Trafficking of Persons Bill not against sex workers but only traffickers: NGO

Ongole: The Cabinet approved Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2018 is completely against the illegal human trafficking but not the independent sex workers, clarified the secretary of HELP NGO and state convener for Network Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in Andhra Pradesh Nimmaraju Rammohan and state convener of Forum for Victims of Illegal Trafficking, P Vijaya Nirmala in a press note on Tuesday.

They said that some powerful groups are trying to make the prostitution as a licensed profession in the country and might be due to their effect, the already cabinet approved Trafficking of Persons Bill 2018 is not listed in the business of Parliament in monsoon session. 

They said that the state level representatives of the National Network of Sex Workers had submitted a representation to the secretary of the home department to order the police department to allow women above age of 18 years to practice prostitution publicly and stop the police to not arrest the sex buyers and prosecute them. 

They said that the organisation is opposing the ToP Bill 2018 and requested the union cabinet along with the various organizations of LGBT and women rights to review it again.

Rammohan and Vijaya Nirmala said that the ToP Bill 2018 is not cancelling any existing acts but touches the definition of illegal trafficking 370(1) of IPC, 1973 CrPC, IT Act 2000, Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and others and will be distant to the common criticism on existing Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. 

They said that with the implementation of the ToP Bill, the people involved in various stages of illegal human trafficking including the appointed, transferred, shelter provided people and people forcing others into bonded slavery, forced marriages and forced prostitution etc will come to light and the offenders will be punished in the court of law. 

They said that as this ToP Bill 2018 is defining responsibilities and the action for failure, they believe that it protects the victims from the corrupted political influence, atrocities and violence against them.

They demanded the MPs from both states to bring pressure on the union government to list the ToP Bill 2018 in the monsoon session of Parliament and see it approved to prevent vulnerable persons from trafficking and save thousands of victims in the both states and provide them protection, rehabilitation.