BANGLADESH SHISHU ADHIKAR FORUM (BSAF)

Child Trafficking

Every child is an individual by behavior in its own right. They are the precious possessions of this world. They deserve love, affection and care. Child Trafficking is the most inhumane violation of a child's rights. Children must be protect from all forms of risk and exploitation. The Bangla equivalent of the word trafficking is Pachar. It has a mild connotation, which means transfer from one place to another. If the term Pachar is used in reference to women and children, in Bangla the phrase Nari O Shishu Pachar means illegal transfer of women and children from one place to another. Trafficking, which is a serious problem and is considered a violation of human rights, is yet to be internalized emotionally by society at large in Bangladesh, and also in other South Asian countries.

Various definitions are used by international organizations to describe Trafficking. The definitions tend to focus on gender, age, reason for trafficking, and the issues of coercion and violence that are often association with trafficking. Although the sex work dimension is an important element, particularly through not exclusively in the traffic of females, trafficking activities are not only for purposes related to sex work or prostitution. Thus definitions tend to be general and encompass not only the sex and age of the trafficked persons but also the different purposes for which people are trafficked.

Source: From the Rape of the Innocent by Ron O'Grady, p. 138

The countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have a definition in their convention for Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children. Nevertheless, a consultation workshop organized by the resistance network in Bangladesh in August 1999 made suggestions for changes to the convention. From this workshop the following definition s were proposed:

“Trafficking in women consists of all acts involved in the procurement, transportation, forced movement, and/or selling and buying of women within and /or across border by fraudulent means, deception, coercion, direct and/or indirect threats, abuse of authority, for the purpose of placing a women against her will without her consent in exploitative and abusive situations such as forced prostitution, forced marriage, bonded and forced labour, begging, organ trade, etc.”

“Trafficking in Children consists of all acts involved in the procurement, transportation, forced movement, and/or selling and buying of children within and/or across border by fraudulent means, deception, coercion, direct and/or indirect threats, abuse of authority, for the purpose of placing a women against her will without her consent in exploitative and abusive situations such as commercial sexual abuse, forced marriage, bonded and forced labour, begging, camel jockeying and other sports, organ trade, etc.”