Behind India's vibrant culture lies a shadow industry enslaving millions, as evidenced by the stark reality that over 8 million people, including approximately 1.2 million children each year, are trapped in modern slavery within the nation's borders.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, India reported 8,872 cases of human trafficking under IPC sections, reflecting a 13% rise from previous year
- National estimates suggest 8 million people in modern slavery in India as of 2023, including trafficking victims
- Approximately 1.2 million children are trafficked annually in India for various exploitative purposes
- In 2022, 45% of trafficking victims in India were children under 18
- Females comprise 88% of detected trafficking victims in India from 2018-2022
- 62% of child trafficking victims in India are girls, per NCRB 2022 data
- Sex trafficking accounts for 76% of human trafficking cases in India per NCRB 2022
- Forced labor trafficking represents 22% of registered cases in 2022
- Bonded labor affects 18 million people in India, a form of trafficking
- West Bengal reports 25% of India's total trafficking cases in 2022
- Maharashtra saw 1,200 trafficking cases in 2022, highest in red-light districts
- Jharkhand is source for 20% of trafficked girls to Delhi and Mumbai
- In 2022, 1,200 perpetrators arrested for human trafficking in India
- Conviction rate for trafficking cases stands at 15% nationally in 2022
- India rescued 4,000 trafficking victims in 2022 through anti-trafficking units
India faces a severe human trafficking crisis, with millions exploited annually despite rising legal efforts.
Demographics
- In 2022, 45% of trafficking victims in India were children under 18
- Females comprise 88% of detected trafficking victims in India from 2018-2022
- 62% of child trafficking victims in India are girls, per NCRB 2022 data
- Trafficking victims from Nepal and Bangladesh make up 15% of sex workers in India
- Over 70% of trafficked persons in India come from Scheduled Castes and Tribes
- In 2021, 2,877 children were rescued from trafficking, with 60% being girls
- Adult women form 35% of labor trafficking victims in India
- 25% of trafficking victims in India are from rural areas below poverty line
- Tribal girls from Jharkhand constitute 40% of trafficked minors to Delhi
- 80% of sex trafficking victims in India are between 14-25 years old
- 52% of victims aged 18-30 in detected cases, UNODC 2022
- Dalit communities represent 50% of labor trafficking victims
- 15% of victims are transgender in sex trafficking
- Northeast states source 10% of national victims
- 65% of rescued children from trafficking are under 14
- Migrant workers from Odisha 30% of Gulf forced labor cases
- Women from rural Bihar 25% of Delhi brothel victims
- 90% of sex workers in Mumbai from other states
Demographics Interpretation
India’s trafficking crisis reveals a harrowing arithmetic of vulnerability, where being young, female, poor, and from a marginalized community exponentially increases the odds of being reduced to a statistic.
Forms
- Sex trafficking accounts for 76% of human trafficking cases in India per NCRB 2022
- Forced labor trafficking represents 22% of registered cases in 2022
- Bonded labor affects 18 million people in India, a form of trafficking
- Child trafficking for begging syndicates involves 300,000 children in India
- 10% of trafficking cases involve organ trade in India
- Domestic servitude trafficking sees 1.4 million victims in India
- Marriage trafficking of girls under 18 affects 5,000 annually in India
- Brick kiln labor trafficking involves 10 million workers in India
- Circus and entertainment industry trafficking claims 500 children yearly
- Online trafficking for sex work rose 30% during COVID-19 in India
- Forced marriage trafficking peaks in Haryana with 2,000 cases yearly
- Carpet industry employs 1.5 million child laborers via trafficking
- 20% of trafficking for domestic work in urban households
- Begging mafia traffics 100,000 children in major cities
- Textile sector forced labor affects 2 million in Tamil Nadu
- 5% cases involve trafficking for illegal adoption
- Fishing industry trafficking claims 50,000 workers on Andhra coast
- 35% of sex trafficking via fake job promises online
- Agriculture bonded labor 11 million victims across states
Forms Interpretation
India's staggering trafficking numbers, from millions in bonded labor to thousands of children in begging rings, paint a devastating portrait where criminal enterprise has industrialized the exploitation of human desperation.
Prevalence
- In 2022, India reported 8,872 cases of human trafficking under IPC sections, reflecting a 13% rise from previous year
- National estimates suggest 8 million people in modern slavery in India as of 2023, including trafficking victims
- Approximately 1.2 million children are trafficked annually in India for various exploitative purposes
- India's human trafficking prevalence rate is 5.8 victims per 1,000 people according to 2023 Global Slavery Index
- Between 2016-2020, over 1 lakh trafficking cases were registered in India
- In 2021, 6,616 human trafficking cases were reported nationwide
- Forced labor affects 49 million people globally with India contributing significantly at over 11 million
- Sex trafficking constitutes 54% of all detected trafficking cases in South Asia including India
- India ranks Tier 2 in US TIP Report 2023 for human trafficking efforts
- Over 20,000 women and girls trafficked yearly into commercial sex work in India
- In 2022, 6,125 human trafficking cases registered under new trafficking laws
- Global Slavery Index 2023 estimates 11 million in forced labor in India
- UNODC reports 1,000 cross-border trafficking detections from India in 2021
- 3 million women in prostitution in India, 80% trafficked
- Childline India handled 50,000 trafficking-related calls in 2022
- 40% increase in trafficking during 2020 lockdown per NCRB
Prevalence Interpretation
India’s grimly impressive human trafficking portfolio, boasting millions in modern slavery and a rising annual case count, reads like a morbid corporate growth report where the only stock rising is human suffering.
Regional
- West Bengal reports 25% of India's total trafficking cases in 2022
- Maharashtra saw 1,200 trafficking cases in 2022, highest in red-light districts
- Jharkhand is source for 20% of trafficked girls to Delhi and Mumbai
- Assam-Bangladesh border is hotspot for 5,000 cross-border traffickings yearly
- Telangana registered 800 cases in 2022, focused on labor trafficking
- Bihar contributes 15% of national trafficking victims from rural areas
- Delhi NCR rescues 2,000 victims annually from trafficking networks
- Odisha sees high trafficking to Andhra Pradesh for sex work, 400 cases in 2022
- Nepal-India border trafficking routes move 7,000 women yearly
- Rajasthan's source for child camel jockey trafficking abroad
- Andhra Pradesh labor trafficking to Gulf countries affects 50,000 migrants
- Uttar Pradesh registered 950 cases in 2022, mainly sex trafficking
- Kolkata is destination for 30% of Bengal's internal trafficking
- Tamil Nadu leads with 700 sex trafficking cases in 2022
- Goa destination for 500 Russian/Ukrainian trafficking victims yearly
- Punjab source for Canada-bound labor trafficking, 1,000 cases
- Chhattisgarh mining areas trafficking hub for 2,000 children
- Mumbai red-light area Kamathipura houses 5,000 trafficked women
- West Bengal-Bangladesh trafficking corridor moves 3,000 girls yearly
- Kerala fake recruitment for Middle East traffics 10,000 annually
- Madhya Pradesh source state for 12% national cases
- Hyderabad IT hub sees rise in domestic trafficking, 300 cases
Regional Interpretation
While India's map dazzles with diversity, these grim coordinates plot a darker geography where borders bleed with complicity and prosperity masks an entrenched economy of human misery.
Response
- In 2022, 1,200 perpetrators arrested for human trafficking in India
- Conviction rate for trafficking cases stands at 15% nationally in 2022
- India rescued 4,000 trafficking victims in 2022 through anti-trafficking units
- 650 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) operational across 600 districts
- Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) led to 2,500 arrests in 2022
- National Investigation Agency (NIA) probed 50 major trafficking networks in 2022
- Over 10,000 victims rehabilitated via government schemes in 2021-22
- POCSO Act convictions for child trafficking rose 20% in 2022
- US TIP Report notes India increased prosecutions by 25% to 1,000 in 2022
- One-Stop Centres aided 5,000 trafficking survivors in 2022
- Juvenile Justice Act applied in 40% of child trafficking prosecutions
- Helpline 1098 rescued 15,000 child trafficking victims since inception
- In 2022, Maharashtra convicted 150 traffickers, highest in India
- India enacted new anti-trafficking law in 2021 covering all forms
- 2,500 traffickers prosecuted under ITPA in 2021
- 300 AHTUs dismantled 200 networks in 2022
- Ujjawala scheme rehabilitated 25,000 victims since 2007
- Supreme Court monitored 100 interstate trafficking cases in 2022
- 1,800 convictions under trafficking laws in 2022, up 10%
- Child Welfare Committees handled 8,000 trafficking cases
- NIA arrested 400 in transnational trafficking rings
- Sakhi One Stop Centres supported 7,000 survivors in 2022
Response Interpretation
While India's anti-trafficking net is visibly widening with more arrests, units, and rehabilitations, the persistently low conviction rate reveals a system still struggling to firmly lock the door against this crime.
Sources & References
- Reference 1NCRBncrb.gov.inVisit source
- Reference 2WALKFREEwalkfree.orgVisit source
- Reference 3UNICEFunicef.orgVisit source
- Reference 4ILOilo.orgVisit source
- Reference 5UNODCunodc.orgVisit source
- Reference 6STATEstate.govVisit source
- Reference 7PRBprb.orgVisit source
- Reference 8PIBpib.gov.inVisit source
- Reference 9NIAnia.gov.inVisit source
- Reference 10WCDwcd.nic.inVisit source
- Reference 11CHILDLINEINDIAchildlineindia.orgVisit source
- Reference 12TRAFFICKINGOFPERSONSBILLtraffickingofpersonsbill.gov.inVisit source
- Reference 13MAINmain.sci.gov.inVisit source