Climate change to dark web: Many facets of child trafficking

Guwahati, Sep 20: Human trafficking affects millions of lives worldwide and deprives them of their dignity. The issue in the aftermath of any natural disaster gained prominence after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when several child protection organisations raised an alarm over the abduction and ‘adoption’ of orphaned children or children separated from their parents came to the fore. Back then, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also confirmed cases of child trafficking in Indonesia following the deadly disaster that ravaged at least 15 countries. 

Rest follow suit, to name a few –– the 2014 Nepal earthquake that has rendered several homeless, Uttarakhand floods (2013), the Sundarbans delta in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district that have endured several cyclones over the years or the annual deluge that Assam faces every year.

Studies have shown that trafficking has increased in the aftermath of natural disasters such as cyclones, flooding, earthquakes and tsunamis — which are likely to become more intense due to the effects of climate change.

The recurrent climate disasters have left people poorer than ever and human traffickers have flooded into this space of vulnerability, luring victims with promises of jobs, marriages, or even improved living conditions. Once captured, the victims are typically coerced into prostitution, bonded labour, marriage, or even used in the trafficking of organs or blood.

Displaced, trapped, exploited

Floods have marginalised families, such that the members become burdensome for them and at times parents are compelled to allow their children to go for work. While the boys move to other cities or states for work, the girls are married off.

While speaking to The Assam Tribune, child rights activist Rafiqul Islam said that poverty has pushed families to the brink. “Among other factors, climate change is one reason for the exploitation of children and it rarely finds place in the mainstream narrative. Every year flood devastates large swathes of land leaving numerous families homeless. Unable to mend for themselves they look out for means to survive. The boys move to states like Kerala, Delhi, Bangalore etc., and the girls are married off at a very young age. This is where the issue of child marriage comes in which has plagued the society at large,” said Islam.

The recent crackdown by the Assam Government on child marriage has reduced the evil practice. Islam who has been working extensively on the issue of child rights since 2015 has come across numerous cases of child exploitation.

While recalling an incident Islam narrated how a family from a char (sandbar) area of Baghbar in Barpeta district of Assam was displaced by the floods and in search of a better life they reached Chandrapur, on the outskirts of Guwahati city.

“To earn a living both the parents engaged themselves as workers at a brick kiln. While they leave for work, they left behind their adolescent daughter at home. Meanwhile, a labour contractor at the kiln who was aware that the girl stays back at home tried to establish a relationship and lured her to run away with him. After the girl went missing her parents tried every possible means to find their daughter. They even lodged a complaint but to no avail. I was approached by the police in the investigation process. Later along with the help of the police the girl was finally traced from Siliguri and was handed over to her family,” informed Islam.

The heinous crime has transcended all boundaries, apart from targeting the marginalised, establishing affairs is just another bait to target the young girls and manipulate them into cooperating in their own exploitation.

Absence of social protection

With an estimated population of over 35 million people, Assam experiences heavy rain and flooding during India’s unrelenting monsoon season which can last from April to September.

Every year the monsoon season brings destruction to the most populated northeastern state, displacing thousands of people and animals, and damaging crops and properties worth billions.

Islam highlighted that the displaced people despite being voters of a particular panchayat or village cannot avail the government benefits or scheme as they migrate from one place to another. “The people are not only deprived of their own land but someone else is getting undue benefit in their name,” added Islam. This adverse phenomenon not only renders people homeless but also marks them as outsiders in their own state.

During floods in Assam, formal education takes a back seat and children also remain out of the safety net provided by the schools. The children become victims of child marriage, child labour or they are being relocated with parental permission to another city or town.

Traffickers who pose as employment agencies frequently entice the parents with hefty fees. These deals are attractive at such a crucial time for parents who are typically busy caring for their possessions and gathering food for their families.

“In Chargaon area of Barpeta district there are lower primary schools, however, children are forced to drop out after class 5 as there are no middle or high school nearby. The ones that are available, children had to cross the river to attend the school which becomes a herculean task during the monsoons. The children are hence deprived of their fundamental right to education,” Islam said while adding that the people who are mostly dependent on agricultural activities also faces the brunt of the floods. Although the char areas are fertile and produce good quality products like jute, paddy, sugarcane, mustard etc., flood and erosion damage cropland and infrastructure including roads and bridge and inhabiting land of people.

To understand the relation between climate change and child trafficking, The Assam Tribune reached out to climate researcher Ritu Bharadwaj from the International Institute for Environment and Development, who has been studying the impact of environmental change on communities in India. Bharadwaj states that climate-related hazards affected close to 20 million people in India in 2020, compelling many to migrate as a coping strategy.

The complex interplay of climate change, migration and vulnerability to trafficking has been observed in places ravaged by extreme weather events. Apart from children, men and women are pushed into trafficking and exploitative labour, especially in the absence of social protection. “Many faces technological challenges and mismatches in entitlements, which hinders access to basic needs like shelter, health, and food. The informal work conditions that many migrants find themselves in are marked by abuse, lack of safety equipment, and an absence of insurance or compensation. This combination of factors paints a grim picture for the region, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive intervention and support,” Bharadwaj added.

Forced migration

Loss of land and lives, and destruction of means of livelihoods, instantly plunges those without safety nets into poverty. The flood affected people are left with no other option but to move to cities or different states in search of better opportunities. Hence the immediate consequence of a disaster is the displacement of the people.

“Our research shows that human trafficking increases in the aftermath of extreme climate events. In climate distress, slow-onset events such as drought threaten natural resource-based livelihoods such as agriculture, livestock and fishery. Similarly, rapid-onset hazards such as hailstorms or floods damage crops, cultivable lands and property. These events then compromise people’s ability to earn a living, motivating them to consider searching for better economic opportunities through migration,” informed Bharadwaj.

There are several schemes or social protection mechanisms to help address these issues in the face of a climate or environmental crisis but these do not have provisions for targeting migration and girls/women prone to human trafficking. When access and protection are not available, women and girls get exposed to exploitation and trafficking.

Caught in the web

Trafficking is a global scenario because of the demand side. According to a report by the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, demands for sexual exploitation, for cheap labour and domestic workers, for organ removal and sale, for illicit adoption and forced marriages, for criminal activities or begging all constitute substantial contributing factors to human trafficking.

While talking about child trafficking, Hasina Kharbhih, founder of anti-trafficking charity– Impulse NGO Network, highlighted a major concern that has been taking shape on the internet where a child is not even safe within the confines of his/her home. While access to internet has increased, so did the modus operandi of predators.

“Of course, climate change is a push factor when it comes to trafficking. The children are coerced to a situation where they can bring revenue to the family and that’s where the vulnerability of child trafficking takes shape. Earlier, ‘touts’ used to lure or manipulate parents, or exploit children on the pretext of offering better livelihoods. In the last 7-8 years the dark web has become the new platform where predators directly target the victims, it is not limited to only vulnerable communities because of economic situation, it is also impacting those who have access to the internet,” said Kharbhih.

The likes, dislikes and even social media posts are being captured by artificial intelligence and people including children are bombarded with content that pique their interests. “The predators are heavily investing in the back end to identify the emotions of the people in an effort to trap them. Hence, it is imperative both for parents and unemployed youths looking for jobs to do a background check on the credibility of the content they are consuming,” said Kharbhih, who have been addressing the issue of unsafe migration, exploitation, and human trafficking across the eight states of North-East India, North Bengal and countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand.

Mitigating the crux of the problem

All the experts we have reached out to confirm to the fact that the nexus of human trafficking is real and still unexplored. Despite obvious examples, climate change along with other factors are the root causes of the problem that has rarely been considered by policymakers at the national and state levels.

Bharadwaj highlighted that addressing the problem of climate-induced trafficking in Assam requires a multifaceted approach. Setting up a comprehensive social protection system is paramount along with offering access to education, health, nutrition, and skills to vulnerable communities. “Policymakers must align social protection and informal labour market regulations to address climate risks effectively, whilst recognizing the specific vulnerabilities of marginalised communities. This includes addressing the lack of support networks, skill certification, and access to organized sectors. By targeting these underlying factors, measures can be taken to create a robust framework that reduces the risk of exploitation and trafficking, thereby providing a more resilient and supportive environment for those affected by climate change,” added Bharadwaj.

Kharbhih on the other hand explains that tackling human trafficking cannot be responded by an individual or organisation alone. It demands collective efforts from all stakeholders to identify the source, destination and transition route of trafficking to eradicate it. Moreover, creating better employment opportunities will not only have a positive impact on the people of the region, it will also diminish the need to migrate to different places to earn a living. Amongst others, Kharbhih also underlines the need to educate law enforcement officials so they become more adaptable and receptive to distress calls at the earliest and equip themselves with advanced technology to understand how the predators are thriving in cyberspace. “There is technology to connect people at lightning speed but it's high time there should be technology to identify such crime at the earliest,” added Kharbhih.

Rafiqul Islam stresses that a lot of cases remain underreported as people in rural areas are unaware of legal formalities. “Sometimes, parents do not even report the matter to the police until there is any complicacy. Often the traffickers are closely related to the victim’s family and they remain oblivious of the fact that their children have been trafficked. Hence, it becomes important to educate the people in the remote areas.

A gleam of hope

Several initiatives have been taken by the government to resolve the matter of child trafficking including setting up of human trafficking units, however, a lot remains to be done as several cases are not even being reported.

Kharbhih who has been working relentlessly on the issue has come up with a model which targets the socio-economic reasons that feed the demand and supply of human beings for exploitation and trade. She further highlighted that response to trafficking is not just about rescue but also about how the environment is protected and how income-generating activities can be unfolded.

She collaborated with civil society organisations and public-private sectors to combat human trafficking by generating awareness at the grassroots level. Under the aegis of her NGO–Impulse, Kharbhih embarked on a social entrepreneurship journey by providing a global market to domestic weavers in the villages of the Northeast so that they can yield a steady income and profit by doing what they do best – weaving and craft-making. “This is an entrepreneurship opportunity that somewhat arrests the possibility of precarious employment and gives a respite to the prevailing lack of jobs,” stated Kharbhih.

Meanwhile, Islam initiated on a journey to build a charitable school for the children of Chargaon where he plans to incorporate a library and sports club for the benefit of children– who are compelled to choose a path that does not safeguard their future. Although he is going through a financial crunch, he is seeking support in term of books and sports materials for the children. “When there is no child protection, our future is not secured, equally important is education and livelihood, without which there will be no development,” concluded Islam.