Draft Bill against Human Trafficking envisages well coordinated institutional mechanism at District, State and National level to deal with the problem

The upcoming Draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill' 2017, aims to prevent trafficking of persons, to provide care, protection and rehabilitation to the victims of trafficking, to prosecute offenders and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The proposed legislation defines "child" as a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years. It provides for care, protection and rehabilitation of victims and in case of child victim, the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act’ 2015 shall apply. In addition, it defines some new forms of trafficking as aggravated or otherwise and prescribes stringent punishment to persons committing the offence of trafficking for the purposes of forced or bonded labour, administering chemical substance or hormone for the purposes of attaining sexual maturity in victims etc. It envisages establishment of well coordinated institutional mechanisms at District, State and National level for prevention and investigation of offences and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking. At the grass root level, the District Anti Trafficking Committee have been entrusted with various functions including creating awareness generation programs, community mobilization and empowerment of vulnerable social groups against Trafficking of Persons. The Rehabilitation Fund so constituted also provides for awareness generation programmes for prevention of Trafficking of Persons. 

This information was given by Minister of State for Women & Child Development, Smt Krishna Raj in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.