Umeed by Swabhimaan: Anti-Trafficking Bill 2021 - Aspects of Criminalisation and Welfare

Ms. Sneha Mishra, the founder of AAINA is an activist from Odisha. AAINA is an organization promoting the rights of children, women and persons with disabilities in Odisha & India and in operations for the last two decades. Ma’am is a trainer on child rights and disability rights, specifically with regards to the Prevention Of Sexual Harassment Act (POSHA) and has been serving as independent member to the Internal Complaint Committees under POSHA in many govt & corporate sectors. In this episode, we talk about the aspects of welfare and criminalisation of the Trafficking in Persons( Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill 2021. This conversation clearly highlights how the bill has not incorporated the grey areas that exist in the lives of victims and survivors. When based on such intersectionality, it is necessary to maintain the thin line between the nuances of consent in migration, sex work and trafficking and that is exactly where the bill has failed. It uses interchangeable words and rides on far -fetched punishments. The largest implication of the death penalty for the crimes does not start with actually helping the victims but with delaying the process of disposal of cases.