Child Trafficking in Post-Conflict Situations: Evidence and Lessons Learnt from Displaced Camps in Jammu and Kashmir, India

Trafficking has become a matter of serious concern in post-conflict situations. Children in displaced camps have been exposed to unprecedented vulnerabilities due to trafficking and are often lured by promise of better employment and a more prosperous life far from their homes. The study intends to provide an overview of child trafficking situation and in particular to focus attention on internal trafficking of conflict induced displaced children in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It provides a qualitative picture of child trafficking situation and document the trafficking experience from the perspective of its victims and affected communities living in displaced settings. Unless a public opinion is built, the laws are effectively designed and implemented, the situation is constantly monitored and the nexus of traffickers is exposed, children will continue to be trafficked. Therefore, coordinated efforts are required to stop and prevent child trafficking. There is need for a strategy to prevent emergence of child trafficking in post-conflict situations. It is hoped that the study will help government and non-government agencies, policy makers and local communities to better understand the impact and effects of trafficking on children and assist in developing policy and programmes to prevent and protect children from abuse and exploita