Child trafficking widespread across India, West Bengal worst affected

Three in five - or 9,034 of 15,379 - persons trafficked in 2016 were children (below 18 years), the data from the NCRB show. Of these, 4,911 (54%) were girls and the rest were boys

West Bengal reported the most children trafficked (3,113), followed by Rajasthan (2,519), Uttar Pradesh (832), and Gujarat (485).

West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Odisha are common source areas for trafficking to red-light areas across India, according to the India Country Assessment Report 2013 on anti-human trafficking, brought out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Sexual exploitation for prostitution (22 per cent) was the second major purpose of human trafficking in 2016 in India, after forced labour (45 per cent), the NCRB data based on the statement of rescued victims and the accused show.

More than 23,000 victims were rescued in 2016, of those 61 per cent or 14,183 were children and 39 per cent adults. Of the 14,183 children, 61 per cent were boys and 39 per cent girls. Rajasthan reported the highest number of child rescues — 5,626 or 40 per cent of all the victims. Madhya Pradesh (2,653) was the next, followed by West Bengal (2,216), UP (852), and Tamil Nadu (648).