Survivors of trafficking want community-based rehabilitation

VIJAYAWADA: Vimukthi – a state-level forum of women who have survived trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation – has demanded community-based rehabilitation for the socio-economic empowerment of the victims.

“The traditional institutionalisation system has only detained women for months and years in jail-like shelter homes in the name of rehabilitation and empowerment,” Vimukthi president and secretary N. Apoorva and B. Pushpa pointed out at a press conference they addressed on the occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons on Saturday.

They pointed out that United Nations has announced the theme of this world day as “Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind.” They urged the state government to keep this in mind and facilitate community-based rehabilitation so that they could become part of the society.

The Vimukthi representatives underlined that 2,500 victims of human trafficking have been rescued from 2015 to 2021 in AP, as per reports of the National Crime Records Bureau. But only 15 of them have received compensation.

Vimukthi vice-presidents P. Rajani and D. Bajivali said presently, village/ward sachivalayams and mandal and district-level government bodies are expressing helplessness in receiving applications from rescued victims for housing, livelihoods and economic support, as there are no clear provisions and procedures in this regard.

Vimukthi leaders appealed to the state government to at least now take necessary measures by framing a state-specific policy on community-based rehabilitation of human trafficking victims through village/ward sachivalayams.