JOIN USDCW seeks hostels for trafficked girls
The Delhi Commission for Women is in the process of identifying women hostels for the victims of human trafficking.
The plan will be a part of the rehabilitation policy to be drafted by the task force, formed in October, in the first meeting of the state-level coordination committee, under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary K K Sharma.
Currently, the rescued girls or women are shifted to shelter homes, which suffer from security lapses and are in a “grim” condition.
“Once the girls are rescued, their next place of stay should be something better than shelter homes. We want to shift them from there and hence we are in talks with the Delhi government to take them to working women hostels. There should be a holistic rehabilitation of these women,” said Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal.
According to the proposal, DCW, along with the coordination committee, will undertake a pilot project of 50 women who had been trafficked into prostitution or forced to work as domestic helps in Delhi and are living in shelter homes after their rescue.
“Till now we have identified two to three such hostels but these are not enough. Everything else like providing them jobs, etc has been taken care of but this is the last catch. As soon as we finalise their stay, we will roll out the project,” the chairperson said.
Instead of the regular skill development courses like knitting and sewing, the policy’s main focus will be to help the victims get into professional placements according to their qualification.
“Sex workers or others who have been rescued cannot earn their livelihood through these courses. Some of these women have approached us for fashion designing courses. So we will be looking for such options based on their qualification,” she said.
Maliwal, during a meeting in the first week of October last had also suggested that industry organisations such as Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and PHD Chambers of Commerce should be involved to help in the rehabilitation process.