New Delhi - India will
host the world's largest march against the human trafficking and
sexual abuse of children, Nobel Laureate and child rights
activist Kailash Satyarthi said on Tuesday, adding it was time
to break the silence surrounding these crimes.
Over 10 million people from across India are expected to
take part during the month-long march which will start from
India's southern-most tip Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu state on
September 11, and end in the capital New Delhi on October 16.
"Today I declare a war on child sexual abuse and child
trafficking. Today I announce history's biggest ever social
mobilisation movement," said Satyathi at the launch of his "Safe
Childhood, Safe India" campaign.
"What our children are facing is not an ordinary crime. This
is a moral epidemic haunting our country as well as the rest of
the world. We cannot accept it. We have to break our silence as
a nation. We have to raise our voice and unite as a nation."
Children in India face multiple challenges ranging from
threats such as trafficking, sexual violence and early marriage
to a lack of access to quality education and healthcare.
Government data shows more than 9 000 children were
trafficked into 2016 - a 27 percent rise from the previous year.
Most are from poor rural areas and are lured to cities by
traffickers who promise good jobs, but sell them into slavery.
Some end up as domestic workers, or forced to work in small
manufacturing units, farming or are even pushed into sexual
slavery in brothels. In many cases, they are not paid or are
held in debt bondage. Some are found, but many remain missing.
Figures from the National Crime Records Bureau also show
that almost 15,000 children were victims of sexual violence such
as rape, molestation and exploitation for pornography in 2015 -
up 67 percent from the previous year.
But activists say the figures are a gross under estimate in
the socially conservative society, where the fear of being
blamed, shamed or stigmatised means victims and their families
often keep quiet and do not report the abuses they face.
Satyarthi, whose charity Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the
Childhood Movement) has rescued 80,000 enslaved children, said
the march was part of a three year campaign to spread public
awareness and push for stronger policies on child protection.
The march participants will travel around 11 000 km (6 835
miles) and cover 22 of India's 29 states. They will stop in
towns and villages, visit schools and colleges and hold events
with local officials, police, religious and community leaders.
"Instead of being ashamed of sexual violence, we will tell
children, parents and their communities to speak out. Instead of
looking the other way when traffickers come to take children, we
will tell people to report them to the police," said Satyarthi.
"We have been silent for far too long. We have to push for
the human trafficking bill to be passed by parliament. We have
to have to push for reforms in our legal system so victims get
justice. A new India can only happen if our children are safe."