Child trafficking is a very severe crime which affects not only the victims but also their families. It is like a curse to society. Therefore, as responsible citizens it is our responsibility to be aware and alert of any situation or activity which is not in the betterment of our country and the world also.
INTRODUCTION
Child trafficking is a problem that is becoming very common in India. While we may think that children trafficked are only girls but this is not true. Boys too are sold and bought like commodities, this might sound impossible and nonsense to some people however this is a reality.
What we have always known about trafficking is that it is limited to using children for prostitution but what we don’t know is that they are used for forced labour as well. We proudly say that children are the future of our country but do we really mean it? How can we say that kids are the future of our country when the future of many these kids is under the darkness of prostitution and forced labour?
At an age when they should be studying, getting education for their brighter future, when they should be engaged in sports, when they should be set free to use their creative minds. They are pushed into the darkness of this cruel world, coming out of which is almost impossible. These innocent and vulnerable souls are subjected to such inhuman treatment which perhaps an adult would not even be able to tolerate.
 How can we expect the country to progress or develop when the children of the country are not safe? when those who should smile fearlessly and enjoy their lives are in threat.
THE EXTENT OF CHILD TRAFFICKING IN INDIA
As per the report of NCRB for the year 2016, 2017 and 2018 shows that there has been a drastic decline in cases of trafficking. On the basis of study done by NCRB on human trafficking, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam, Jharkhand are among top ten states which have recorded maximum cases of missing persons.
The states which have national boundaries have also recorded a significant number of cases related to human trafficking. However, ground realities show that the incidence of child trafficking has increased over years but it is difficult to estimate accurate data of children trafficked as most of the cases are not registered.
There are various reasons for non-registration of cases of child trafficking. The police fail to investigate the chains of traffickers expanded over three to four states as there is lack of coordination among the police working in different states, the vehicles crossing borders are not properly investigated due to which trafficked children loaded in these vehicles are easily transported cross borders for sale and corruption in the system, pressure from superior officers or politician, lack of review mechanism are few reasons leading to non-registration of cases.
Among the trafficked victims children are trafficked more as they can be easily lured and forced into bonded labour in factories, homes, industries etc. Child prostitution is another reason for high rate of child trafficking. In India along with inter-state trafficking, trafficking across the borders of the country is also very prominent. Thousands of girl child trafficked from India to other countries to work in the sex industry.
EFFECT ON CHILDREN:
The children who have gone through trafficking experience a lot of physical and mental health issues. They are not able to socialize properly with others. They are not able to revive their self esteem and self confidence. They suffer from mental trauma also, they become more vulnerable to mental and physical disability, they might from extreme body pain and anxiety. The children get traumatized by things which they go through that makes them even more vulnerable to being unstable emotionally.
The children who have gone through extreme physical and mental stress and they get scarred for life. The memories of those difficult days are something which they can never forget. It is seen that they go through a lot of psychological problems, some of them might even last for a lifetime.
Another major drawback of trafficking is that children miss their education, the most crucial part of education is in the initial days of studying and the children who are trafficked are not able to get their education done properly so even if they are able to come out of the web of their traffickers they won’t be able to live a decent life. they will not have many opportunities for their career and definitely are not left with many options.
Since most of these kids are from poor families they are not able to restart or continue their education. So these kids already lose a chance of living a decent and proper life. they might even not be able to learn or develop certain skills to earn a living since to learn something new money is required.
This all tells us that even after coming out of trafficking someone may not be heading a life as they want to because it has after effects which can last for a very very long time. It creates a situation in which a person cannot really do anything even if they have the will to do it only because of the aftermath of trafficking.
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