The Hindu Business Line : US students to `serve and learn' thru Darshn

THE Kerala-based NGO, Darshn has been chosen by the University of Washington as a partner in its programme "serve and learning" aimed at developing good world-class citizens by sending selected American students to various developing countries.

Students totally committed to human justice would be selected and the first batch of 50 students would arrive in Kerala in August next. Darshn would provide them the opportunity to serve the poor, women and children and learn and understand what is happening in this part of the world.

"This is going to be a continuous programme under which students will arrive in January and August every year. They would volunteer to teach on various issues such as violence against women, trafficking in women and labour, good public relation activities, hygiene etc," Ms Sutapa Basu, Executive Director, Women's Centre and Affiliate Assistant Professor, Women's Studies, University of Washington, told Business Line here.

Ms Basu, who is here for discussions with the Darshn officials, said that a study conducted by the NGO recently had found that women trafficking is going on in Kerala under the cover of health tourism in establishments such as massage parlours, rejuvenation centres and even in modern hospitals. Another area identified was the employment as domestic servants.

On the other hand, women are exploited on the labour front by giving them low wages. Similarly, children are also subjected to exploitation.

Ms Basu said that India was a country of origin, transit and destination for thousands of trafficked persons. Internal trafficking of women, men, and children for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labour and indentured servitude is widespread here.

Indian men and women are also put into situations of coerced labour and sometimes slave-like conditions in countries in West Asia and the West.

"India is a destination for sex tourists from Europe and the United States." Bangladeshi women and children are trafficked to India or transited through India en route to Pakistan and West Asia for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labour. Nepalese women and girls are trafficked to India for commercial sexual exploitation.

She said that the Indian Government's poverty alleviation project reserved 40 per cent of its budget for women's projects and spent $3 million (approx Rs 14 crore) over the last year for micro-credit programmes in key source areas for trafficking. India has numerous laws criminalising trafficking for sexual exploitation and labour.

Yet, the Union Government is handicapped in the fight against trafficking by the law of federal laws to establish jurisdiction over inter-State crimes for central agencies to investigate.

Although, the anti-trafficking laws are national laws, their enforcement is a State Government responsibility. The execution of the law is further complicated when it involves cross-border trafficking due to varying degrees of coordination and networking between State police forces.

She suggested that the people in the State should impress upon its legislators about the evils of such activities and persuade them to bring in legislations to arrest trafficking in women and children.

Ms Velma Veloria, State Representative of 11th District, Washington State, who is also here on her way to attend the World Social Forum in Mumbai next week, said that elements of the strategy should include defining trafficking in the penal code to be broader like the United Nations definition; continuing to educate potential victims of the dangers of trafficking and how to get help; eliminating the need to catch the traffickers in transit with victims; and expanding or developing more programmes like the one being taken up by Darshn.

A successful campaign against trafficking must make penalties high and enforcement certain, and the protection of the victims a central theme to ensure cooperation in the criminal cases and their safe return to civil society, she added.

The visit of the students from the Washington University would help in educating the poor people, women and children, she said. Interaction between people is essential in understanding each other's problems and finding solutions.

Dr Jacob Thomas, Chairman, Darshn, told Business Line that Darshn was already operating a telephone outreach service "Genderline" for women since 1998 where they could seek assistance to various problems they face such as violence in household, harassment at workplace, legal issues, adolescent relationship issues, psychological and psychiatric cases, etc.

Since its inception in 1998, over 1,500 cases have been registered with Darshn and about 800 had been solved successfully.

The objectives of Genderline are to develop and maintain a support system for adolescent girls and young women in Kerala; to develop skills and attitudes in adolescent and young women with a view to empowering them and preventing deprivations in adult life; and to document support services for adolescent girls available in Kerala.

The student exchange programme would help Darshn in implementing its various programmes amongst the poor women and children through their service. The students would bear the expenses themselves during their one-month stay in Kerala, he said.

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