justice’ Country Head Ravi Kant said, “While we have been working collectively and successfully with the Centre and state governments to rescue children from traffickers, the strategies need to evolve now. The latest global reports on trafficking show how traffickers are adopting new and modern ways of trafficking. They are using technology and new modus operandi at every stage of criminal activity and even using the internet to hunt and fish for victims.
The ‘Access to Justice’ programme covers half of India and functions in 400 districts identified as having a high prevalence of child exploitation.
