New Delhi

New scheme for victims of trafficking

NEW DELHI: The Union Women and Child Development Ministry has drafted a comprehensive scheme for the prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of the victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

The Centrally-funded scheme, Ujjawala, will focus on prevention of trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation through social mobilisation and involvement of local communities, awareness generation programmes and related activities.

Poverty, low status of women, and lack of protective environment have been identified as the main causes of commercial sexual exploitation of women and children in India and even across the international borders.

The scheme has been drafted to facilitate rescue of victims from the place of their exploitation and placing them in safe custody, providing rehabilitation services both immediate and long term to the victims by giving them basic amenities, counselling, legal aid and even vocational training.

Another important component of the scheme is facilitation of their reintegration into the family and society and repatriation of cross-border victims to their country of origin.

To be implemented in the States through Social Welfare departments, women’s development corporation, urban local bodies, public or private trusts and voluntary agencies, the scheme has five components: prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, re-integration and repatriation. Prevention would include formation of community vigilance groups, adolescent centres for girls and creating awareness through mass media and traditional methods.

Formation of network of police, non-government organisations, panchayats and tour operators would be used for gathering information on trafficking, if any, under the rescue component and incentives would be given to decoy customers and informers.

Rehabilitation at the Protective and Rehabilitative Homes would also be the responsibility of the implementing agency that would also provide basic amenities, medical care and legal aid to the victims.

Education and vocational training form the part and parcel of rehabilitation while re-integration would include setting up half-way homes within the community where a victim can live and work. Those from across the border would be sent back to their native countries.

To be funded in two instalments in the next financial year, the scheme will be reviewed at the Centre once a year and evaluated in the middle of the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

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