Human Trafficking: A definition

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (Trafficking Protocol) was adopted in the year 2000 and came into force in December 2003.

Article 3 of the Protocol defines trafficking as:

  1. “Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.  Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;
  2.  The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in sub paragraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in sub paragraph (a) have been used;
  3. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
  4.  “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age.
This definition outlines that trafficking covers not only the transportation of a person from one place to another, but also their recruitment and receipt so that anyone involved in the movement of another person for their exploitation is part of the trafficking process. Neither is trafficking limited to sexual exploitation only for it could occur also for forced labour and other slavery like practices. This means that people who migrate for work in agriculture, construction or domestic work, but are deceived or coerced into working in conditions they do not agree to, are also defined as trafficked people. (Taken from: The Integrated Plan of Action To Prevent & Combat Human Trafficking with a Special Focus on Women and Children. 2006. Ministry of Women and Children, Government of India). The government of India signed the Protocol on 12 December 2002. This protocol both prevents and protects the victims of trafficking but also punishes the traffickers.

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