As the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita Bill, 2023, recognises offences related to human trafficking as ‘organised crime’, experts feel that it marks a positive step in the right direction.

In Arunachal Pradesh, employing female minor household help is widely accepted in violation of the Child Labour Act. Journalist Maitreyee Boruah digs deep to find that in most cases the girls are trafficked by agents from neighboring Assam and many are “sold” by their families for Rs2,000-Rs5,000.

The promise of 3 meals a day, free accommodation, and learning the trade forms a perfect trifecta for the bonded labour system to thrive. In part 2 ofthe series, families of boys rescued from the system lament over the dire economic conditions and acute lack of jobs that left them no choice but to send their wards to work in such hazardous conditions

In a two-part series, DT Next takes an in-depth look into the thriving child and bonded labour system in many jewel-making units in the heart of Tamil Nadu’s capital city. Despite poor working conditions, the promise of three meals a day continues to bring children and young men of poverty-stricken families from distant villages of West Bengal to work in Chennai and Coimbatore. Shanmugha Sundaram J decodes the functioning of these units, the informal network that feeds labourers illegally and how the law enforcing agencies and rules remain ineffective

At the “Dama pit”, an underground gold mining site in Salowa Village, Penguia Chiefdom in Kailahun District, journalist Stephen v. Lansana discovered a 17-year-old who is part of a group that draws the gravel from the pit. He investigated children working at the artisanal gold mining sites and how this affected their education.

Rehabilitation and reintegration of human trafficking survivors into society is a journey fraught with challenges

The problem of re-trafficking after rescue, especially among cross-border trafficked persons, is on the rise