[caption id="attachment_198138" align="aligncenter" width="565"]
Easter H Yepthomi speaking at the church.[/caption]
Dimapur, July 29 (EMN): A state-wide campaign on “Fight against Human Trafficking” was conducted by the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) with Nagaland Baptist Church Council, Nagaland Christian Revival Church, Catholic Churches and Pentecostal Churches in more than 100 churches in the state of Nagaland on July 29.
The state-wide campaign is in line with NALSA (Victim Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation) Scheme 2015, an update from legal authority informed.
Panel lawyers and para-legal volunteers of NSLSA, district legal services authorities, and social workers spoke on the legal provisions for trafficking.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau report, 8132 cases of human trafficking were reported from the country in 2016, out of which West Bengal state was recorded as the highest number of human trafficking with 3,579 registered cases. However, as per NCRB, there is no case of trafficking reported for Nagaland in 2016, the press release stated.
The legal authorities has mentioned that “the offence will attract for trafficking one person, the punishment is minimum seven years, but may go up to ten years, and fine, for trafficking more than one person- the punishment is minimum ten years, but may go up to life imprisonment, and fine. For trafficking one minor, the punishment is minimum ten years, but may go up to life imprisonment, and fine, for trafficking more than 1 minor- the punishment is minimum 14 years, but may go up to life imprisonment, and fine and if public servant or police officer involved in trafficking, the punishment is life imprisonment (rest of natural life), and fine.”
As per the NSLSA Victim Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Scheme 2015, the objective is to provide legal services to victims of trafficking at every stage: prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, applicable to transgender persons as well.
The trafficked women or children could be rehabilitated through accessing entitlements ICDS (Childcare Development), food security, ration cards, educational schemes (midday meal, scholarships, residential schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, etc. livelihood, skill development, housing subsidy etc. while, vulnerable could be mapped for trafficking and conduct awareness programmes, the NSLSA informed.
The NSLSA scheme underlines on organising meetings between state legal services authority and district legal services authorities with sex worker to understand their issues, public hearings on problems faced by sex workers/victims with police, lawyers and legal service authorities as jury.
The legal official team can advise on legal action that can be taken by the victims engage with integrated child protection scheme and village level child protection committees (VLCPC), teachers, Anganwadi workers, Asha workers.
To focus on children, missing children, PLVS from VLCPC and Anganwadis to particularly focus on trafficking problems should be given effective mentors and full support in dealing with such cases.
The NSLSA claimed that more than 40,000 people were benefitted through the state-wide campaign.
