Orissa formulates special policy to combat women trafficking

Alarmed at spurt in trafficking in women and children in Orissa, the state government has framed a special policy to combat the problem.

Data available with the home department said as many as 3,578 women, mostly minor and young girls, remained untraced between 2000 and 2005.

Of them, 1,418 were minor girls (12 to 14 years old) and 1,342 young girls (21 to 30 years old). There were also 818 married women in the list and of them the police had rescued 238 married women, 294 young girls and 492 minor girls from different places, the data revealed.

Officials said in some cases, victims are taken to other states while in some cases trafficking takes place within the state.

The government's special policy, which was notified through a recent official gazette, provided adequate measures for psychological support, economic empowerment and reintegration so that the rescued victims of trafficking do not get drawn into the trade again due to non-availability of other options for livlihood.

The policy stipulated formation of Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking Units (IAHTs) to be set up at the office of the inspector general of police (crime branch) and in the commissionerate of police of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, IG office at Rourkela, DIG offices at Sambalpur and Berhampur to focus on specific places requiring response. 

Apart from this, collectors of all 30 districts in the state have been assured of help to deal with the problem in separate letters written by the under-secretary to the government, Durgesh Nandini Sahoo.

The letters drew attention of the collectors to 'commercial exploitation of women and children in various forms including brothel-based prostitution, sex tourism, entertainment industry and pornography in print and electronic media'.

The policy also dealt with prevention of trafficking, intelligence sharing, rescue, rehabilitation, economic empowerment, health care, education, housing, legal reforms and creation of a corpus for addressing the problem.

Women and child development minister Pramila Mallick told PTI that consultation was being held with the home and law department in implementing the policy.

Most of the women trafficked from the state land up in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhatisgarh and in some cases in Andhra Pradesh, a woman rights activist, Rutuparna Mohanty, who runs a short-stay home for destitute women, said.

Mohanti said the traffickers choose targets who are economically deprived and lure them with the promise of marriage which their parents cannot afford and job of a domestic help.

They spend roughly Rs7,000 on a girl, in most cases the money going to her parents, who fetchs them Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 a month.