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Help stop human trafficking from West Bengal

Overview
Updates

West Bengal is the centre of human trafficking for domestic slavery in India today. With no law pertaining to placement agencies in West Bengal, children and women continue to fall prey to illegal recruitment agencies that entice them with false job offers and then trap them into domestic slavery.

Last year, the government of Chhattisgarh took an admirable step and adopted a law to regulate placement agencies. ¹ In an executive order of the Department of Labor Delhi, placement agencies have been directed to register with the Labor Department. ² But West Bengal, which tops the chart for trafficking, has no such law. If we come together, we can spur West Bengal to pass a similar law and make ending trafficking for domestic slavery an urgent priority.

Human trafficking remains a serious problem in West Bengal with statistics showing ³ the region accounting for 44% of all human trafficking cases recorded in India in 2016. The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime states that out of over 19,000 children and women who went missing from West Bengal in 2011, only 6000 have been traced.⁴

Anti-slavery organizations believe that many of them have been trafficked to cities as domestic workers, where they remain at the mercy of traffickers – abused and exploited.
By calling on the state government to take immediate action, together we can help protect children and women from the false allurements of traffickers.

Ask the Government of West Bengal to ensure that important steps are taken to combat human trafficking.

Notes:

COVID-19 Update: In addition to disproportionately affecting modern slavery victims and survivors, the pandemic is putting vulnerable people—particularly children—at a greater risk of human trafficking for domestic slavery and for the commercial sex industry.
December 3, 2019: A new study has found that a shocking one in every three survivors of sex trafficking in West Bengal is a minor. Read more here.
November 11, 2019: Promising data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows a major decrease in human trafficking cases in West Bengal, but some observers are skeptical of the news. Read why here.
July 2018: Two judges in West Bengal this month cancelled bail for a hotel owner who claimed to be unaware that sex trafficking was taking place on their premises. West Bengal has the highest number of cases of trafficking but conviction rates are extremely low.
Sep 24, 2015: Campaign Launches

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Laura

7 years ago

Ethics, we need to introduce ethics in our school, in our life, in our brain !!!

Sylvie LEFEBVRE

5 years ago

As usual, the weak are subjected by brutal force –the only prevailing guarantee of ‘success’ throughout the ages apparently. The only difference between now and the ‘dark ages’ of the past is that we should know better and therefore have no excuse if we do not put our experience and expertise to good use… Let us bear in mind that what is being done to others today may happen to us tomorrow.

Gillian Stroud

5 years ago

It has become well documented that none of the statistics produced in india are reliable. Freedom united and other organisations need to get numbers from more reliable and less corrupt sources, and we know that there are still slave markets for children doing daily business throughout india. The best thing the rest of the world can do is to boycott travel there. It is rapidly becoming too dirty, unpleasant and unsafe for most foreigners anyway.

Gail

6 years ago

This is so unbelievable and corrupt that there are psychos like this in our world. Where are the laws in these countries. We need to throw the perpetrators in jail.

Armand Ranier Q. Cortes

3 years ago

It’s also a sad reality in the Philippines, and perhaps there can be hope for all children. Poverty is at the heart of this issue and I think that Educating these kids and their parents and offering them above all decent livelihood is a step to end this social ill.
Hope for all children is one of those organizations in the Philippines that help children in situations like this. If you want to help them here are is their site https://hopeforallchildren.org/

Call on the West Bengal Government to Help Stop Trafficking for Domestic Slavery

16,932

Help us reach 20,000

Read the full text

Dear Ms. Mamata Banerjee Hon Chief Minister of West Bengal,

Thousands of children and women are trafficked from West Bengal every year, many sold off as domestic slaves in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and other big cities by illegal placement agencies.

I request that you help stop human trafficking for domestic slavery by enacting legislation on placement agencies that will:

– Regulate and register placement agencies

– Define rights of domestic workers

– Form a committee to verify credentials of all placement agencies

– Ban employment of children by placement agencies

– Set up complaint redressal forums

– Make provisions to perform surprise checks on placement agencies

– Guarantee minimum wage

– Make provisions to provide legal aid, welfare mechanisms, social security benefits to domestic workers

– Ensure placement agencies implement the social security scheme

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