Representative picture. Photo: Getty Images
In a dilapidated ‘placement agency’ in Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur, the fate of an 11-year-old girl is being sealed. “She can wash, sweep and cook. She is hardworking and will not give you any trouble.
If she does, you can come back for a replacement,” says an agent who fixes deals, selling hundreds of minor girls as domestic helps every year.
In return, all that’s required is a one-time fee of Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 2,500 per month thereafter. What’s not required is the girl’s consent. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, while trafficking of minor girls has increased, the number of girls being sold and bought for prostitution has gone down. Instead, leading NGOs claim that trafficked minors are being increasingly employed as domestic helps.
"In 2011, 862 cases of trafficking were reported in comparison to 679 in 2010 - an increase of 27%. During the same period, selling and buying of girls for prostitution decreased by 13.1% and 65.4% respectively," said a police officer.
Money, it seems, is the driving force behind this shift. "Out of the 325 children rescued by us in 2011, 162 were working as domestic helps. An agent earns between Rs. 5,000- Rs. 10,000 for selling a girl to a brothel, while he can get a commission of at least Rs. 20,000 if he sells her to a household," said Rishikant, executive director of NGO Shaktivahini.
Girls, mostly in the age group of 10 to 15, are smuggled by organised gangs from Jharkhand. After speaking to several placement agencies, Hindustan Times found that the price range and age of domestic helps can be negotiated, with agents even willing to come home and talk.
The Delhi government is yet to enact a law that makes registration of placement agencies mandatory. A survey by NGOs of the 2300-odd agencies in the city revealed that only 364 of them were registered under the Commercial Establishment Act.
Tag : #Maid #Trafficking
from
in.com
Two-finger test violates rape survivor's right to privacy: SC
The Supreme Court has held that the two-finger test on a rape survivor violates her right to privacy, and asked the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.
from PTI
HC upholds plaint against artist for painting wife in nude
The Bombay High Court has refused to quash a criminal complaint against an artist who painted nude and derogatory pictures of his estranged wife in his bedroom
from IANS
Protest ahead of Chinese premier's India visit
Ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India, about 50 people on Saturday held a protest in Delhi demanding suspension of talks with China.
from
IANS
Court rejects bail plea of Saradha boss
Rejecting the bail plea of Saradha Group promoter Sudipta Sen and one of his close aides, a West Bengal court Saturday sent them to judicial custody till May
from
IANS
Tihar Jail registers record turnover
The Tihar Jail here registered a record turnover of Rs.32.17 crore in 2012-13 against a turnover of Rs.12.20 crore during the previous year.
from
IANS
At 47 degrees, Nagpur is India's hottest city
The orange city on Saturday recorded a maximum temperatures of 47 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest place in the country
from
IBNLive
Chhattisgarh: 9 killed in a gun battle between Naxals, CRPF
Eight villagers, including 3 children, and a securityman of elite Cobra battalion were killed in an encounter between security forces and the ultras in Naxal-affected Bijapur.
