TAHA: Building Livelihood Options for Trafficking Prone Communities

(Supported by UNDP and Development Alternatives)

Shivpuri is one of the most backward districts of MP. It is also known for Bedias who have been traditionally engaged in prostitution. Trafficking of girls and women for sex work is widely accepted practice in this group. Sambhav has worked very closely with this group under its RCH program and Child Labour education program supported by CRY. Bedias are spread all over the region e.g.Dholpur, Morena, Gwalior and Shivpuri. About  100 houses of Bedias are situated in the main town Purani Shivpuri. Groups of villages with Bedias are also located in Pohri, Pichore and Kolaras.

The bedia girl, at very early age is identified for the sex work. She is gradually exposed and made immune to sexual activities. They do not stay at one place. Generally after three to four years they are shifted to other centres. From Shivpuri they go to Nagpur and then to Bombay. Very little out side contact is aloowed for these girls.Any attempt by the Girl to share her story with others is dealth very harshly.

From its inception Sambhav is working with most marginalized communities like Sahariyas and Bedias and Dalits. It has focused on preparation of community level leadership among women. Through campaigns on women rights, land rights and right to health and education, the organization has come to be identified as  community mobilizer. It has also played important role in helping in the proper implementation of Panchayat Raj system, women and children health activities with the PHC staff. Through its presence on committees like District Health Committee, DBCS, TSC and Nigrani Samiti  Sambhav has been able to draw attention of the authorities towards concerns of the communities. It has organized public hearing on Right to food and tribal rights and undertaken many rallies in support of women, children and tribal.

With the help of its community based women leadership and excellent working relationship with Government Sambhav is very strongly placed to take up  complex initiative like stopping  trafficking of girls and women in this region. This issue is so well known and established here that organization will not have to work hard to mobilize communities and the officials. Act of trafficking of girls and women for prostitution ,forced marriages and bonded labor involves several levels of people and at several places. It involves violation of all human rights and can not be dealt only by one Agency. Sambhav because of its relationship with other agencies and government agencies and political leadership, it should be able to provided much needed impetus to this campaign.

Sambhav’s own team with experience in gender issues and struggle for women rights and its other infrastructure like schools, campuses, hospital give special space for operating on these issues and handle situation of crisis and emergency support like staying place, medical care and counseling and legal aid. It can also mobilize NGO community at large to exert pressure on decision makers.

Objectives:

1.       Sensitize Government, NGOs, and communities on trafficking issues.

2.       Taking the subject of trafficking

3.       Work with the communities and develop a group of persons with desire to change and courage to challenge.

4.       Organize different activities on legal rights, rights of women and Girls

5.       Invoke different constitutional and legal remedies to protect the rights of women.

6.       Provide opportunities of education, skills and better livelihood options.

7.       Establish district level network of NGOs, Media persons and Government persons and active women from the community.

The Prevention of Trafficking, HIV and AIDS in Women and Girls or the UNDP- TAHA project was launched as a pioneering prevention and care project in August in 2005, in New Delhi. It was designed to address the increasing incidence of trafficking of women and children in India and their risks to HIV infections.

Developed as a comprehensive solution to mitigate the dual vulnerabilities to HIV and trafficking, it is also aimed at ensuring that the issues connected to trafficking and HIV/AIDS find a place in the mainstream planning processes and find sustainable responses.

Trafficking in persons is traditionally considered a crime issue and HIV/AIDS as a health problem. The UNDP-TAHA project is designed as an innovative development response to the twin problem.

From promoting safe mobility to empowering women and children, the project aims at covering the ground in its entirety. It operates at the national, state, district and the panchayat level and looks at interventions at various points from prevention of trafficking to rehabilitation of survivors using a fresh methodology rooted in rights based, gender sensitive, composite programming aimed at all the related sectors – media, police, judiciary, government, CSOs and the PLWHA.

Project Area: 10 villages of Shivpuri district (Pohari and Shivpuri block )

Toria	Madhkheda (Jakhnod)	Jakhnod	Salaiya	Umri Kakra
Nayagaon	Madhavpur	Dewri	Satanwada	Subhashpura

Activities done in 2006:

v      Participatory Learning and Action exercise done in 10 villages

v      Village survey done for all the 10 villages

v      Household survey

v      Establishment of Single window referral system, with meetings on the concept of the same done in all the villages.

v      Awareness camps focusing on various livelihood promotion schemes of the government- 6 with participation of over 600 people.

v      District level workshop on trafficking in Shivpuri with participation of representatives from community, media, advocates, banking institutions, teachers, and NGOs.