Human traffickers use technology and social media to lure women

Visakhapatnam: Human traffickers have been widening their net in North Andhra and neighbouring Odisha in the past few years by using technology and social media. The organised traffickers are preying upon children and women from parts of Vizag, East Godavari, Srikakulam, West Godavari, Guntur, Anantapur districts in Andhra Pradesh and also Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) forcing them into slavery.

On the other end, the activists have started demanding the government to set up anti-human trafficking units in the region to keep tab on human trafficking, immoral activities and child labour. Andhra Pradesh had the seventh highest incidence of crime relating to human trafficking during the 2014 as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report. The state had 365 cases of human trafficking in 2014 with 449 victims and all of them were registered under various section of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

As per NCRB, trafficking as an organised crime on crime concept such as involving offences of wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement, selling and buying minors for flesh trade, bonded labour etc. Sources in the CID and police said that the young girls in the hostels were targeted and lured mostly by women from the same area in the guise of employment or other modes and the girls were sucked into the victims circle.

Trafficking of women for flesh trade is no longer confined to rural and girls from poor background, girls from respectable families were also victims. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Task Force) I. Chittibabu said that the recent trend in the crime has been getting women or girls into commercial sex through deception and technology has been used as the key tool. There is an urgent need to set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units across in all the districts said Srinivas G., a social activist.

There were few incidents in Vizag as young girls were being trafficked to Middle East countries, Singapore and Malaysia. The victims are sent on tourist visas in the guise of employment and after reaching the destination, the girls' passports impounded and they are forced into the sex trade, he added. Police and members of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) with the support of the Child line NGO rescued over 100 children (child labour) who were being transported to Gujarat from Srikakulam and parts of Odisha in the region in the past two years.

Pointing out that the number of cases of human trafficking that were reported in the state are only 30 to 40 per cent when compared to actual crimes as majority of the crimes were not reported. There is no proper follow-up and assistance for the victims in the cases. There is an urgent need to set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units across in all the districts said Srinivas G, a social activist.