Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said human trafficking is more dangerous than murder, and social awareness coupled with a strong legal framework was needed to curb it.
Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, was speaking virtually at a panel discussion on Prevention of commercial sex trafficking of women, organised jointly by the Maharashtra State Women Commission and 'Alliance against Centres for Trafficking here.
Human trafficking is a very big challenge before us. It is said that drugs trade is the biggest trade in the world but unfortunately human trafficking is to some extent, along with drugs trade, becoming a big trade. Women and children are most vulnerable to it, he said.
Its victims suffer a lot, and it is a far more dangerous crime than murder, the deputy CM added. Human trafficking is an issue transcending boundaries, and social awareness and a people's movement along with a strong legal framework were needed to curb it, he said.
In 90 to 95 percent of cases of sexual exploitation or abuse, people who are known to the victim or victim's family are the culprits, Fadnavis noted. Earlier, victims of such offences did not approach police due to societal stigma or pressures, but now this situation is changing and victims are coming forward to register police complaints, he said.
As per a 2019 report of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), 1,291 women were able to leave sex work in 2015 in Maharashtra. As many as 1,020 women managed to do so in 2016 and almost the same number quit the flesh trade in 2017, Fadnavis said.