Human trafficking has been a serious problem in India for a very long time. Police forces have used different methods to deal with human.

Sometimes, they have rescued women in brothels by using the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act to raid them. Other times, traffickers have been prosecuted by using the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POSCO Act).

Now, the government of India is finally enacting a law that will encapsulate all cases of human trafficking and declare them as amoral and illegal.

On July 26th, the Lok Sabha passed the Trafficking of Persons Bill, 2018, which will aim to provide compensation for the victims and justice for the perpetrators.

Maneka Gandhi, the Minister for Women and Child Development, has stated that this new legislation does not intend to harass sex workers. The bill is intended to go after the human traffickers instead. Before the enactment of the Trafficking of Persons Bill, the law was mainly victim-centric. This bill will hopefully improve the conviction rate of human traffickers.

The victims, witnesses, and complainants will be provided with necessary compensation. The perpetrators of these crimes will be punished accordingly. The punishment can range from a fine of at least ₹1 lakh to 10 years in prison.

The Trafficking of Persons Bill covers prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation. It also covers aggravated forms of trafficking.

These forms of trafficking include begging, marriage, and forced labor. This bill is making the buying and selling of human beings a cognizable offense for the first time.

Many countries have written to India saying that this is a good law. Some countries have even said that they will draft their own anti-human trafficking laws based on India’s Trafficking of Persons Bill.

This new law will be a massive step forward in cracking down on the issue of human trafficking in India, and it will provide according justice for the traffickers and compensation for the trafficking victims.

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