Introduction
Human trafficking is a crime that steals liberty, dignity and futures. It is both a transnational and local phenomenon crossing borders and social boundaries and it thrives in the cracks of poverty, gender inequality, weak governance, corruption and demand for cheap labour and commercial sex. While law is an indispensable tool to prevent trafficking, protect victims and punish perpetrators, gaps between law on paper and law in practice often leave survivors underserved and offenders unaccountable.
1. Definition: what is human trafficking?
At its core, human trafficking involves recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring or receiving persons by means of threat, coercion, abduction, deception, abuse of power, or giving and receiving payments for the purpose of exploitation of human beings. Exploitation takes many forms: sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, forced marriage and the removal of organs.
This working definition is reflected in the principal international instrument addressing trafficking the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children which sets the global baseline for how countries should define and criminalize trafficking and how they should protect victims. The Protocol’s three pillars prevention, prosecution and protection inform national laws and policy frameworks worldwide.
2. The national legal framework (India): statutes, recent amendments and proposals
i. Indian Penal Code Section 370 and 370A and BNSS Section 143 and 144
Sections 370 and 370A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 143 and 144 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) deal with the offences of human trafficking and exploitation of trafficked persons. The BNS provisions are essentially the restructured and modernized versions of the IPC sections, introduced to simplify language and enhance clarity while maintaining the same legal intent.
Under both laws, the offence of trafficking involves recruiting, transporting, harbouring, transferring, or receiving a person for the purpose of exploitation, which includes sexual exploitation, slavery, servitude, forced labour, or organ removal. Consent of the victim is immaterial in both versions. The punishment under IPC Section 370 is rigorous imprisonment ranging from seven to ten years and fine, which increases to ten years to life imprisonment if more than one person or minors are involved, and may extend to imprisonment for the remainder of natural life if committed by a public servant or police officer. The BNS Section 143 retains the same gradation of punishment, though it uses simplified and updated terminology.
ii. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA / PITA)
The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956 (ITPA) is an important Indian law made to prevent human trafficking and sexual exploitation, especially of women and children. Originally called the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act (SITA), it was later amended and renamed as the ITPA in 1986 to make it more gender-neutral and to strengthen the protection of victims.
The main aim of the Act is to stop the commercial exploitation of human beings for immoral purposes. It focuses not on punishing the person involved in prostitution by choice, but on punishing those who force or profit from others exploitation. The law recognizes that many individuals, especially women and children, are victims of trafficking, coercion, or poverty and need protection rather than punishment.
The ITPA punishes several offences related to trafficking and prostitution:
Running or managing a brothel (Section 3) — imprisonment up to 3 years for the first offence and up to 5 years for repeat offences.
Living on the earnings of prostitution (Section 4) —anyone who depends financially on another person’s prostitution can be punished.
Procuring, inducing, or taking a person for prostitution (Section 5) — serious offence with imprisonment that can extend to 7 years.
Soliciting in public places (Section 8) — restricts calling or inviting clients in public areas.
Seduction or exploitation of persons in custody (Section 9) — punishes those who misuse their authority to exploit women or children.
iii. Several other laws intersect with trafficking cases
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 : The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 plays a crucial role in combating trafficking involving children. It provides comprehensive protection to children below 18 years from all forms of sexual abuse, harassment, and exploitation. Many trafficking cases include child victims who are forced into prostitution or pornography. The POCSO Act prescribes strict punishments, including life imprisonment, and ensures child-friendly investigation and trial procedures, protecting the identity and dignity of victims.
Labour Laws : The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 deals with a different form of trafficking where victims are forced to work under debt or coercion. It abolishes bonded labour, declares such contracts illegal, and provides for the release and rehabilitation of victims. Similarly, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, as amended in 2016, prohibits the employment of children below 14 years and regulates the work of adolescents aged 14–18 years. Since many trafficked children are forced into begging, domestic labour, or factory work, this Act helps rescue and protect them.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 : The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is another key law that ensures care, protection, and rehabilitation of children who are victims of trafficking, neglect, or exploitation. It provides mechanisms for placing rescued children in Child Care Institutions, observation homes, or special adoption agencies where they can receive education, counseling, and medical support. The Act emphasizes rehabilitation rather than punishment, promoting a restorative approach to justice.
Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 : With the rise of digital platforms, trafficking has also shifted online. The Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 addresses issues like online trafficking, child pornography, and cyber exploitation. Under Sections 67 and 67B, publishing, transmitting, or storing obscene or exploitative materials online is a punishable offence. This law plays a crucial role in tracking and punishing those who use social media or online networks to recruit or exploit victims.
The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 : The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 deals with organ trafficking, which is another severe form of human exploitation. It prohibits the buying and selling of human organs and ensures that organ donations occur only for medical or humanitarian reasons. Those found guilty of trading organs illegally face strict imprisonment and heavy fines.
iv. Policy-level initiatives and pending legislation
Recognising the complexity of trafficking, the Government of India has drafted and moved more comprehensive frameworks. The Trafficking of Persons Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation Bill, 2018 was introduced with the express goal of improving rescue, protection and rehabilitation mechanisms and creating a specialised institutional structure for trafficking cases. Although the Bill passed the Lok Sabha in 2018, it has not been enacted into law in its original form and was subsequently re-drafted and revisited by the government and Parliament processes an indicator both of the legislative attention trafficking receives and of the delays in delivering an integrated law.
v. International Commitments on Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is not just a national issue — it is a global crime that crosses borders and affects millions of people every year. To tackle this international menace, countries across the world, including India, have made strong international commitments through treaties, conventions, and global initiatives. These commitments aim to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and punish offenders through international cooperation and shared legal standards.
Another major commitment is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948, which under Article 4, states that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” This laid the moral foundation for later treaties against human trafficking. Similarly, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966, both reinforce the rights to liberty, dignity, and freedom from exploitation, which are essential principles in the fight against trafficking.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979, also plays a significant role. Under Article 6, it requires member countries to take appropriate measures to suppress all forms of trafficking and exploitation of women. The CEDAW Committee has repeatedly urged countries, including India, to strengthen their anti-trafficking mechanisms, improve victim rehabilitation, and ensure gender-sensitive policies.
Apart from these, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has also taken multiple initiatives against trafficking through conventions such as the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957. These conventions require member states to eliminate all forms of forced or compulsory labour. The ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999) further emphasizes that child trafficking for labour or sexual exploitation must be treated as a criminal offence.
The SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution (2002) is a regional agreement adopted by South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It focuses on promoting cooperation between member countries in investigation, prosecution, and victim rescue operations. It also emphasizes rehabilitation, repatriation, and the importance of cross-border coordination.
3. The victim-centred obligations of law
A robust legal framework must do more than criminalise offenders; it must create a system that identifies victims early, provides trauma-informed protection, ensures access to justice, and enables sustainable rehabilitation. Key legal obligations typically include:
- Identification and rescue: law and procedure for distinguishing victims of trafficking from offenders or voluntary migrants.
- Non-punishment principle: victims should not be prosecuted for crimes they were compelled to commit as a direct result of being trafficked (e.g., prostitution, immigration offences).
- Protection and care: short-term medical, psychological, legal and shelter services.
- Compensation and rehabilitation: access to restitution, state compensation schemes, vocational training, education and long-term social reintegration.
- Witness support and criminal justice participation: protection for victims who testify, use of victim impact statements, and measures to reduce re-traumatisation during investigations and trials.
- Repatriation and cross-border cooperation: safe return procedures for cross-border victims, with coordination among states.
4. Implementation challenges — why laws fail to protect victims fully
There is often a wide gap between what statutes promise and what survivors receive. The principal implementation challenges are structural, institutional and social. Below, I map the most persistent problems and illustrate how they play out.
i. Identification failures: victims are invisible in the system
One of the earliest points of failure is identification. Police, border officials, labour inspectors and NGO staff sometimes lack the training or protocols to recognise indicators of trafficking. Victims may be misidentified as voluntary sex workers, undocumented migrants, or criminals leading to detention, deportation, or prosecution rather than protection. Identification becomes especially complex when trafficking involves private homes domestic work, informal labour supply chains, online recruitment or when victims fear reprisals from traffickers.
Consequences:
- Delay in rescue and timely medical/psychological care.
- Evidence loss for criminal investigations.
- Secondary victimisation when victims are arrested or shamed.
ii. Weak victim-protection safeguards and the non-punishment principle
Even where law recognises the non-punishment principle, in practice victims are sometimes charged with immigration offences, prostitution-related offences, or other crimes committed under duress. This prosecutorial approach silences victims who might otherwise cooperate with investigations and re-victimises them.
iii. Prosecution and conviction gaps
- Trafficking is a dark, networked crime that takes place behind closed doors; collecting reliable evidence and securing victim testimony is difficult.
- Victims’ reluctance to testify fear, stigma, economic dependence.
- Investigative lapses poor crime scene management, delayed rescue.
- Judicial delays and insufficient sensitivity among stakeholders to the trauma victims endure.
- Low accountability undermines deterrence and discourages victims from engaging with the justice system.
iv. Social stigma, gender bias and community pressures
Victims particularly survivors of sexual exploitation face stigma, ostracisation and even threats from their own communities. Gender biases can prevent survivors from accessing entitlements or re-entering educational and employment opportunities. Social stigma also impedes reporting and impairs psychological recovery.
v. Corruption, complicity and illicit markets
Corruption within law enforcement, local administration, transport networks and private businesses can facilitate trafficking by allowing illegal cross-border movements, falsified documents or turning a blind eye to exploitative workplaces. In environments where demand for cheap labour or sexual services is high, traffickers exploit market incentives and weak regulation.
vi. Economic drivers and structural inequality
Poverty, landlessness, indebtedness, low educational opportunity and displacement due to natural disasters or conflict are root drivers that make populations vulnerable to traffickers’ false promises. Laws that focus solely on criminalisation without addressing these socio-economic drivers will always be limited in long-term impact.
vii. Data gaps and poor measurement
Accurate data on trafficking is notoriously hard to obtain. Official statistics often under-count victims especially among internal trafficking, and definitions vary across agencies. This makes it difficult to design evidence-based interventions or measure program success.
viii. Challenges with cross-border trafficking
Cross-border trafficking introduces diplomatic and jurisdictional complexities cooperation for investigation, extradition of suspects, repatriation and ensuring continuity of care for victims transferred across borders. Inconsistent laws, language barriers and lack of mutual legal assistance can stall justice and protection.
5. Case examples
1. Prostitution as victim — Madhya Pradesh High Court (Madhya Pradesh High Court, 2020)
In a revision petition, the court held that a woman in prostitution cannot be considered to be “exploiting herself” under Section 370 IPC. rather, she must be seen as a person being exploited. Thus, the charge under Section 370 could not be framed against her. The Court observed that Accused is a lady and she cannot be considered to be exploiting herself. In fact, she is the person who would be considered as being exploited under Section 370 of IPC. This judgment has important implications for distinguishing victims from offenders and aligns with the non‐punishment principle.
2. Rajkumar v. State of Karnataka (Karnataka High Court, 2022)
In this case, three Indian nationals were intercepted at Bengaluru airport, accompanied by the petitioner, with a view to travel to Kuala Lumpur for employment on tourist visas. Some money was paid to the petitioner by the persons travelling. The Court quashed the proceedings under Section 370 IPC because “the soul of the provision is exploitation. There is no allegation in the complaint that any victim had stated that the petitioner had exploited them. This case shows how failure to document exploitation even if there is suspicion of recruitment and transport leads to dismissal of trafficking charges.
3. Mohammed Siraz & Ors. V. State of Chhattisgarh (Chhattisgarh High Court, 2025)
The bench held that mere suspicion is not enough to prosecute the accused for offence punishable under Section 370 IPC. in the absence of cogent evidence in relation of exploitation. In this matter, although the victim was taken by the accused and there was alleged rape and confinement, the Court found no evidence of the victim being exploited under the definition of Section 370 and discharged the accused under that section. This reinforces that courts are tightening the evidentiary threshold on the exploitation element.
4. Bikash Kumar Jain & Anr. V. State of Odisha (Orissa High Court, 2024)
Here, the High Court quashed FIRs under Sections 370(3) and 370A(2) IPC and ITPA against two persons who were at a spa with adult Thai women. The Court held that the petitioners were only customers and there was no evidence they had trafficked or induced any person for exploitation. The court observed. in the absence of material that any of the women found were trafficked for sexual exploitation, the offence under Section 370A (2) IPC would not be attracted. This shows how the distinction between a customer and a trafficker is being judicially clarified not every person involved in a commercial transaction is automatically liable under trafficking law.
Recent enforcement actions — raids on spas, hotels and brothels sealing of premises used for trafficking, multi-agency operations demonstrate active policing efforts but also show the short-term, supply-side focus of many responses rather than the long-term, victim-centred interventions needed for reintegration. Judicial orders sealing premises and convicting traffickers signal enforcement capacity however media reports and government tracking also show rescue numbers outpacing durable rehabilitation outcomes, underscoring the gap between rescue and sustainable recovery.
6. Why a victim-centred approach matters and what it looks like
A victim-centred approach places the survivor’s safety, dignity and agency at the centre of any response. Key features include:
- Trauma-informed procedures: from first contact through investigation and trial, interactions should minimise re-traumatisation (e.g., special interview rooms, trained forensic interviewers, protection from media exposure).
- Integrated services: legal aid, medical care, psychological counselling, safe housing, educational and livelihood support in coherent packages with defined timeframes.
- Economic empowerment: vocational training, micro-credit, job placements and legal support to claim entitlements (pensions, scholarships) reduce the risk of re-trafficking.
- Legal remedies and compensation: statutory compensation mechanisms, fast-track relief in civil claims, and state-funded rehabilitation when perpetrators cannot be made to pay.
- Community reintegration programmes: engage families and community leaders to reduce stigma and restore social networks.
7. Practical recommendations to strengthen implementation
Below are practical, evidence-informed measures that civil society, governments and international partners can implement to close the law–practice gap.
7.1 Strengthen front-line identification and SOPs
- Develop clear, standardised screening tools and referral protocols for police, immigration officials, health workers and labour inspectors.
- Mandate training modules regular refreshers on trafficking indicators, cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed interviewing.
- Institutionalise SOPs that ensure rescued persons are immediately routed to protective services rather than detention.
7.2 Codify and enforce the non-punishment principle
- Issue prosecutorial guidelines that explicitly bar charging victims for offences committed as a direct consequence of being trafficked.
- Train magistrates and prosecutors on the legal and evidentiary contexts that justify non-punishment and immunity.
7.3 Build specialised investigative and prosecution capacity
- Create multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking units combining police investigators, forensic experts, social workers and legal officers.
- Use digital forensics, financial tracking and supply-chain analysis to target higher-level organisers rather than only low-level operators.
7.4 Scale up victim services with predictable funding
- Move from project-based to budget-line funding for shelters, medical care and rehabilitation programmes so services are predictable and long-term.
- Encourage public–private partnerships with accountability safeguards to expand shelter and vocational programs.
7.5 Improve data, research and monitoring
- Adopt harmonised definitions and data-collection tools across agencies to generate comparable statistics.
- Fund longitudinal studies to track survivors’ outcomes employment, education, well-being and to evaluate anti-trafficking interventions.
7.6 Address root causes: economic and social policies
- Align anti-trafficking work with poverty-alleviation programmes, education access, land rights and disaster resilience to reduce vulnerability.
- Support women’s economic empowerment and legal literacy as preventive strategies.
7.7 Engage communities and survivors
- Involve survivors in policy design, training and public awareness so that responses reflect lived realities.
- Support community-based prevention programmes that change social norms and create local protection networks.
8. Balancing law-and-order measures with rights protection
Governments often rely on raids, arrests and punitive measures to show immediate results. While these actions are necessary, they must be balanced with human-rights safeguards. Aggressive policing can push trafficking deeper underground if survivors fear state actors as much as traffickers. Transparency, judicial oversight, monitoring of shelters, and civil-society partnerships are crucial to ensure that enforcement respects the rights and long-term welfare of survivors.
9. The role of civil society, international agencies and the private sector
Civil society organisations often fill critical gaps: identification, shelter, counselling, legal aid, vocational training and public awareness. International agencies (UNODC, ILO, UNICEF, IOM) provide technical assistance, funding, capacity-building and facilitate cross-border cooperation. The private sector, especially industries with long supply chains, must adopt compliance measures, labour audits and grievance mechanisms to prevent exploitation.
Partnerships among these actors where governments enable and coordinate, NGOs deliver services, and international partners bring technical resources are the best available model for comprehensive, survivor-centred responses.
10. Conclusion: law is necessary — but not sufficient
Legal frameworks like the Palermo Protocol, India’s criminal codes sections on trafficking, the ITPA and draft national bills create the scaffolding for anti-trafficking action. Yet laws alone cannot dismantle the economic, social and political structures that enable trafficking. Implementation requires trained professionals, predictable funding, coordination across agencies, protections that centre victims’ dignity and long-term reintegration pathways.
Combating trafficking successfully means treating survivors as rights-holders rather than mere witnesses or items of rescue statistics, it means investing in prevention, building durable social safety nets, addressing inequality, and relentlessly pursuing both the small-scale foot soldiers of trafficking and the organised networks that profit from exploitation.
11. References and key legal texts (selected)
- The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA / PITA
- The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018
- https://burnishedlawjournal.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/LAW-RELATING-TO-CHILD-SEXUAL-EXPLOITATION-AND-ABUSE-A-CASE-STUDY-by-Vaishnavi-Rajput-.pdf
- https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/alleged-trafficking-victims-did-not-complain-exploitation-karnataka-high-court-quashes-section-370-case
- https://www.verdictum.in/court-updates/high-courts/chhattisgarh-high-court/mohammed-siraz-vs-state-of-chhattisgarh-2025cghc24228-db-cant-prosecute-accused-for-human-trafficking-on-mere-suspicion-1581693
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