India has a very high volume of child trafficking. As many as one child disappears every eight minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In some cases, children are taken from their homes to be bought and sold in the market. In other cases, children are tricked into the hands of traffickers by being presented an opportunity for a job, when in reality, upon arrival they become enslaved. In India, there are many children trafficked for various reasons such as labor, begging, and sexual exploitation. Because of the nature of this crime; it is hard to track; and due to the poor enforcement of laws, it is difficult to prevent. Due to the nature of this crime, it is only possible to have estimates of figures regarding the issue. India is a prime area for child trafficking to occur, as many of those trafficked are from, travel through or destined to go to India. Though most of the trafficking occurs within the country, there is also a significant number of children trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. There are many different causes that lead to child trafficking, with the primary reasons being poverty, weak law enforcement, and a lack of good quality public education. The traffickers that take advantage of children can be from another area in India, or could even know the child personally. Children who return home after being trafficked often face shame in their communities, rather than being welcomed home.
Causes
Some of the root causes of child trafficking in India are: poverty, a lack of education, and the need to financially support their family. The unemployment rate in India is very high with the United Nations Development Programme estimating it to be at 3.5%. In addition to this, there are not that many financial opportunities. When children are offered work, they are likely to be exploited. Children in poverty are often forced to trade sex for a place to live or food to eat. In order to get out of poverty or to pay off debts, some parents have even been forced to sell their children to traffickers. Children are often trafficked by gangs and forced to beg on the streets.
Education
A lack of access to quality education and low literacy levels and rates increase child trafficking rates in India. The challenge of limited access to education impacts all of the people involved to worsen the consequences. For the child, a lack of access to education limits their future opportunities and can hinder their mental health. It can also be linked to feelings of increased vulnerability, low self-esteem, and a lack of knowledge about their rights. The absence of an effective public education system, and a lack of financial security make finding employment in unskilled labour sectors (such as construction and domestic help) much more appealing to children rather than pursuing an education. A lack of good, affordable educational opportunities and financial security can lead to a devaluing of education from the parents' perspectives. This is especially true for girls. When weighing the costs of educating a daughter against other costs to the family, a daughter's education is often foregone. Since the financial benefits of an education are only truly seen in the future, the value of an education in the present is considered to be quite low. This reasoning is supported by the lack of economic opportunities available to underprivileged and marginalized communities in India. The lack of educational opportunities is exploited by traffickers who often sell parents and children alike on the promise of steady, high paying jobs to lure them away from their homes.
Additional causes
In addition to institutional challenges in India, traditional religious and cultural practices also pose a threat to vulnerable children. In some parts of India, for example, young girls are forced into the system of Devadasi where they're "forced into a lifetime of ritual sex slavery" and given to an elder of the village to be their concubine. Child marriage is also one of the leading causes of child trafficking. A lot of children have also been trafficked due to the demand by tourists. People will travel from countries where there are strict enforcement around child trafficking, as well as it being heavily frowned upon and socially unaccepted, to India to find child prostitutes.
Forms
The different forms of child trafficking include, but are not limited to: involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, illegal activities, child soldiers, and children exploited for commercial sex.