It’s an alarming situation in Odisha. Cases of child trafficking and sexual exploitation have been increasing at an alarming rate. This fact came to the fore in a Round Table on Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Trafficking organized by ATSEC India in collaboration with ATSEC Odisha on Monday in Bhubaneswar.
The speakers and experts opined that mass effort with the help of Government agencies as well as civil society groups and specific networks was required to prevent such inhuman trafficking of child and sexual exploitation.
Sandhyabati Pradhan of the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights expressed her concern on rising child trafficking stating that despite having laws to protect children and women, cases of trafficking and sexual exploitation had been reported at an increasing rate in the State. She focused on alertness of the agencies and networks and appealed for a mass effort to curb the menace. Director of Vasundhara Manas Das informed that a majority of children were being left for exploitation because of absence of their parents as they migrate from rural areas to outside State in search of jobs.
Consequently, the children at home and girls at home were left without any security cover. In most of the girls’ cases, they were being lured of good jobs and marriage for a better life. Majority of the girls were from southern and western parts of the State and they had been rescued from States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, etc.
Vikash Das of ClAP informed the gathering while expressing his concern that parents were not interested to seek justice due to lack of awareness and thinking that the process would waste their time and money, though there were civil societies for legal assistance and the State for taking protection measures.
He observed that there was possibility of rise in child trafficking because the racketeers were getting a handsome amount of profit.
National convenor of ATSEC Manabendra Mandal, State convenor SM Farooque, Jagdish Pradhan of Vikash Abhiyan, former Chairperson of Odisha State Commission For Protection of Child Rights Bijaylaxmi Das, Sandeep Dutta of Child Fund India, lalitendu Patnaik, Sneha Mohanty and Sneha Mishra of NAWO also spoke.