The Dark Realities of Women Trafficking X: The Challenges and Successes of Rehabilitating Trafficking Survivors
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The process of rescue is not just freedom from exploitation and captivity temporarily, victims have to reach the point of justice and satisfactory mental, physical economic and social rehabilitation. Post Rescue situation must be dealt with with the utmost care and sensibility. Sufficient recovery time ought to be given to all the victims, this influences the success rate. As we know rescue is the first step on this journey, it has to reach the logical end. Now it has acquired a victim-centric approach besides criminal justice.
The author observed that the infrastructure and the management of special homes were somewhat subhuman,anti-child and hostile too. There never used to be adequate staff, most of them were not suitable, untrained and unwilling to work. ( This is about the reality noted by the author, she selects the adjectives to describe the situation. )
A separate juvenile home did not exist then.( Around 1999-2000 )
The laterines were in a horrible condition with no doors and the passage used to be littered with excreta.
There was no security.
No water storage, so girls had to complete their daily chores in the mid- the night, as mostly that was the time for water supply.
Kitchen floor was filthy and food often was found with worms.
The dinner was served in the early hours of the evening, girls used to be locked after that.
The homes had no protection from mosquitoes.
No recreation facilities were available.
Inmates faced constant verbal abuse and humiliation. In such a situation rehabilitation and re-integration had no place at all.
After the writ petition was filed in Mumbai High Court and the report received the horrific picture emerged in writing. The High Court made suggestions to maintain minimum standards.
The government agreed to constitute a monitoring and guidance committee. Many suggestions were made to improve the situation, almost all the points were agreed to be addressed.
After this Prerana group has been working consistently for the girls. Even the facilities of formal education, vocational training and job placement are available in the special homes. The participation by society too has increased in metropolitan cities.
When some irregularities were observed in some cases, the group approached the Bombay High Court. It took care of some points.
Responsibility to ascertain the age was emphasised and the cases were asked to be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board as the child needs care and protection also. The responsibility of the Juvenile be given to parents/guardians if found fit to take the responsibility by the Child Welfare Committee. If not found fit, the procedure as prescribed by the act is expected to be followed. The permission to represent the child is entrusted to the parents/guardians only. The advocate who represent the brothels or any person related to it was barred from representing the victims. Post Rescue Operations work effectively if all the agencies ( government and non-government ) work together. It can serve the purpose properly. The follow-up visits can help to decide whether the child needs to be sent to a childcare institution. The procedure is to work considering all the agencies and the inputs given. All the essential aspects of such fragile cases can be taken care of.
Rehabilitation of Traffic Victims Rescued from Sex Trade: Prerana's experience
By Priti Patkar
Post-rescue operations have many aspects to be looked after. Loss of many things, mental and physical injuries that include uprootment, and probably some diseases too are faced by the victims. Rehabilitation ought to help the victims recover and heal. Ultimately they have to lead a normal life. This certainly is different from the loss experienced due to natural disasters. The victims need to get a satisfactory source of income, a comparatively better environment and work.
There are very few success stories of properly rehabilitated women,(maybe they don't come to the limelight due to the stigma attached to it, or because it is a long process, so there are hardly any stories ) Such stories give hope to victims, we should not forget that it is their fundamental right to be able to lead a normal life. Mostly it comes under charity or is treated to be a token which needs to be changed.
Prerana's experience is that many things are inadequate. The first and foremost is the professional approach followed by sustainability and feasibility too. The skills that are in demand are not properly identified, proper orientation too sometimes found to be missing in the procedure. The victims become dependent on the organisations and sometimes become underpaid workers. Jobs become difficult to find with the little skills they acquire. The NGOs get the grants and earn goodwill, but it results in running a production unit most of the time. These benefits don't reach victims to be self-sufficient, they find themselves in a state of being abandoned.
So Prerana's team undertook a study to understand the demand in the skills labour market. Some agencies were requested to ensure quality training with hands-on experience. Acclaimed institutions designed some courses in the area like fashion design, catering, polishing and setting diamonds, and hospitality with comparatively longer duration to acquire quality skills. Professional trainers were involved, this was a morale-boosting experience. These fields are always in demand of trained human resources.
As per the ability of victims, even small duration courses were offered to prepare them to work at the sales counter, and petrol fillers at the petrol pumps. Big and renowned agencies helped in this project for training and employment. Certificates were given to the tranees. Even the area of beauty care was also explored, and professionals trained the girls. Thus they could acquire the role of a service provider. Girls were trained to work for clothing stores or departmental stores.
The field of Fitness training too was explored, a six-month duration of training was designed and girls completed the course and exam to become certified trainers.
With such collaborations with renowned agencies, the result was certainly better.
The reputed institutes' training and certifications have a positive impact and weightage, reintegration became easier. At least one year's job was ensured, and the motivation and orientation helped victims to understand the nature of the job market also. They could make choices. The stipend was given to the tranees, this helped in covering personal expenses, rather it worked as a motivating factor too.
Victims were trained along with the other trainees, this enhanced their self-image. The environment was non-discriminative. When civil society organisations work near the hometowns of victims, it helps girls to get reintegration. The training agencies or institutions never disclosed their identity or publicised their work in a wrong way.
After a couple of years, the girls get well integrated into society. With earning comes the desire to explore the world around you by using a cell phone and internet access. Of course, it does have a little danger of cyberbullying too, but Prerana's workshops on sensitising over benefits and risks help in such situations.
The girls need the facility of accommodation, so focusing on housing is an essential point.
It can be said that such thinking proved to be effective, the opportunities and acceptance by the society support meaningful rehabilitation.
All such efforts need perseverance, creativity and long course of follow-up to succeed.
The author observed that the infrastructure and the management of special homes were somewhat subhuman,anti-child and hostile too. There never used to be adequate staff, most of them were not suitable, untrained and unwilling to work. ( This is about the reality noted by the author, she selects the adjectives to describe the situation. )
A separate juvenile home did not exist then.( Around 1999-2000 )
The laterines were in a horrible condition with no doors and the passage used to be littered with excreta.
There was no security.
No water storage, so girls had to complete their daily chores in the mid- the night, as mostly that was the time for water supply.
Kitchen floor was filthy and food often was found with worms.
The dinner was served in the early hours of the evening, girls used to be locked after that.
The homes had no protection from mosquitoes.
No recreation facilities were available.
Inmates faced constant verbal abuse and humiliation. In such a situation rehabilitation and re-integration had no place at all.
After the writ petition was filed in Mumbai High Court and the report received the horrific picture emerged in writing. The High Court made suggestions to maintain minimum standards.
The government agreed to constitute a monitoring and guidance committee. Many suggestions were made to improve the situation, almost all the points were agreed to be addressed.
After this Prerana group has been working consistently for the girls. Even the facilities of formal education, vocational training and job placement are available in the special homes. The participation by society too has increased in metropolitan cities.
When some irregularities were observed in some cases, the group approached the Bombay High Court. It took care of some points.
Responsibility to ascertain the age was emphasised and the cases were asked to be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board as the child needs care and protection also. The responsibility of the Juvenile be given to parents/guardians if found fit to take the responsibility by the Child Welfare Committee. If not found fit, the procedure as prescribed by the act is expected to be followed. The permission to represent the child is entrusted to the parents/guardians only. The advocate who represent the brothels or any person related to it was barred from representing the victims. Post Rescue Operations work effectively if all the agencies ( government and non-government ) work together. It can serve the purpose properly. The follow-up visits can help to decide whether the child needs to be sent to a childcare institution. The procedure is to work considering all the agencies and the inputs given. All the essential aspects of such fragile cases can be taken care of.
Rehabilitation of Traffic Victims Rescued from Sex Trade: Prerana's experience
By Priti Patkar
Post-rescue operations have many aspects to be looked after. Loss of many things, mental and physical injuries that include uprootment, and probably some diseases too are faced by the victims. Rehabilitation ought to help the victims recover and heal. Ultimately they have to lead a normal life. This certainly is different from the loss experienced due to natural disasters. The victims need to get a satisfactory source of income, a comparatively better environment and work.
There are very few success stories of properly rehabilitated women,(maybe they don't come to the limelight due to the stigma attached to it, or because it is a long process, so there are hardly any stories ) Such stories give hope to victims, we should not forget that it is their fundamental right to be able to lead a normal life. Mostly it comes under charity or is treated to be a token which needs to be changed.
Prerana's experience is that many things are inadequate. The first and foremost is the professional approach followed by sustainability and feasibility too. The skills that are in demand are not properly identified, proper orientation too sometimes found to be missing in the procedure. The victims become dependent on the organisations and sometimes become underpaid workers. Jobs become difficult to find with the little skills they acquire. The NGOs get the grants and earn goodwill, but it results in running a production unit most of the time. These benefits don't reach victims to be self-sufficient, they find themselves in a state of being abandoned.
So Prerana's team undertook a study to understand the demand in the skills labour market. Some agencies were requested to ensure quality training with hands-on experience. Acclaimed institutions designed some courses in the area like fashion design, catering, polishing and setting diamonds, and hospitality with comparatively longer duration to acquire quality skills. Professional trainers were involved, this was a morale-boosting experience. These fields are always in demand of trained human resources.
As per the ability of victims, even small duration courses were offered to prepare them to work at the sales counter, and petrol fillers at the petrol pumps. Big and renowned agencies helped in this project for training and employment. Certificates were given to the tranees. Even the area of beauty care was also explored, and professionals trained the girls. Thus they could acquire the role of a service provider. Girls were trained to work for clothing stores or departmental stores.
The field of Fitness training too was explored, a six-month duration of training was designed and girls completed the course and exam to become certified trainers.
With such collaborations with renowned agencies, the result was certainly better.
The reputed institutes' training and certifications have a positive impact and weightage, reintegration became easier. At least one year's job was ensured, and the motivation and orientation helped victims to understand the nature of the job market also. They could make choices. The stipend was given to the tranees, this helped in covering personal expenses, rather it worked as a motivating factor too.
Victims were trained along with the other trainees, this enhanced their self-image. The environment was non-discriminative. When civil society organisations work near the hometowns of victims, it helps girls to get reintegration. The training agencies or institutions never disclosed their identity or publicised their work in a wrong way.
After a couple of years, the girls get well integrated into society. With earning comes the desire to explore the world around you by using a cell phone and internet access. Of course, it does have a little danger of cyberbullying too, but Prerana's workshops on sensitising over benefits and risks help in such situations.
The girls need the facility of accommodation, so focusing on housing is an essential point.
It can be said that such thinking proved to be effective, the opportunities and acceptance by the society support meaningful rehabilitation.
All such efforts need perseverance, creativity and long course of follow-up to succeed.