Growing sex trade a worry

SUMIR KARMAKAR, TT, Guwahati, Aug. 27: The National Commission for Women today expressed concern over the growing non-brothel sex trade in the Northeast.

It urged agencies dealing with human trafficking in the region to improve co-ordination among themselves to prevent women and children from falling prey to non-brothel sex trade in places such as spas, massage parlours and beauty salons.

“Non-brothel prostitution is becoming a matter of serious concern and women and children are increasingly falling prey to such rackets. The rapid changes in our society are attracting women and young girls to the glamour of city life and they are moving out of their homes. All, particularly the enforcement agencies, must step up vigil at transit points and supply routes to prevent our women and children from falling prey to such clandestine trade in spas, beauty and massage parlo-urs,” a member of the panel, Laldingliani Sailo, said at the regional conference on trafficking of women and children that began here today.

Police and government officials and representatives of child and women’s commissions from the Northeast, including Sikkim, are taking part in the two-day conference.

The topics being discussed are the present situation of trafficking in the region, identifying the challenges faced by agencies in prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of victims, and forming a network of agencies to improve co-ordination to curb the crime.

“The issue of trafficking is becoming more complex nowadays and criminals are using Internet and mobile phones to run their business. The victims are no longer only illiterate and poor women. While women and children, driven by poverty and conflict and displaced by disasters, are targeted by the traffickers, many educated girls are also falling prey,” Sailo said.

She said traditional organisations such as the Naga Mothers’ Association and meira paibis of Manipur could play a strong role in preventing women from falling into traps laid by criminal rackets. “The proper implementation of MGNREGS can provide jobs to women in their villages and stop them from going out and our traditional community organisations can chip in there,” Sailo, who hails from Mizoram, said.

Assam chief secretary Jitesh Khosla said as girls from the Northeast were moving out of the region for jobs, criminals were targeting them with the promise of jobs, promotion and pay hike and engaging them in prostitution.

Additional director-general of police, CID, Mukesh Kumar Sahay, said the trafficking scenario in Assam was “disturbing”.

“Women and girls are now being taken out through placement agencies. These agencies, which even do online transaction with their clients for supply of sex, need to be strongly regulated.

The traffickers take advantage of the frequent violence and riots, when both the police and administration remain busy in controlling the situation. They make inroads in relief camps set up for the displaced. We have rescued many women and children but we need to improve our support system, including making our police stations women and child-friendly,” Sahay said.

Tushar Rane, the chief of Unicef field office, Assam, said improving co-ordination among agencies to tackle trafficking in the Northeast was a priority.