Keywords
Gender Violence
Survivor Rehabilitation
Civil Society
Justice
How to Cite
Abstract
This paper critically analyses the legal and rehabilitation frameworks tackling human trafficking in West Bengal, India, which records high incidence of human trafficking due to socio-economic vulnerabilities in the region and the porous nature of the Indo-Bangladesh border. It explores the dimensions of trafficking, including sex trafficking, bonded labour and domestic servitude strongly situated in gendered dynamics. This research adopts a socio-legal and qualitative approach, using doctrinal legal methods to conduct analysis alongside empirical literature on survivors' narratives and NGO practices. It exposes large gaps in the operationalisation of central laws (such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and IPC provisions), the insensitivity of the police, delay in the process and re-traumatisation of the survivors: all within the criminal justice system. Beyond this, it criticizes existing rehabilitation schemes such as Ujjawala and Swadhra Greh as lacking trauma-informed and survivor-led care. The paper highlights the important role that civil society organisations play in filling institutional gaps and creating survivor-centred approaches. It calls for a paradigm shift toward rights-based, feminist, and trauma-informed legal and policy frameworks. The paper ends with specific recommendations for inter-agency coordination, reintegration into the community, monitoring, and the empowerment of survivors to ensure that justice and rehabilitation are sustainable outcomes.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr Bijetri Pathak (Author)