THE CONNECT. Our New Look!

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1 THE CONNECT APRIL - MAY 2018 From the launch of our flagship Foundation Course by the Hon ble President of India and unprecedented judgments to path breaking new collaborations, life changing casework and a new brand identity, March and April were extraordinary months at Justice and Care - ones filled with stories of encouragement, determination and hope. Our New Look! This year, Justice and Care completes one decade of operations in India. It gives us immense pleasure to present to you a brighter, bolder and stronger identity. The old logo The new logo Since 2008, we ve saved more than 4700 trafficked children and young people with you by our side. We value your constant support and faith that enable us to make a lifesaving difference. On behalf of those we serve, thank you!

2 COVER STORY The Hon ble President of India launches Justice and Care s Foundation Course 8 March will go down as a red letter day not just for Justice and Care in its fight against human trafficking but also for countless survivors the organisation has rescued and cares for. In a special event hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on International Women s Day, Shri Ram Nath Kovind launched Justice and Care s flagship Foundation Course, a specially designed programme that helps build the aptitude and abilities of survivors of trafficking to prepare them for skill training programmes. Attending the exclusive event were 14 survivors of trafficking, special invitees, who shared their experiences and journey of finding their lost confidence through the training. It is amazing how these young girls have benefited from this foundation course. They have not just left their past behind but are also looking ahead towards a good future. One of our girls wants to become a lawyer, one wants to join the police. Their thought processes are such that whatever I have faced, let the other girls not (be subject to the same abuse), said President Kovind. The President also met the survivors separately to listen to their stories and learn about the course and its curriculum. Rupa*, a survivor of trafficking present at the event said, The Foundation Course was so useful that I want it to be provided to as many survivors across homes, so that more people can benefit. The course needs to be scaled up so that it can reach the most vulnerable communities and thereby serve not only as a re-integration strategy but play a crucial role in the prevention of trafficking itself. Inter-ministerial dialogue on skills training: Justice and Care partnered with the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to host a unique inter-ministerial dialogue in New Delhi to understand and act on

3 issues, which would help Skill India to expand its agenda for achieving inclusive demographic dividend. The event brought together ministries working with trafficked children and those involved with skill development initiatives, leading skilling and skill development implementing agencies, and corporate organisations. Key outcomes from the dialogue include a Letter of Undertaking signed between UNDP and Justice and Care to facilitate and conceptualise models for economic rehabilitation of victims of trafficking, the openness of the Sector Skill Councils (SSC) to review the Foundation Course and look at mapping critical learning outcomes to weave within the technical domain training, NSDC s keenness in piloting projects of inclusion to understand the scope and scale that is required, and keenness shown by employers to provide safe work spaces to their workers. The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) of the government will be shortly undergoing a review. My intent is to take suggestions from this dialogue to the ministry and consider it for their inclusion within the present ICPS. - Ms. Astha Saxena Khatwani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development Through its case work, teams at Justice and Care realised that survivors of trafficking emerge with little or no skills, while on the other hand, there are job-oriented programmes offered, which require basic literacy and mathematical skills. There was the gap in the ability of survivors to access formal skill courses due to their lack of basic literacy. There is currently a lack of comprehensive pathways in National Skill Development Mission that enables inclusion of low literates or non-literates. The Foundation Course provides them with a special opportunity that helps them access the various skill training schemes under Skill India. CASEWORK IN FOCUS Path Breaking Human Trafficking Judgments A POCSO Court in Bihar sentenced two brothel owners to life in prison for the trafficking, rape and sexual abuse of Sarita*, one of our survivors who was only 14 when trafficked. This is an unprecedented judgment, where for the very first time, brothel owners in India have received a life sentence for trafficking children. We look at this judgment as a massive step forward in terms of survivors of trafficking getting justice and quantum of sentencing

4 in such cases. In recognition of the survivor s bravery in coming forward to testify, the court also awarded a compensation of Rs. 450,000. Noteworthy to mention that late last year when Sarita was at a train station with her mother, she spotted the lady who had trafficked her. Sensing Sarita s eyes on her, the lady in question tried to escape but Sarita quickly caught up with her and held her singlehandedly. In the scuffle that ensued, a crowd quickly gathered and the police were called. Despite the long wait and challenging processes, our lawyers assisted a brave Sarita in filing a case against her trafficker, which is currently in court. In the second conviction, a sessions court in Karnataka sentenced two traffickers to 10 years of imprisonment and fined them Rs. 40,000 each for trafficking Ashita* at the age of 11. In his verdict, the judge also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay compensation to the survivor. The team worked hard on the Aftercare and Legal aspects of the case and ensured Ashita testified bravely against her traffickers in court. I am happy because this judgment will prevent other girls like me from getting trafficked and forced into the trade. The accused were pressurising my family to withdraw the case but I am happy we persevered and I testified against them. I was able to do this only because of my grandfather s support and the Justice and Care team that stood by me and encouraged me at each step during the last three years. The third conviction in one of our cases saw a Magistrate s Court in Tamil Nadu sentencing a 72-year-old British national to 3 years of imprisonment for child sexual abuse. Paedophilia is a crime that damages children in ways we cannot imagine. It rips through families and damages communities. A verdict like this, in the midst of despairing news of children being abused and murdered, is a beacon of hope that we can hold on to as we continue to drive the protection of children in all areas of our work. In this same case, there was a judgment by the Madras High Court stating, the Visa form issued by the Indian Embassy has to be amended by providing a column requiring the applicants to give the details about convictions, actions, warranting reprimands and impending cases. If the details of the applicants regarding criminal antecedents are obtained at the time of visa application, it will be useful for the Indian Embassies to decide about the desirability of giving visa to the applicant (Foreign National) with criminal cases. Child protection and prevention of abuse in India by foreigners is more important than attracting foreign nationals for the sake of foreign exchange. It is common knowledge that even if a foreign national is deported from India for violation of visa conditions, violation of laws or for commission of offences, the very same person is able to travel to India under a different visa. This only proves that in the Visa Regime, the process of issuing visas is not properly done by the Foreign Ministry. The trial began in May 2017 and a total of 33 witnesses testified. We celebrate these judgments with gratitude, acknowledging the efforts of our team and survivors who did everything they could to see perpetrators being brought to justice.

5 THE CONNECT APRIL - MAY 2018 A Daughter Returns Home Pema* was just 12 when she left home with an aunt, ready to take in the sights and sounds of the city and return to the village after a few days. She still remembers the red bus they rode on and the wind blowing through her hair. Pema did get back home - 8 long years after she left. The aunt she trusted had exploited her for domestic servitude, trafficking her to a city thousands of miles away and selling her to a placement agent who managed to keep her from the authorities and made her shift from house to house to avoid exposure. The families she lived with and worked for rarely paid her and never cared to find out anything about her past. Pema tried to return home a number of times during the years she was away but was forced to go back because she did not know where to go or how to seek help. In her village, the family looked for Pema relentlessly; never giving up hope that one-day they would find their missing daughter. She knew things were different when she started working with the Prasads*, who looked after her, unlike any of the others. The family soon realised that Pema had not spoken to or seen her family members for years and made the effort to facilitate a conversation with them. Late last year, Justice and Care received information about Pema through a partner based in her village. The team helped register an FIR, patiently gathered leads and spoke to friends and family about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance before it finally found Pema and reunited her with the family. I had given up hope of returning home. I am thrilled and ever so grateful to Justice and Care for making this possible, said an excited but teary-eyed Pema. The team celebrates the fact that Pema will now have a choice in how she wants to live her life. She wants to gain an education in the future and return to the Prasads who treated her well and contributed to her gaining the freedom that she is learning to enjoy once again.

6 EVENTS Chief Justice Inaugurates Justice and Care s International Conference Inaugurating the international conference on human trafficking, co-hosted by Justice and Care, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Law (SAARCLAW) and Indian Law Institute in New Delhi on 24 March, the Hon ble Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra termed human trafficking as the greatest human tragedy and called for better use of technology to combat the syndicate involved. The event shed light on legal and technological perspectives for solutions within South Asia and was attended by leading members of the Judiciaries of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, global legal and technology experts and NGO representatives. The event also saw the presence of various SAARC country judges who spoke on the need for solutions to the technological challenges faced by the law enforcement agencies in curbing human trafficking. Hon ble Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra addressing delegates at the International Conference on Human Trafficking in New Delhi Fighting Trafficking Using Technology Experts from cyber crime, law, technology and non-government organisations gathered for a day-long symposium hosted by Justice and Care and International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-B) in Bengaluru on 20 March. The event was held to discuss technological challenges facing law enforcement agencies and NGOs in curbing human trafficking. Delegates also discussed ways to combat the problem and look for possible solutions.

7 Recommendations that came forward through panel discussions and deliberations at the event include budgetary allocations to ensure tech infrastructure is developed within the Criminal Justice System, the creation of a centralised database, with data from public sources, NGOs and others, leading to mapping of real-time trends, the addition of trafficking related keywords to agencies that use Biometric Voice Prints in order to pick up trafficking-related chatter, an increase in tech-based and scalable capacity building, increased understanding of how criminal networks are using the deep web, the need for banks to get involved in translation of data into court-level evidence with regard to financial transactions, and amendments in the IT Act to accommodate the issue of trafficking and online sexual exploitation of children. The use of technology in trafficking is not extensively documented. However, experiential and anecdotal evidence shows that the internet and other digital technologies are being used for the same in a significant manner across the world. 2.8 Lakh Sensitised In Karnataka On International Women s Day 2018, Justice and Care in collaboration with Operation Red Alert and Women s Welfare Society organised a massive walkathon in Belagavi, Karnataka, to generate awareness about the crime of human trafficking. Two days before the walkathon, a 50 km cycle rally was also organised in the area, covering 10 high-risk villages and reaching out to thousands of people around Belagavi. The efforts revolve around taking action to stop the crime of trafficking, slavery and other

8 abuses by influencing the actions of individuals and tackling the underlying root causes in order to strengthen the community to be conscious, mindful and resilient. The two events sensitised and impacted an estimated population of 2,83,000 people in the area. SOPs to Help First Responders Address Trafficking Unveiled Justice and Care collaborated with the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to serve as a ready reckoner for First Responders to identify, rescue, and repatriate victims of cross-border trafficking at the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh borders. The SOPs seek to assist law enforcement and border security officials, representatives from civil society organisations and the wider public in responding in a timely and victim-centric approach, when faced with a situation of cross border trafficking between the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bangladesh borders. The project recognised the urgent need for collaboration between key officials and all the other stakeholders involved in dealing with cross border trafficking. Work was carried out between 2014 and 2017 in collaboration with relevant government counterparts and civil society partners from Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The SOPs can be viewed on unodc.org/southasia SINCE SEPTEMBER 2008: Persons Women PROSECUTION Women and CRIMINALS Police officers, ARRESTS and children children public RESCUED CASES supported via REPATRIATED and MADE CON prosecutors our HANDLED and community SUPPORTED AFTERCARE HOME VICT leaders PROGRAMME ED TRAINED *Names changed and stock images used to protect identities ABOUT Justice and Care rescues and supports victims of trafficking, slavery and other abuses. We work with governments and law enforcement agencies, focusing on prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships. JUSTICE AND CARE is a project of Waste Management Society. Reg. No. MAH186/2002 under Section 21 of the Societies Registration Act (1860).