Child Beggary and Trafficking – Challenges and Remedies

Begging is a social problem present across all nations, but very rampant in developing countries.  Begging profession is an old as human civilization.  It ironically often receives sanctity by religious and cultural traditions in countries like India.  At many levels it is also considered to be a family profession.  The practice of using children for begging aggravates the nature of problem and presents an ugly scenario.  According to a conservative estimate, 3 lakh children across India are forced to beg by unscrupulous parents and others by using methods like addiction to drugs, threat of violence and actual beating.  About 10 – 15 per cent of these children are abducted and forced in to beggary.  Many a time, children are maimed so that they became pitiable, evoke sympathy and therefore draw more alms from people.  Child beggary also comes in more disguised forms like children selling toys and other artifacts or carrying images of gods and goddesses on their heads.

In many Indian cities, organized syndicates use children for begging by exploiting the innocence.  They are deliberately made to appear in pathetic conditions and are sent to religious places, important fairs and traffic junctions to attract the attention of people.  The public is made to think that their alms go towards feeding a poor and hungry child.  But in almost all cases, it is the unscrupulous syndicates who act as their handlers who take all the money instead.  As a consequence, children get a very paltry share and go hungry, resulting in malnutrition.  Therefore, child beggary can be termed as the worst form of human trafficking.

Trafficking of children is a worldwide phenomenon affecting large numbers of boys and girls every day.  Children and their families are often lured by the promise of better employment and a more prosperous life far from their homes.  Others are kidnapped and sold.  Trafficking violates a child’s right to grow up in a family environment and exposes him or her to great dangers, including violence and sexual abuse.  Forced child beggary and child trafficking are the most severe form of human rights violations.

Apart from beggary, children are trafficked either for labour or sexual exploitation.  Child trafficking for labour may include bonded labour, domestic work or for agricultural labour.  Children are used for sexual exploitation in the form of commercial sex work, pornography, sex tourism or forced prostitution.

Reasons for child beggary and trafficking:

There are several factors responsible for the increase in child beggary in recent times.  Some of them are;

1. Poverty and hunger is the biggest driving force for children to go for begging on their own and sometimes resorted to parents;
2. Unemployment and low income of parents and guardians;
3. Abandonment of children by parents;
4. Organized begging mafia using kidnapped and abducted children
5. Becoming orphans due to natural disasters or communal / caste riots.
6. Gender and minority discrimination in society
7. Cultural and traditional practices especially in backward areas;
8. Lack of awareness among enforcement agencies

Child beggary and trafficking is a serious issue which needs to be prevented through education and enforcement mechanisms.  The fight against trafficking and begging is recognized internationally.  The following are the important international conventions regarding trafficking of children;

1. The Convention on the Right of the Child, 1989
2. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Right of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, 2000
3. The Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW), 1979.
4. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
5. Declaration on Social and legal principles relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with special reference to Foster placement and adoption Nationally and Internationally, 3 December, 1986.
6. SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangement for the Promotion of Child Welfare,

In order to prevent child trafficking, India has a fairly wide framework of laws enacted by the Parliament as well as some State Legislatures, apart from provisions of the Constitution.  Some of them are;

1. Article 23 of the Constitution guarantees right against exploitation; prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labour and makes their practice punishable under law.
2. Article 24 of the Constitution prohibits employment of children below 14 years of age in factories, mines and other hazardous employment.
3. Indian Penal Code, 1860 has 25 provisions relevant to trafficking; significant among them are:

• • Section 366A – pro-curation of minor girl (below 18 years of age) from one part of the country to the another is punishable.
  • Section 366B – importation of a girl below 21 years of age is punishable.
  • Section 374 – provides punishment for compelling any person to labour against his / her will.

4. Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA Act) deals exclusively with trafficking; objective is to inhibit / abolish traffic in women and girls for the purpose of prostitution as an organized means of living.
5. Child Labour (prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibits employment of children in certain specified occupations and also lays down conditions of work of children.
6. Information Technology Act, 2000 penalises publication or transmission in electronic form of any material which is lascivious or appeals to prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprive and corrupt persons to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied therein. The law has relevance to addressing the problem of pornography. India has also adopted a code of conduct for Internet Service Providers with the objective to enunciate and maintain high standard of ethical and professional practices in the field of Internet and related services.
7. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 consolidates and amends the law relating to juveniles in conflict with law and to children in need of care and protection. The law is especially relevant to children who are vulnerable and are therefore likely to be inducted into trafficking.
8. Karnataka Devadasi (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982 is the Act that declared the dedication of girls for the ultimate purpose of engaging them in prostitution in declared unlawful – whether the dedication is done with or without consent of the dedicated persons.
9. The Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary Act, 1975 makes provision for collection of Beggary Cess by municipal authorities for setting up of Central Relief Committee (CRS). The CRS uses this fund for setting up rehabilitation centers for beggars.

Prevention of child trafficking and child beggary is a multi-agency task.  Some of the Government Departments who are directly responsible for dealing with the issue are;

• • Police: As the face of the State which comes across child beggary on the streets, the Police have a major role to play in preventing it and protecting the interests of children found begging. Their role is outlined in the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 under Section 3.  63(1-3) which has a provision for the setting up of Special Juvenile Police Units in all districts and cities to enable the police to deal more effectively with children and juveniles.  In every police station it is mandatory in every police station to have a designated juvenile or child welfare officer with aptitude-appropriate training and orientation to handle the juvenile or the child.
  • Women and Child Development Department: The women and Child Development Department deals with the rescue and rehabilitation of children. It runs children’s homes, juvenile care units and one-stop rehabilitation centers.  The Child Welfare Committee set up in each District works under the administrative control of Women and Child Development Department.  Apart from this, the department provides grant-in-aid to NGOs engaged in care and protection of children.
  • Department of Social Welfare: The Department of Social Welfare establishes Beggars’ Rehabilitation Centers and Central Relief Committees.
  • Department of Education: Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, the State shall ensure that all children between the ages of 6-14 years shall be in school. The Department of Education under the Sarva Shikshana Programme has a special programme for drop outs and out of school children.  Children in beggary would benefit tremendously if included as a special intervention group.
  • Health Department: The Health Department plays an important role as one stop rehabilitation centers like SAKHI are housed in District Government Hospitals. In these centers rehabilitation and counseling is done in these centers to women and female children who are victims of trafficking or sexual abuse.
  • Child Welfare Committees: They are district based bodies and the competent authorities as designated under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and Amendment Act 2006 to address cases of children in need of care and protection. The protection and rehabilitation of children found begging come under their jurisdiction.

Strategies to prevent Child Beggary and Trafficking:

Although there are several laws to prevent child beggary and trafficking, the proper implementation of these laws is lacking.  There is no coordinated effort between multiple agencies that are engaged in prevention, prosecution and rehabilitation under various laws.  Therefore, there is a need to evolve sustainable strategies to prevent child beggary and trafficking.  Some of them may be;

1. Training and sensitization of officials of stakeholder agencies especially officials of Police Department and officials of Women and Child Development Department. The officers should be trained to have empathy and take pro-active steps towards detecting and eliminating child beggary and trafficking.
2. Anti-Human Trafficking units should be established in all districts to prevent and investigate cases of child trafficking.
3. The focus of investigations should be on identifying handlers and traffickers involved in trafficking of children for beggary and other purposes.
4. Investigations and trials of child trafficking cases should be completed in time bound manner like in rape and POCSO cases.
5. A robust mechanism of rehabilitation of trafficked children that are rescued from the begging mafia should be developed. These children suffer from physical and psychological trauma due to violence, rape, threats, addiction and other means traffickers use to control the victims.  A system of counseling and psycho-social support should be essential part of rehabilitation.
6. Child Welfare Committees should have specialists in child psychology for proper appreciation of problems faced by children who are victims of trafficking.
7. In order to prevent trafficking of children, some employment opportunities should be provided to the families in the form of skill development programmes. The skill development programmes should be created to match the needs of the local job market for the families.
8. Assistance to former trafficked victims who are reintegrated must include a follow-up component to assess their needs upon their return home where they often face serious problems, such as stigma and extreme poverty.
9. To prevent children from getting into beggary, the families of these children who are migrating or are trafficked for beggary need to be effectively covered under poverty alleviation and the convergence of various schemes under different ministries / departments.
10. Traditional and cultural practices that violate the full enjoyment of the rights of every child and support child beggary should be campaigned against.

Some Initiatives:

The Karnataka State Police has taken several measures to prevent the menace of child beggary.  Police along with the Department of Women and Child Welfare, Child Rights Commission, District Child Protection Unit and the Health Department conducts joint drives like “Operation Smile” and “Operation Muskaan” on a regular basis to rescue children found begging at religious places, traffic junctions and roadsides.  Special Juvenile Police Units have been established in all districts for counseling and rehabilitation of rescued and traced children.  Rehabilitation centers like Child Welfare Committees (CWC), Children’s’ homes and one-stop centers like ‘Sakhi’ and ‘Gelathi’ established by Women and Child Development Department play a vital role in the prevention of child trafficking.

However there is a need to involve civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations to make people aware of the issues related to child beggary.  It also helps in curbing the traditional and cultural practices that violate children’s right to grow and develop in a safe environment.  Programs like “Operation Rakshane” by the The Freedom Project is an example of NGO participation to bolster the efforts of State agencies in detecting, monitoring and eliminating all forms of child trafficking including child beggary.

References:

1. Intezar Khan, Child Trafficking In India : A Concern.
2. Anitha Kanaiya and Others – Child Beggary and Trafficking – A Handbook based on the field experience of “Operation Rakshane”
3. Salter, A, Treating Child Sex Offenders and Their Victims, Newbury Park, CA : Sage.
4. Mamatha Rao, Law Relating to Women and Children, Eastern Book Company.
5. P.M Nair, A Handbook on the Legal Process for the Police in respect of Crimes Against Children