Modern slavery not in govt crosshairs

The 2018 Global Slavery index estimates that on any given day in 2016 there were nearly 8 million people living in modern slavery in India. In terms of prevalence of modern slavery in India, there were 6.1 victims for every thousand people. Among 167 countries, India ranked 53 in terms of prevalence.

In 2016, there were 18.3 million people in modern slavery in India. The difference between these two figures reflects the addition of forced sexual exploitation and children in modern slavery in 2018 but does not include figures on organ trafficking or the use of children in armed conflict.

‘Modern slavery’ is defined as forced labour, forced marriage, human trafficking, debt bondage and slavery-like practices. Interestingly, the index also adds the exposure to the risk of modern slavery to a country, through the products it imports.

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) indicate that there were 8,132 reported cases of human trafficking across India in 2016. In the same year, 15,379 people were trafficked of whom 9,034 victims were below the age of 18. In addition, 23,117 people were rescued from trafficking situations of which 14,183 people were below the age of 18.

It also reports that the bonded labour system is formally abolished and criminalized in India, but recent research indicates that it is still prevalent. A 2016 report found that in the state of Tamil Nadu, 351 of 743 spinning mills use bonded labour schemes, otherwise known as Sumangali schemes. Similarly, in granite quarries, wage advances and loans with an interest ranging from 24 percent to 36 percent are used to bond workers to the quarry.

According to a study on bonded labour practices in sandstone quarries in Rajasthan, workers become caught in lifelong debt bondage as they owe large sums of money to their employers or contractors and have to work for little or no pay until this is repaid.

The report also noted that the agricultural sector in India accounts for 62.7 percent of India’s rural employment, but changing environmental patterns in the eastern state of Odisha, such as irregular rainfall, frequent droughts, and deforestation, have resulted in destruction of traditional livelihoods.

The lack of employment opportunities and the need to seek alternative sources of income force people to migrate to other states within India in search of work. Seeking work in brick kilns across the country has become a common phenomenon for people from Odisha.

This often involves labour agents who use a system of advance payment where workers are paid a lump sum upfront which they then need to pay off through the bricks they make, consequently trapping them in bonded labour until they have paid off their debt. Modern slavery also indicates Forced sexual exploitation of adults and children.

The report also pointed out that female foeticide is a widespread phenomenon in India and has contributed to a shortage in women, such as in the state of Haryana, where there are only 830 girls for every 1,000 boys.
The skewed sex ratio in some regions in India is fuelling trafficking and selling of brides within India. Women are reportedly sold off into marriage by their families, sometimes at a young age, and end up enduring severe abuse, rape, and exploitation by their husbands.

India has criminalised most forms of modern slavery, including trafficking, slavery, forced labour, and child sexual exploitation, in its Penal Code. However, under section 366 of the Penal Code, forced marriage is only criminalized when kidnapping is present. There is currently no legislation criminalising the use of children in armed conflict, noted the report.

The report recommended to ratify and implement the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and passing the bill of Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) and provide adequate financial resources towards implementation.

It also recommended passing the National Domestic Workers Regulation of Work and Social Security Bill 2016 and provide adequate financial resources towards implementation. When passed, set up a taskforce to ensure the new domestic workers bill is implemented effectively, including training for officials and police on how to handle cases of exploitation of domestic workers.

It also recommended strengthening the role of the National Human Rights Committee (NHCR) as an independent government body to oversee and coordinate India’s response to all forms of modern slavery and setting up awareness initiatives at local and national borders that provide migrants with contacts of local support organizations.