High demand for domestic helps, cheap labour and sex workers in urban and commercial hubs has led to human trafficking in Nagaland.
This remark was made at a district level workshop on ‘Combating Child Trafficking in Kohima, Nagaland’ held on Wednesday in Kohima.
The workshop was organized by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in collaboration with Nagaland State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Seva Bharati Purbanchal.
MC Ongbou Chang, member, Nagaland State Commission for Protection of Child Rights stated that factors like poverty, lack of quality and proper education etc contribute to children becoming victims of human trafficking, according to reports.
Although unaccounted, Chang said child trafficking in Nagaland is prevalent especially for forced labour and involuntary domestic help.
From the law enforcement perspective, Kevithuto Sophie, senior superintendent of police stated that tackling child trafficking requires law enforcement to collaborate with multiple community partners to identify and respond to child victims while holding accountable those responsible for their exploitation.
According to Sophie, with the proactive role of the child protection unit in creating public awareness and actively engaging in the protection and welfare of children in distress, there is a decrease in the number of reported cases of child abuse.
Sophie informed that till date, no anti-human trafficking case has been registered in Kohima district.
However, there are some cases registered under the POCSO Act in Kohima.
In 2015, eight cases were registered while 10 cases were registered in 2016, seven in 2017, four in 2018 and seven in 2019.
Speaking at the workshop, Kohima deputy commissioner, Gregory Thejawelie viewed that the normalization of crimes and wrongs is an issue which needs to be addressed.
In addition to the existing child protection services and programmes, he urged for more community efforts.
