Hyderabad: Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday called for the concerted efforts to end the heinous crime of human trafficking. She said that human trafficking is the third-largest organized crime in the world next to only to drugs and illegal arms trade.
“Trafficking in persons is an extreme form of human rights violation and results in exploitation and perpetration of crime against the innocent people,” she added.
The Governor was releasing a set of five handbooks on “Countering Human Trafficking,” brought by the Prajwala with the support of the US Consulate General, at the Raj Bhavan, here, on the occasion of the UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
She expressed anguish that female victims continue to be the primary target of trafficking, as women constitute 46 percent and girls constitute 19 percent of the total trafficking victims. “The fact that at any given point of time more than 2.5 million people are trapped in the modern-day slavery shows the gravity of the crime,” she said.
The Governor stated that the proposed draft titled “Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care, and Rehabilitation) Bill-2021 once approved and becomes a reality then its effective implementation might help prevent trafficking to a great extent.
Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan called upon people not to stigmatize the rescued victims; instead, we must work for their effective rehabilitation.
“It is high time that we listen to the voices of the victims and prepare concrete action plans to root out the practice of human trafficking. Victims’ experiences serve as a base to understand the causes and consequences of human trafficking and help come out with the right strategies to fight trafficking in humans. We need to listen to the victims’ voices as the current year’s anti-trafficking day theme, “Victims Voices Lead the Way,” proposes. It is not acceptable to re-victimise the victims through stigmatization,” she said.
The Governor appreciated the work of Prajwala’s Sunitha Krishnan in bringing out the five sets of customized handbooks for the duty bearers. She termed the books as ready-reckoner for the duty bearers working to fight human trafficking.Prajwala General Secretary Padma Sunitha Krishnan, Clark Ledger, Acting Consul General, US Consulate of Hyderabad, Dave Moyer, Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate of Hyderabad, Secretary to Governor K. Surendra Mohan and Senthil Thirupathi, Cultural Affairs Assistant, US Consulate of Hyderabad and others were present. (INN)