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In Nepal, trafficking has become a
highly profitable business. Not
surprising. With almost one-third of its population living below the
poverty line, Nepal and other countries with impoverished population are vulnerable
to trafficking. Victims of trafficking
often come from the very poorest regions of Nepal. Without education or
opportunity, they often live with their families on the poorest parts of
society where food may be scarce or clean water unavailable. Criminal
elements thrive and feed on those driven to desperation to survive and hoping
to have a better life elsewhere.
Trafficking comes in various forms - forced
labor, domestic and factory work, prostitution, slavery. Millions of women and
girls have been trafficked within and across borders over the years. According
to a 2001 report by Asia Foundation and Horizons Project Population Council
report, profits generated in trafficking is so much more than that generated
from the arms and narcotics trade.
What Statistics Show
· Girl trafficking is a
multi-billion dollar industry in Nepal generating an estimated five to seven billion U.S. dollars
a year.
· 7,000 to
10,000 Nepalese girls between the ages of 9 and 16 are trafficked against their
will every year.
· 5,000 Nepalese women are trafficked into India yearly. As many as 70% of girls in
India's brothels are HIV positive.
· Trafficking
thrives on poverty: 55% of people in Nepal live on less than US$1.25 per day.
· 2005 data from case records documented by six rehabilitation
centers in Nepal of sex-trafficked women show that most (72.7%) rural girls who
are trafficked are Hindu by religion. 59.9% are unmarried. 46.5% are 16-18 yrs
of age and 77.2% have no or little education.
· Most sex-trafficking
(59.4%) in Nepal is carried out through “Dalals” or brokers who falsely
guarantee good work to girl-children who are willing to travel to other country
locations. At times, the some Dalals even pretend to marry girls who come from
families with little resources, as they sell them in the brothels.
In a study made,
child marriage is accepted Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and is
considered the best method to procure girls for prostitution (Indrani Sinha, SANLAAP India, "Paper
on Globalization & Human Rights").
The tragedy though, is that most, if not all
trafficking victims fall into forced prostitution because of false promises
made by someone “familiar” to them. Some are sold by their very own parents or
relatives to pay off debts or out of dire poverty, or, to simply get rid of
unwanted wives or daughters. They get sold for US$200 to $600...like
commodities.
The Challenges Ahead
Support and involvement of the
community is needed in reintegrating trafficked victims in society. Trafficked
survivors are often voiceless and harassed if they choose to speak up. Challenges
have to be addressed and the lack or absence of critical enablers to
reintegrate them back into the streamline of society slows down progress.
1) Trafficked
victims need medical assistance to help them physically and emotionally get
back within the streamline of society but one of the biggest problems is
shortage of health care workers. According
to the World Health Organization report released
this September 2012, Nepal is among the countries with fewer than 23
health workers (doctors, nurses and midwives) per 10,000 population. This is
considered the required minimum health workforce needed to achieve 80% coverage
of essential health interventions.
2) Trafficking
is oftentimes organized and managed by crime syndicates capable of corrupting
law enforcers to turn a blind eye or even go to the extent of threatening or
endangering lives of anyone who intervenes in their “trade.” They can have the political clout to get the
protection they need to keep their brothels running.
3) Those trafficked into prostitution seldom escape their fate
once they enter the brothel. The few that do sometimes refuse assistance
because they fear society would judge them harshly or because they are never able to overcome the trauma of what they went through.
4) The “deukis” system where childless families buy girls and
are offered to temples as their own then are forced into prostitution continues
to be practiced by many families. In a
1997 UN Special Report on Violence Against Women, it was reported that in 1992,
17,000 girls were given as deukis.
5) There continues to be a need to change the mindset of people on
the low status treatment of the girl-child compared to the boy-child in the
family.
6) Most critical is the need for more government support not
only in preventing intra and cross-border trafficking in countries like India,
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but also in coming out with programs to eradicate
poverty and bolster education.
What’s Being Done?
Poverty and lack of
education have always been associated with trafficking. Unless these are
eradicated, trafficking will remain a problem of the times. Women and children
will continue to go missing and undocumented, many never to be heard from
again. NGO chairperson Durga Ghimire of National Network Groups Against Trafficking
also confirms the finding that “low
rates of female literacy, coupled with the traditionally low status of the
girl-child in Nepal have to be addressed to tackle the problem.”
Some say that the exploitation of
women and children may never end. But the close collaboration among government,
NGOs and the community can significantly mitigate its proliferation.
The growing number of
non-government organizations (NGO) has augmented the lack of support from
government in addressing the problems on trafficking and poverty. Maiti Nepal, a 20 yr old rescue organization, based
in Kathmandu, is one of the NGOs that manage ongoing rescue of Nepali girls
from the brothels of Mumbai. Friends of
Nepal, its sister organization confirms stories of organized criminals
controlling trafficking. The NGO explains the risks of rescuing trafficked
Nepali citizens in India where members of Maiti Nepal have to travel with
bodyguards when conducting rescue missions.
There are several shelters run by various
Katmandu-based NGOs working against trafficking and towards rehabilitation of
girls who manage to escape or are rescued from Indian brothels. However, the
problem of reuniting them with their families and reintegrating them back in
the streamline of society is complex. Relatives
often don't want them back and Nepal's government is worried about the spread
of HIV.
The group Plan Youth (Fighting
Against Child Trafficking, Plan Youth) is lobbying and advocating for anti-trafficking and
sexual abuse policies to ensure that the government has effective laws. It is
working directly with government, police and community groups to create a
National Plan of Action against human trafficking. This includes:
1) helping
girls to file legal cases against traffickers and perpetrators.
2) communities in
Nepal forming protection groups – special clubs of girls and community members
who work together to guard against the risks of child trafficking. These groups
keep an eye out for traffickers and exploitative situations, as well as
advocating for girls' rights at a local level. They help to raise awareness and
protect girls from violence and trafficking.
3) rehabilitation
and reintegration of victims into their families and communities
4) Promoting gender equality and empowering women Nyaya Health is also working to expand its outreach to “thousands
in the rural area.” It has re-opened the Byalpata Hospital in the Achham
District in Western Nepal. Training of over 100 rural community health workers is also in its
action plans. Over 101,000 people in the region have so far accessed free health care since
2008 as part of Nyaya Health’s endeavour.
Initiative
Nepal also focuses on youth awareness and action plans to encourage youth involvement
in the community. Through Initiative Nepal’s social forums, awareness initiatives
undertaken by various groups to address social issues like trafficking are
brought to fore.
The
youth can get involved and align themselves with NGOs like Plan Youth, Nayata
Health or other growing number of NGOs and take responsibility in giving a
voice to the voiceless, helping protect and empowering those who need to be
educated and saved from the dark holes of poverty and trafficking.
Getting
involved can make a difference to the lives of many voiceless victims.
- · Start small...volunteer.
- · Make others aware of the community’s social problems, write/blog about it
- · Help NGOs in their awareness or reintegration programs
- · Call on government to take stronger action by asking them to:
- o provide access to education
- o address corruption in government
- o strengthen border security to prevent trafficking
- o organize and take the lead in awareness programs to prevent trafficking
- Alone we may not be able to do much but TOGETHER, people will stop and listen.
GET INVOLVED
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