A civil society outfit today sought the support of political parties for the passage of anti-trafficking bill in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, was introduced by Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi last week.
Amod K Kanth, General Secretary, Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre (JAC) Society said he was also a part of the consultation process and the bill incorporates prevention, rescue and rehabilitation for various aggravated forms of trafficking like forced child labour, forced marriage, sexual exploitation, organ trade, forced surrogacy and forced begging.
"The provisions listed in the bill are important and the enforcement of this legislation will help curb the menace of trafficking in India," he said in a letter to the political parties, including the BJP and Congress.
Kanth urged the parties to support the bill and allow its passage in the current monsoon session.
The bill was approved by the Cabinet in February and while it was hailed by many as a 'path-breaking' legislation, it faced severe criticism from activists on the ground that it violated the rights of sex workers and threatened free speech and labour rights.
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However, various groups have pointed out that the bill did not mention terms like "sexual exploitation" or "prostitution" and was unfavourable towards the transgender community, because they were not conclusively covered under the bill.
Currently, India uses different laws to deal with human trafficking cases depending on the nature of the incidents.
The police use the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act to raid brothels and rescue the women from there, while in other cases, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is enforced to prosecute the traffickers. Yet, in some cases, labour laws are invoked.
The bill, when passed will be the only legislation dealing with all form of human trafficking.