Trafficking survivors in North 24-Parganas have been meeting candidates in the panchayat elections to submit a list of demands that include a rehabilitation policy at the grassroots level.
Many of the survivors told this newspaper that since they are not considered a vote bank, their plight goes unnoticed.
Some of them told the candidates as much.
A group of survivors met a Trinamul candidate in Gachha Akarpur Gram Panchayat, in Basirhat I block.
“We told her about the stigma the survivors face. But the perpetrators (alleged traffickers) roam freely. The state and central governments have policies to support trafficking survivors. But the problem is with the implementation at the panchayat or block level,” a survivor told The Telegraph.
The list of demands, made under the banner of two survivors’ collectives called Utthaan and Bijoyini, include:
- Create a rehabilitation policy and arrange funds at panchayat to block levels
- Ensure that survivors do not face stigma, especially in school
- Provide basic mental health support at block primary health centres.
In September last year, this newspaper reported on the lack of a counsellor at block primary health centres.
Many survivors return to a hostile environment, where they have to fight stigma from family and neighbours. They are vulnerable to anxiety, memory loss, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and often end up in substance abuse.
The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, says trafficking survivors must get mental health support. But the support will be on paper unless the government ensures the presence of a mental health expert at block levels, activists said.
One group of survivors met two candidates, from the Trinamul Congress and the CPM, in Aturia Gram Panchayat in Baduria. “Please ensure we get administrative support at the grassroots level,” a survivor is said to have told the candidates from the rival parties.
“In the past fortnight, the survivors have approached around a dozen candidates,” said Sambhu Nanda of Partners for Anti-Trafficking, a network of NGOs in North 24-Parganas.