IRSHAD KHAN& GUNRATNA SONTAKKE

ASSISTANT PROFESSORS, DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, SAVITRIBAI PHULE PUNE UNIVERSITY, PUNE-411007, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

ABSTRACT

Every day, numerous Indians are trafficked to different locations against their will and are compelled to live in a state of servitude. They are forced to endure this life of exploitation in various establishments such as brothels, factories, guesthouses, dance bars, farms, and sometimes even in the homes of affluent Indians. These individuals have no control over their own bodies and existence. The Indian Constitution explicitly prohibits the trafficking of persons, as stated in Article 23 of the Fundamental Rights Section, which forbids “the trade of human beings and any comparable forms of forced labour.”Human trafficking occurs with the intention of exploitation, which can broadly be divided into two categories: (a) Sex-related exploitation, and (b) Non-sex-related exploitation. The first category encompasses trafficking for purposes such as prostitution, commercial sexual abuse, paedophilia, pornography, and cybersex, as well as various forms of concealed sexual exploitation that occur in establishments like massage parlours, beauty parlours, bars, and other venues like call girl networks and friends clubs.The Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act 1956 (SITA) was implemented in accordance with Article 35 of the Indian Constitution in order to hinder or eliminate the practice of trafficking women and girls. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, of 1956 is a specialized law that specifically addresses trafficking. The Act provides definitions for terms such as brothel, child, corrective institutions, prostitution, protective home, public place, special police officers, and trafficking officer. According to a recent report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), approximately 175,000 women and girls were trafficked from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1997. The most recent data from IOM indicates that 120,000 women and children are brought into the European Union through trafficking each year. The research study primarily focuses on the trafficking process itself rather than the motives behind trafficking and the legal methods employed to combat and prevent it.

Key Words: Trafficking in Human Beings, Forced Labour, Prostitution, Paedophilia, Pornography, Cyber Sex.