The Bill seeks to prevent, protect and rehabilitate (PPR) persons from trafficking. However, it falls short in defining each of these focusses with narrow understanding of the trafficking to be for the sole purpose of sexual exploitation. While the institutional mechanisms have been proposed under the Bill, the basic distinction between measures for PPR for children and adults respectively is not articulated, hence the understanding of what and how these institutional arrangements proposed to ensure PPR is indeterminate. Moreover, the need for a new law disregarding the long pending Immoral Traffic Prevention Amendment Bill 2006, brought unrest to the concerned civil society groups and people.

Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) released the draft ‘Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2016’ for receiving public comments and suggestions in June. Prompted by the years of experience in rescue and rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking, and now studying Indo Nepal cross border child trafficking situation and interventions, Caritas India submitted recommendations to strengthen the Draft Bill 2016, to the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 30 June 2016.

Caritas India organised a consultation on the draft Bill and going by each clause, worked on the suggestions and recommendations raised by the child and human rights organisations, human rights lawyers from high courts and Retired IG (CID) of Andhra Pradesh. These were complimented by Caritas’s own field experiences and findings on the issue.

The experts also raised serious concern over Section 41 of the draft Bill, “Act to override other laws”, suggesting this law be harmonized with the existing procedures to address trafficking of persons, such as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)Act 2012, Criminal.

Law (Amendment) Act 2013, Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection Act) Act, 2015.

Participating organisations included members from Save the Children, Multiple Action Research Group (MARG), AMRAT, International Justice Mission, HELP – Andhra Pradesh, Chetanalaya, Udayan Care, MSS Seva and DEHAT..