Muzaffarpur leaders join hands, sign pledge to fight child sex trafficking in Bihar
Bihar, December 18: To combat the evil of child sex trafficking in Bihar, prominent politicians from Muzaffarpur have joined hands and signed a pledge to put a stop to the crime in the state. The drive organised by Coalition of Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT), has signatories like Bijendra Chaudhary from Indian National Congress supporting the cause.
Even before the pandemic struck, Bihar was reeling under the issue of child trafficking. The State has earned a dubious distinction of being a major source area for child trafficking. In 2019, of the total trafficked victims, 68% are children and girls constitute 81% of the trafficked child victims, according to the National Crime Record Bureau.
Over time, Bihar is fast-turning into a destination hub for sex trafficking. As many as 24 out of 36 districts in the state are considered to be source as well as destination districts from which and to which girls are trafficked, shows a study by Population Council Institute. Many urban areas, notably Muzaffarpur and Patna, are destination sites.
Bijendra Chaudhary, the current MLA from Indian National Congress in Muzaffarpur, who came out victorious in the latest elections, has been taking up initiatives for the victims even before the pandemic. “I will step up on all possible solutions to eradicate human trafficking from my constituency. I have approached the government for providing sex workers with alternative livelihoods. They too are victims of human trafficking. I had also worked on setting up skill training centres in Chaturbhuj Sthan in the past. But now, there will be an increased implementation and support to all those who take up initiatives to end this heinous crime of trafficking,” he said.
Entry into commercial sex work occurs at an early age for many—72% of women and girls in the brothels reported that they were under 18 years when initiated. Minor girls are trafficked from other states, especially West Bengal, for performing in orchestra bands and are then sexually exploited.
Furthermore, not only is Bihar becoming a destination hub for trafficking, but there’s high sexual exploitation of girls within the state. Intra-state trafficking is considerably higher than trafficking outside the state, shows research on sex trafficking in Bihar by San Diego University. A majority of sex workers in urban Bihar are native to the towns where they worked, suggesting that local women and girls are at risk of getting trapped or forced into prostitution. Girls are trafficked from source districts of Patna, Kishanganj, Muzzaffarpur, Munger, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Lakhisarai, Gaya, Purnia to destination districts of Muzaffarpur, Patna, Katihar, Gaya, Nalanda, West Champaran, Purnia.
Take for instance, the recent case of a 12-year-old girl who went missing a month ago in November in the vicinity of Chaturbhuj Sthan in Muzaffarpur. A dancer from the red-light area was arrested in connection with this case and is being interrogated by police as she knew the girl and was visited several times by her in the past. The victim’s maternal uncle is also under suspicion after the dancer stated that he used to physically abuse the girl. Many such girls go missing across the state, ending up in prostitution.
Now with the pandemic, things are set to get worse with loss of several jobs. Trafficking networks are more active than ever to prey on the helpless and poor, luring them better employment along with opportunities for education. More girls are under the threat of being trafficked as economically backward families look at their daughters as a burden.
Shedding light on the plight of sex workers in the red-light area of Chaturbhuj Sthan, Archana Pandit, the area corporator said, “Sexworkers are doing this because they are involved in sex trade due to compulsion of poor circumstances. But it is wrong for our community.” She met several sex workers in her ward territory and learnt that many want to move out from sex trade but are unable to do so due of lack of opportunity. Hence, she pledged to work on creating more options for them.
In Bihar, there are 32 brothel networks across 15 districts and Araria, Purnia, Gaya , Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi are some of them, says Mr. Y.K. Gautam, convenor of CCHT Bihar. “Hundreds of girls are forced into the flesh trade on a daily basis. This sex industry thrives on social issues like poverty, illiteracy, and feed onto the voiceless. If people in power come together and formulate plans to help these victims from red-light areas, we can definitely witness change across the state,” he says.
The other signatories include Pallavi Sinha from The Plurals Party, Harsh Kumar from Janmat Party, Arvind Kumar Chaudhary from Socialist Unity Centre of India, Avinash Kumar from Loktantrik Janta Dal, Suresh Kumar Gupta, an independent candidate.
