Victims of human trafficking have said that they were facing much stigma in society after being rescued and appealed to the government to provide financial aid through community-based rehabilitation and educate their children.
They urged the government to involve the village and ward sachivalayam staff in the implementation of the Victim Compensation Act, and make all government schemes applicable to them. The victims of trafficking spoke of their plight on the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30.
“We joined an NGO, Vimukthi, and appealed to the government to provide financial aid under the Victim Compensation Act. As there are no clear guidelines from the government for the rehabilitation of rescued survivors of trafficking, the officers concerned are in a dilemma,” said Nisha (name changed).
“My parents married me off when I was in Class IX. My husband was a drunkard and used to neglect the family. To feed my children and run the household, I entered into sex work. But, after facing insults in society, I stopped doing sex work and am working in a shop now. But, I still face harassment from the police,” a victim Bharathi told The Hindu on Sunday.
In the name of rehabilitation centres, survivors of trafficking were tortured and ill-treated. We learnt nothing at the centres, but faced much harassment. So I decided to come out of it, said another woman, Kranthi.
“While the accused were freed from the jails in just a few days, the victims (sex workers) are being kept in rehabilitation centres for two to three months on the pretext of counselling and vocational training and are being tortured,” said another victim, Rajini.
N.V.S. Rammohan, director of an NGO, HELP, which was supporting Vimukthi and working for the victims of trafficking, said only a few survivors of trafficking were provided compensation in the last four years.
“As there was no support from the government and society, many victims were going back to sex work. We request the government to give them access to all government schemes and help the women lead respectable lives in society,” Mr. Rammohan said.
