Research Report (Community Perspective on Human Rights and Decision Making)

Publisded in:
July 2007
Published by:
Concern Universal
House - 8(5th Floor), Road - 28, Block - k
Banani, Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh
Tel - 02-8855296, Cell - 01819-263295
Website: www.concern-universal.org
Researcher:
Shankor Paul
Research Specialist, Concern Universal
Danielle Noble
Human Rights and Gender Officer, Concern Universal
Parvati Chandran
Research Officer, SLARTC, West Bengal-India
This study was undertaken by Concern Universal Bangladesh in collaboration with
three implementing partners (Dhaka Ahsania Mission in Bangladesh in Bangladesh
and Socio Legal Aid Research and Training Centre, and Women Interlink Foundation in
West Bengal, India) as integral component of “Prevention of Cross-Border Trafficking in
Women and Children between Bangladesh and West Bengal, India (C-BAT) project, in
an attempt to understand the functionality of human rights discourse at the community
level with the title “Community perspectives on Human Rights and Decision Making”.
Concern Universal welcomes use of the information in the publication for research and
guiding development initiatives only.
Acknowledgement:
We are grateful to all the stakeholders of C-BAT Project who have given us their time
and provided us with valuable information.
For further information please contact:
Shankor Paul
Research Specialist,
Concern Universal Bangladesh
House – 8 (5th floor), Road-28, Block-K
Banani, Dhaka-1213.
Tel - 02-8855296, Cell - 01819-263295
E-mail: shankor.paul@concern-universal.org
Website: www.concern-universal.org

Preface
With the focal theme of this study “Community Perspectives on Human Rights and Decision
Making”, the findings have shown significant linkages between the widespread violation of
economic, social, cultural and political rights and the increase of vulnerability to trafficking
in women and children. Although poverty is often blamed as the root cause of trafficking
social and gender based discriminations also create vulnerability to trafficking for women
and children.
Focusing on linking issues in women and child trafficking, the rights focused holistic approach
should be a shifting paradigm of anti-trafficking works where the rights holders and duty
bearers will act as change agents to combat trafficking and will generate a non-discriminatory
and non-violent environment for women and children, full of respect and dignity.
This is the first research study publication under the “Prevention of Cross-Border Trafficking
in Women and Children between Bangladesh and West Bengal, India” (C-BAT) project
addressing the functionality of human rights discourse and its linkages to trafficking at the
community level. We have the pleasure to share our research findings with the readers. We
believe that the research findings will be helpful for the researcher, development actors,
Government and civil society actors to take part in anti-trafficking initiatives.
We wish to express our thanks and gratitude to all stakeholders who continue to provide
necessary information and support in implementation of the anti-trafficking initiatives
of Concern Universal Bangladesh. We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the
European Commission (EC) and Irish Aid (IA), whose financial assistance made this work
possible.
Stephane Bonduelle
Country Director,
Concern Universal Bangladesh

Table of Contents
Table of Contents ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
List of Acronyms ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2
List of Tables ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
List of Figures---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Glossary ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Executive Summary-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
1. Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
1.1 Background: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7
1.2 Specific objectives of the Research ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8
1.3 Scope of the Research----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
1.4 Outcomes of the Research ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
2. Research Methodology ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
2.1 Research Design ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
2.2 Sources of Information and Methodologies--------------------------------------------------------------------11
2.3 Rationale for selection of the respondents-------------------------------------------------------------------- 14
2.4 Challenges of Joint Research------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16
3. Area coverage of Joint Research---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
3.1 Profile of Study Area:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
3.2 Area Coverage: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18
4.0 Status of women: Analysis of community perspectives on Human Rights ---------------------------------- 20
4.1 Child Rights----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20
4.1.1 Community understanding of child rights and childhood ----------------------------------------- 21
4.1.2 Children, childhood, rights and trafficking ------------------------------------------------------------ 26
4.2 Liberty of Movement------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 27
4.2.1 What is liberty of movement?---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27
4.2.2 Factors affecting mobility --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27
4.2.3 Restrictions on liberty of Movement and trafficking------------------------------------------------ 30
4.3 Economic Rights and the rights to Property ------------------------------------------------------------------ 32
4.3.1 The right to property --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33
4.3.2 The right to work-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34
4.3.5 Community perception about women rights to work----------------------------------------------- 35
4.3.6 Linkages of economic vulnerability with trafficking------------------------------------------------- 39
4.4 Participation in Public and Private Life------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40
4.4.1 Definitions and Rights ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40
4.4.2 Participation in the Public sphere----------------------------------------------------------------------- 41
4.4.3 Participation in the Private sphere --------------------------------------------------------------------- 44
4.4.4 Women participation and its links to trafficking ----------------------------------------------------- 46
4.5 Access to Social Services----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48
4.5.1 International and National Commitments and Legal Frameworks ----------------------------- 48
4.5.2 Access to Social Services and Its Links with Trafficking------------------------------------------ 49
4.6 The Role of Law Enforcement Agencies ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 52
4.6.1 Border security officials, Police and their perception on Trafficking --------------------------- 53
4.6.2 Right to the Protection of the Law and Trafficking-------------------------------------------------- 57
5.0 Issues Surrounding marriage & divorce and its impact on status of women and trafficking----------------- 58
5.1 Laws surrounding marriage--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 59
5.2 Marriage and Divorce: Impact on the Status of Women and Links with Trafficking ---------------- 62
5.2.1 Women within Marriage----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62
5.2.2 Women within Divorce and Polygamy----------------------------------------------------------------- 68
6.0 Rights of rescued victims in rehabilitation and repatriation ----------------------------------------------------- 71
6.1 International law and National framework--------------------------------------------------------------------- 71
6.2. The experiences of victims of trafficking from a rights perspective ------------------------------------ 72
6.3 Community perspectives on the rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficking victims------------- 74
7.0 Case Studies---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81
8.0 Recommendations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 86
9.0 Conclusions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 90
10. References ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 91
Annexure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------95
1
Community Perspectives on Human Rights and Decision Making

List of Acronyms
AIDS = Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
ACD = Association for Community Development
ASK = Ain-O- Salish Kendra
BA = Beneficiary Assessment
BDR = Bangladesh Riffles
BDO = Block Development Officer
BPL = Below Poverty Line
BNWLA = Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association
BSF = Border Security Forces
CBO = Community Based civil society Organisation
C-BAT = Prevention of Cross-Border Trafficking in women and children between Bangladesh
and West Bengal, India
CRC = Convention on the Rights of the Child
CEDAW = Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
CU = Concern Universal
CSW = Commercial Sex Worker
DAM = Dhaka Ahsania Mission
EC = European Commission
EIDHR = European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights
FGD = Focus Group Discussion
GP = Gram Panchayat
HDI = Human Development Index
HIV = Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HRD = Human Rights Democratisation
HRW = Human Rights Watch
ICCPR = International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights
ID = Informal Discussion
ILO = International Labour Organisation
IPC = Indian Pannel Code
ITPA = Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act
ITPPA = Immoral Traffic in Persons Prevention Act
LG = Local Government
LEAs = Law Enforcing Agencies
IGA = Income Generating Activity
IOM = International Organisation for Migration
NGO = Non-Government Organisation
PRA = Participatory Rural Appraisal
RBA = Rights Based Approach
PTSD = Post- Traumatic Stress
SAARC = South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SLARTC = Socio-Legal Aid Research and Training Centre
SHG = Self Help Group
UNICEF = United Nations Children’s Fund
USAID = United States Agency for International Development
UP = Union Parishad
UN = United Nations
LEA = Law Enforcing Agency
UNO = Upazilla Nirbahi Officer
VCSE = Victim of Commercial Sexual Exploitation
VHT = Victim of Human Trafficking
VGD = Vulnerable Group Development
WIF = Women’s Interlink Foundation
2

List of Tables
Table No. Title of the Table
1. Session of Focus Group Discussion
2. Session of Participatory Rural Appraisal
3. Interview sessions with Legal and Administrative Personnel
4. Attitude Scaling of women on treatment of male and female child
5. Scoring of women rights to mobility and its causal relations
6.
Attitude Scaling of women for seeking husband’s permission to move
outside
7. Status of women rights to work
8. Status of women rights to savings
9. Women attitude on control over their income
10. Women attitude on participation in community decisions
11. Status of women on Rights to vote
12. Women attitude on participation in family decisions
13. Women attitude on Rights to protection of law
14. Status of women on Rights to safety and security
15. Status of women on Rights to protection from law
16. Attitude scaling of women on Rights to chose spouse
17. Scoring of women rights to chose spouse and given explanation
18. Scoring of community women’s perception on Rights to divorce
19. Attitude scaling of women on victim’s repatriation
20. Community perception on how to ideally rehabilitate VHTs
List of Figures
Table No. Title of the Figure
1. Methodological Design Frameworks
2. Area Coverage of Joint Research
3. Status of Police records (under 2000 Act)
4. Low perception of trafﬁcking cases
5. Scaling of Body Mapping
3

Glossary
Bidi: Local cheapest cigeratte, which is made by locally produced
tobacco and leaves.
Dalal: A pimp or middleman who plays a major role in the process
of deception, transportation and delivery of the VHT in
the hands of the trafﬁckers. He is also an individual who
obtains clients for prostitutes and collects fees from those
prostitutes, who may be children or adults
Dhur: The people who cross the border using illegal routes with
the help of Dalal/Agent.
Gram Panchayat (GP): Gram Panchayat is the Indian Local Government body of
elected and non-elected members under Panchayati Raj
System
Gram Sansad (GS): Each GP is divided into numbers of small constituencies
called Sansads.
Holy Quoran: Holy Book for Muslims
Kaabul: The term when both parties reach a consensus, and agree
to get married
Kazi: The government authorised person to register the marriage
under the Muslim Law.
Para: A neighbourhood, usually comprised of a small number of
homesteads
Sunnah: The traditions of the Muslim Prophet Mohammad
Shariah: The ‘Shariah’ signiﬁes the entire Islamic way of life,
especially the law of Islam.
Upazila: Administrative unit immediately above the Union Parishad
Union: The smallest administrative unit of local governance in
Bangladesh.
Union Parishad: Union Parishad (UP) is the administrative body of the
Union.
4

Executive Summary
The joint research was conducted as an integral component of the “Prevention of Cross-
Border Trafficking in Women and Children between Bangladesh and West Bengal, India”
Project. The studies targeted specific areas of research identified as ‘knowledge gaps’ that
were exposed during the collation of the comprehensive Baseline Survey. The findings of
baseline survey revealed the absence of a clear understanding of the functionality of human
rights discourse at the community level. From this purview, the focal theme of the research
is thus ‘Community perspectives on Human Rights and Decision making’. In order to best
ascertain an in-depth understanding of local community perspective on the extent to which
they enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms, this research is qualitative in nature and was
collected during participatory sessions and through sharing of individual life stories and
experiences.
The research framework was designed in light of the participatory approach to address
community perspectives on Human Rights and Decision making issues. It included a
total of 34 FGD, 57 PRA, 20 informal discussion (12 with adolescent and 8 with children)
and 62 interview sessions that comprises total 1441 community people (i.e. 891 female
and 550 male), 60 women CBO leaders, 259 adolescent girls, 91 children and 62 other
strategic stakeholders in the locality, particularly the law enforcement personnel (Police/
BDR/BSF), local government and administrative officials. And, its geographical focus directly
corresponded with the project implementation area: two cross-border districts (Jessore and
Satkhira) in Bangladesh and two border lying districts in West Bengal (North 24 Pargana and
South Dinajpur).
The research explored wide ranges of relationships between theoretical perspectives and
ground reality in terms of existing rights status of women and children and its linkages in
generating trafficking situation in the cross-border areas.
Major highlights
• Birth registration, and an understanding of its importance, is particularly important
in the context of cross border communities, who would benefit from the added security
of having formal identification documents and official notification of nationality. Universal
birth registration is also an important step towards the protection of the rights of the child
through the elimination of child marriage.
• The studies clearly indicate that in reality, boys are much more likely to receive better
access to health care and education services than girls. Restricted access to education
and employment later in life was reflected in the trouble girls had in identifying their
options for the future.
• Many children and adolescents were able to identify a number of human rights, but felt
unable to enforce or enjoy those rights in their communities.
• Severe restrictions on women’s mobility in the study areas have serious human rights
implications, and create conditions that lead to trafficking. Limited mobility is not only a
result of cultural and social conventions, but is related to the inadequate infrastructure
in the study areas and is also indicative of the violence and instability that prevails in the
cross border communities.
5

• Traditional beliefs that prevent women from achieving economic autonomy by denying
them the right to freely choose employment and disenfranchising them from property
ownership contribute to the cycle of economic dependency that fuels trafficking in the
implementation area.
• The studies revealed that women are isolated from decision making both in the home
and in the community. Preventing women from making meaningful contributions to
community life as citizens with equal rights and equal responsibilities perpetuates a
power imbalance and creates vulnerability to trafficking.
• Limited access to social services adds to the economic and social vulnerabilities of
families in the study areas. The absence of official support mechanisms to fill gaps
left in times of economic hardship increase the vulnerability of women and children to
trafficking.
• The community women commonly perceived that the right to safety and security and
to the protection of the law are reserved only for the rich. Lack of regular interaction
between local community women and police and border officials denies any opportunity
to demystify the process of law and prevents the groups from building relationships of
mutual understanding and respect.
• Child marriage, dowry, divorce and men taking multiple wives all have a dramatic impact
on the human rights situation of women in the study areas. These social institutions
contribute to the vulnerabilities of women and children to trafficking.
• The police records clearly defined high concentration in recording women and child
torturing cases rather than trafficking.
• Rescued trafficking victims expressed fear and humiliation as they recalled the feelings
of shame and embarrassment they felt during the process of rescue, particularly from
the media attention they received. The research showed that the rescued girls continue
to face substantial psychological, mental and emotional stress after rescue. The data
gathered indicates that a holistic, rights based approach to trafficking must focus
considerable energy on fostering the appropriate social conditions within the community
to facilitate the acceptance of a survivor in a dignified and respectful way.
• The existing systems in the spheres of prevention, protection and prosecution of the
trafficked victims are not adequately geared towards tackling this complex problem in a
holistic and rights-based manner.
6

1. Introduction
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued Recommendations,
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking state that;
“the human rights of trafficked persons shall be at the centre of all efforts to
prevent and combat trafficking and to protect, assist and provide redress to
victims1
”.
Whilst blatant violations of human rights are clearly committed throughout the trafficking
process, in the recruitment of women and children, their transport and the ultimate exploitation
they face as a result of the process, the human rights situation in the pre-trafficking context
is just as important in determining what factors make women and children vulnerable to
trafficking.
Although the Constitutions of both India and Bangladesh guarantee equal rights to both
women and men, in reality these formal statements rarely translate into substantive equality
for women and men on the ground. Women are restricted in their movement and ability
to access information. Women remain disenfranchised from the power to make decisions
in both the public and private spheres. Women are denied equal opportunities to access
essential government services through the effects of traditional social customs and beliefs.
And women bear the brunt of discriminatory economic and cultural practices.
While poverty is often raised as a root cause of trafficking, it is important to note the mutually
reinforcing relationship between gender inequality and poverty- “poverty not only arises
from a lack of resources-it may also arise from a lack of access to resources, information,
opportunities, power and mobility… Discrimination may cause poverty, just as poverty may
cause discrimination2
”. Underlying social inequities that are justified and perpetuated through
cultural and social stereotyping often violate a woman’s fundamental human rights, and as
such, intensify her experience of poverty and make her more vulnerable to trafficking.
1.1 Background:
This report is a consolidation of two studies, one undertaken in West Bengal, India and
the other in Jessore-Satkhira, Bangladesh, as an integral component of the “Prevention of
Cross-Border Trafficking in Women and Children between Bangladesh and West Bengal,
India” Project. The Joint Research also targeted specific areas of research identified as
‘knowledge gaps’ that were exposed during the collation of the comprehensive Baseline
Survey. Analysis of data collected during the baseline survey revealed the absence of a
clear understanding of the functionality of human rights discourse at the community level.
The focal theme of the research is thus ‘Community perspectives on Human Rights and
1 Chapter One
1
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Recommendations, Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and
Huma Trafficking: Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Economic and Social Council, May 2002
2
United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Human Rights and Poverty Reduction: A Conceptual Frame-
work” 17 (2004).
7

Decision making’. It was clear from the outset that the local community groups had difficulty
in defining the concept of human rights, therefore, rather than being asked to articulate and
identify any broad ideas and theories of human rights, the questions asked were focused
narrowly on specific rights, the violation of which were felt to further increase the local
communities’ vulnerabilities to trafficking. Further questions were designed to extract the
local stakeholders’ opinions on the applicability of certain fundamental human rights in the
context of local community dynamics.
In order to best ascertain an in-depth understanding of local community perspective on the
extent to which they enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms, this research is qualitative in
nature and was collected during participatory sessions and through sessions of sharing of
individual life stories and experiences.
Concern Universal worked in close consultation with its implementing partners Dhaka
Ahsania Mission (DAM), Women Interlink Foundation (WIF) and Socio-Legal Aid Research
and Training Centre (SLARTC) in designing the methodological framework and participatory
research approaches applied. The study in the North 24 Pargana and South Dinajpur districts
of West Bengal, and the study in the Jessore-Satkhira district of Bangladesh were undertaken
collaboratively by Concern Universal and the partners in their respective implementation
areas.
1.2 Specific objectives of the Research
The first Joint Research aimed to understand the links between the human rights situation
and vulnerability to trafficking by:
1. Defining the existing scenario of women’s and children’s rights in cross-border
communities;
2. Measuring community perception, attitude and mentality in establishing equal rights’;
3. Assessing the level of women’s accessibility and mobility;
4. Defining the appropriate role of local community and law enforcing authorities in
establishing equal rights for women.
1.3 Scope of the Research
The main focus of this Joint Research was to analyse community perspectives on ‘Human
Rights and Decision Making’ in order to analyse the existing rights status of women and
children and its links in creating trafficking situation in the context of cross-border areas.
With a view to understanding the practical human rights reality in the two study areas,
the research concentrates on determining the prevailing social status of women in these
areas. The research specifically focuses on the extent to which the social status of women
determines their enjoyment of certain human rights, and their experience of decision making
at both micro and macro levels. The research also delves into the rights of women in marriage
and divorce, and to what extent developments in the human rights discourse have impacted
on a woman’s experience of marriage.
8

Following from the research on the practical reality of human rights in the two study areas, the
second aim of research is to identify the links between ongoing social beliefs and practices,
the violation of human rights standards, and the extent to which these contribute to the high
incidence of trafficking in the study areas. The research draws on discussion of social issues
facing the local communities in order to develop an understanding of the extent to which, if
at all, social practices violate human rights standards, and the real, or potential, influence
these violations have, or may have, on trafficking in the area. This aspect of the research
also identifies the role that different local stakeholders and actors can play in achieving the
goal of preventing trafficking in the cross-border areas.
The third area of research is an assessment of community feelings towards women and
children who have been rescued, repatriated or returned to the local community after
becoming involved in the trafficking process. This area of analysis considers the impact
of the trafficking process on the human rights of victims, not specifically in the context of
the process of repatriation or return, but from the viewpoint of the local communities’ broad
understandings and experiences of human rights.
1.4 Outcomes of the Research
The in-depth analysis of information collected achieved the following outcomes corresponding
to the desired objectives of the Joint Research:
1. In-depth analysis the existing social and economic status of women and children in the
cross-border areas;
2. Increased understanding of community perspectives on, and experience of, human
rights, non discrimination and equality
3. Enhanced understanding of women’s experience of human rights in the cross border
area, and of the enjoyment of rights by rescued/returned trafficking victims
4. Understanding and analysis of the role of local stakeholders and law enforcing authorities
in protecting, respecting and fulfilling human rights and preventing trafficking in women
and children in the implementation area
9

2. Research Methodology
2.1 Research Design
The Joint Research was designed through intensive consultation with three implementing
partners with the aim of analysing community perspectives on ‘Human Rights and Decision
Making’ in the cross-border areas. The qualitative nature of the information desired
necessitated the application of mostly participatory and people centric approaches. The
Joint Research applied a strict data/information triangulation process for data verification in
order to guarantee the reliability of the data. The research also introduced some appropriate
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools to define the key areas of linkage between social
practices and human rights violations as they relate to trafficking in women and children.
The discussions held were open and informal to allow for the uninhibited participation of the
target beneficiaries. Considering all the views, the research applied the following frameworks
to collect the data/information:
Methodological design Framework:
Figure-1: Methodological design frameworks
2 Chapter Two
10

2.2 Sources of Information and Methodologies
The required data/information was collated from both primary and secondary sources to
analyse community perspective at the ground level through the framework of established
theoretical perspectives. Diverse qualitative methodologies were used to gather primary
information in order to define community perspectives on the situation of women and children
in light of human rights and decision making. In addition, the relevant documents and articles
were reviewed to gather required information on theoretical perspectives. Hence, the applied
method of data/information collection includes the following:
Primary Sources:
• Observation
• Focus Group Discussions (FGD);
• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
- Problem Analysis
- Roti Diagram
- Cobweb Analysis
- Asset Mapping
- Attitude Scaling
- Mood Analysis
- Seasonal Survival Mechanism Analysis
- Time line Analysis
• Workshop
• Beneficiary Assessment (BA)
• Informal Discussion (ID)
• Interviews.
Secondary Sources:
• Review relevant document and literature
Observation
The research team initially visited the respective study areas to oversee the living conditions,
livelihood pattern, behavioural practice and participation of the community in, and reaction to
different social events. This provided the basis upon which the team was able to define the
most appropriate strategies and research methodologies for data collection.
Focus Group Discussions
Focus Group Discussions (FGD) was carried out to educe the stakeholders’perceptions on the
status of women, and any relevant human rights violations that arise as a result thereof. The
facilitator during each session followed a checklist of open ended, rights focused questions.
Following observation of the dynamics of mixed FGD conducted during the Baseline Survey,
the Joint Research FGD sessions were held separately, with community male and female
groups segregated, to allow for the most honest and candid discussions. The size of the
FGDs was restricted to 25 to ensure an environment conducive to the effective participation
of the local community in open discussion and brainstorming.
11

Atotal 34 FGD sessions were held, with participation of a cross-section of the local community
(male and female groups) in implementation areas. Off them, 11 sessions at North 24
Pargana, 11 sessions at South Dinajpur and 12 sessions at Jessore-Satkhira were held
capturing representative participation of men and women groups in the community. Total 189
women and 154 men participated in the session of west Bengal (i.e. North 24 Pargana and
South Dinajpur) areas and 115 women and 92 men participated in the sessions of Jessore-
Satkhira region of Bangladesh (Table-1).
Table-1: Sessions of Focus Group Discussion
Study Area
No of
Session
Target
Audience
Number of participants
Women Men Total
South Dinajpur 11
Community Men
and Women
97 75 172
North 24 Pargana 11 92 79 171
Jessore-Satkhira 12 115 92 207
Total = 34 Sessions 304 246 550
Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA)
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools were used to allow the community to participate in
the visual representation of the various issues they were discussing. The studies used the
following approaches:
• Timeline Analysis: was used to illustrate a comparative scale of the level of enjoyment
of rights over time.
• Roti Diagram: the groups were asked to identify and rank the major problems facing
their community
• Cobweb Analysis: was used to pictorially demonstrate the level of awareness of
services available in the area among the local community, the frequency with which the
services are used, and the factors that prevent people from accessing them.
• Attitude Scaling: was used to compare perception on how social conditions should
be with the everyday reality of life in their community
• Mood Analysis: was used a) to ascertain community feelings on the repatriation/return
of women and children who have been trafﬁcked to the community, and b) to understand
community feelings surrounding women’s empowerment and independence
• Mind Mapping: was used to facilitate brain storming of community ideas on various
topics, such as having many girl children in the family, the effects of child marriage and
the consequences of divorce
• Asset Mapping: was used to determine the economic status of families living in cross
border areas
• Seasonal Survival Mechanism: was used to visualise the vulnerabilities of the local
communities by studying income patterns over the year
A total 42 PRA sessions were held with participation of a cross-section of the local community
(male and female groups) in implementation areas of West Bengal and Bangladesh. The
PRA sessions were broken down so that 17 sessions where conducted in North 24 Pargana,
17 sessions in South Dinajpur and 23 sessions conducted in Jessore-Satkhira. A total of 313
12

women and 182 men participated in the sessions in West Bengal (North 24 Pargana and
South Dinajpur combined) and 274 women and 122 men participated in the sessions in the
Jessore-Satkhira region in Bangladesh (Table-2).
Table-2: Sessions of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
Study Area
No of
Session
Target Audience
Number of participants
Women Men Total
South Dinajpur 17
Community Men
and Women
155 98 253
North 24 Pargana 17 158 84 242
Jessore-Satkhira 23 274 122 396
Total = 57 Sessions 587 304 891
Workshop:
As part of the Bangladesh study, 2 workshops (1 in Jessore and another 1 in Satkhira)
were organised in the border lying areas. Women community leaders who had been either
elected as UP representatives, or played leadership role within the tier of community based
civil society organisations (CBOs) participated in these workshops. The workshops gathered
further data on the community perception of rights issues and clarified the role of local civil
society in protecting basic human rights.
Beneficiary Assessment (BA):
The beneficiary assessment tool was introduced into the methodological framework in order
to develop a better understanding of the experiences of repatriated/returned victims from
a human rights perspective. As part of this particular beneficiary assessment, the research
team used ‘body mapping’ as a means through which to visualise the victim’s physical,
emotional and physiological status before they were trafficked, during the process of
trafficking, and once they were rescued. Each victim was given a picture of a human body
and was asked to describe how the different parts of their body felt before, during and after
the trafficking process. They were told that the head represented mental stress, the heart
represented emotional trauma, the hands depicted the amount of work they were required
to do, the stomach was used to describe the level of hunger they felt and the legs were
representative of the level of freedom of mobility. The research team conducted in-depth 11
individual sessions with returned victims in the community, 1 comprehensive joint session
with rescued victims in the shelter home and 7 sessions with individuals in the shelter home.
Total 24 rescued victims participated in the joint session held at Dhaka Ahsania Mission
Shelter Home, Jessore.
Informal Discussion (ID):
Informal discussions were held with adolescent and children groups to determine the level
of rights awareness among the younger generations in the cross border areas. A total of 12
sessions were held with adolescent groups, 7 in the Indian study and 5 in the Bangladesh
study. A total of 82 adolescent girls in West Bengal (37 in North 24 Pargana and 45 in South
Dinajpur) and 132 adolescent girls in Jessore-Satkhira, Bangladesh participated. 8 sessions
were held with children’s groups during the Joint Research studies. A total of 60 children in
West Bengal and 31 children in Bangladesh’s Jessore-Satkhira region participated in the
informal discussion.
13

Interviews:
Individual interviews were help with law enforcement personnel and representatives of local
government to discuss legal and administrative obstacles in adopting rights based approach
to anti-trafficking. As part of the West Bengal study, a total of 19 interview sessions were
held in South Dinajpur, and 22 sessions in North 24 Pargana. For the Bangladesh study 28
interview sessions were conducted in the Jessore-Satkhira region of Bangladesh (Table-3).
Table-3: Interview sessions with Legal and Administrative Personnel
Place
No of Interview
Session
Target Audience
South Dinajpur 19
GP representatives =10, Block Development Officer
(BDO) = 1, District Magistrate=1, Local community
leaders =5, Police = 2
North 24 Pargana 22
GP representatives =12 Local community leaders
=5 and Police = 5
Jessore-Satkhira 28
UP representatives= 17, Police= 5, Social Welfare
Officer= 1, UNO = 1, BDR =4
Secondary Sources:
Review relevant documentation and literature
The relevant literature, documents and reports were reviewed for developing a better
understanding of the theoretical perspectives of human rights issues, legal dimensions and
their significance in the context of the respective geographical areas. The review process
revealed some linkages and comparative features of rights perspectives from a variety of
secondary sources and helped to define a set of contributory issues associated with women
and child rights in cross-border communities. The literature reviewed made a substantial
contribution to the quality of the analysis achieved.
2.3 Rationale for selection of the respondents
As this project specially focused on the prevention of cross-border trafficking in women and
children, the research team initially visited the cross-border areas to define the ground reality
of border lying communities, the location of border crossings, the livelihood patterns of the
communities in this area, and the local people’s movement and daily behaviour. The research
methodologies were then based on the physical observations made by the research team,
and finalised in close consultation with the three implementing partners in each area.
The research focused on community perspectives, so the majority of sessions were conducted
with members of local village families. The men and women involved in the FGDs were
chosen to provide first hand knowledge of the social processes and systems in operation
in their locality. Individual participants were selected from target communities by field staff
working in the local area.
Community leaders, including school teachers, imams, village doctors, social workers
and respected community elders, were included as participants in separate participatory
sessions in order to better identify the role of local community organisations in perpetuating
and preventing human rights violations. However, the Baseline Survey had revealed that
community leaders are comparably more aware of human rights issues than the local
constituents, and thus, FGDs with community leaders were kept to a minimum.
14

The law enforcement personnel, particularly Police and BDR/BSF are important people in
curbing illegal activities in the area, maintaining peace and security in the community, and
in implementing legislation to prevent trafficking. For this reason, the Officer in Charge,
Sub-Inspector/Asst. and Sub-Inspectors were interviewed at the Thana level and BSF/BDR
officials interviewed at Border Camps. BDR/BSF act as a border security force and they
maintain regular vigilance over border areas through permanent Camps. In this capacity,
they have frequent and regular contact with traffickers and trafficking victims, and play a
critical role in addressing human rights abuses committed along the border.
Local administrative officials were also interviewed as key informants in these research
studies. The Block Development Officer, UP/GP representatives, Upazila Nirbahi Officers
and Social Welfare Officers were selected to participate in interview sessions because of
their critical role in implementing government development and social security schemes,
and are closely involved on a day-to-day basis with the most vulnerable members of the
community. The interviews defined linkages between social problems and rights perspectives
and the role they play in generating vulnerability to trafficking in the cross-border areas. The
interviews also focused on the implementation of government initiatives for the alleviation of
community hardship, particularly for women and children.
Victims of trafficking, who have been repatriated or rescued, were asked to participate in
order to verify the social practices that continue in violation of human rights standards.
The insights they were able to provide were considered critical in understanding the broad
socioeconomic factors that contribute to trafficking.
15

2.4 Challenges of Joint Research
External events and the specific focus of this research on community perspectives of ‘Human
Rights and Decision Making’ generated some challenges and difficulties for the research
team:
• Political unrest in rural West Bengal over land issues made travel in across the
area difficult. The opposition parties declared strikes and agitation over the land
takeover by the TATA Company in Singur, North 24 Pargana. Several times,
sessions had to be rescheduled, postponed and even repeated.
• Political unrest in Bangladesh during the period of the Interim Caretaker
Government caused lengthy blockades which delayed the process of data/
information collection. Several times, participatory sessions had to be
rescheduled, postponed and even repeated.
• The reluctance of Law Enforcement Agencies to address trafficking in women
and children from rights based perspective.
• The reluctance of local police officials to participate in interview sessions
required negotiation of permission to conduct interviews with higher authorities.
Local LEA remained reluctant to participate honestly and openly in sessions.
• Similar issues arose in conducting interviews with Border Officials. The
research team had to rely on the good reputation and working relationship of
the implementing partners with the BSF/BDR to be guaranteed the participation
of BSF/BDR staff.
• Difficulties of time involved in co-ordinating community groups, particularly those
in remote and difficult to access areas.
• Most of the community men were working during the day, so it was difficult for
them to find time to participate fully in FGDs.
• Some of the community men found it difficult to openly discuss issues of divorce,
marriage and decision making.
• It was only possible to conduct children’s sessions with the help of the local
schools in the study areas. As a result, the conclusion drawn from discussions
with the children reflects only the situation and views of school going children.
16

3. Area coverage of Joint Research
3.1 Profile of Study Area:
Bangladesh:
With a population of a little over 147 million people and a land area of 147,570 sq km
Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in South Asia. According to census report
(estimate, 2003), the literacy rate is 43.1% where that female literacy is 31.8%3
. According to
the 2001 census, 89.7% of the population was Muslim; 9.2% was Hindu; 0.7% is Buddhists;
0.3% was Christian and 0.1% was Animist. As in neighbouring West Bengal, more than
half of the population lives in agrarian rural villages. But urbanization is proceeding rapidly
and Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the fastest growing and largest cities in
the world. The unequal development initiatives made disparity between rural and urban in
terms of employment and living standards, and it is created huge discrimination in resource
distribution. As its resultant force, people’s unsafe mobility has been gradually increased in
recent years.
Due to integrated development efforts of Bangladesh government and NGOs, the population
growth rate has been reduced to 2.09% in 2006 from 2.29% in 1991. The life expectancy rate
also increased within last decades, and it is now 62.46 (i.e. male 62.47 and female 62.45).
But still 45% people live below the poverty line4
and in Human Development Index (HDI),
Bangladesh is ranked 139 out of 175. According to 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report,
Bangladesh classified as a ‘Tier Two’ country5
which are the reflection of minimum standards
for the elimination of severe form of human trafficking. The country shares 4,222 kilometres
of its border with India, and most of that border is open to traffic6
and illegal migration.
Jessore and Satkhira districts of Bangladesh:
Jessore district with an area of 2578.20 sq. km is bounded by West Bengal of India on
the west. The total population of this district is 2,440,693 that comprise 51.22% male and
48.78%female. The average literacy is 33.4% (male 41% and female 25.1%7
). And Satkhira
district is bounded by North Pargana district of west bengal on the west. With a land area
of 3858.33 sq. km, Satkhira district constitutes total 1843194 populations. There are a
numbers of rivers flows over the districts such as Morichap, Kholpotua, Betna, Raimangal,
Hariabhanga, Ichamati, Betrabati and kalindi-jamuna, and few of these rivers flows on the
Indo-Bangladesh border lines that defined as natural border. Both districts are located in the
south-western part of Bangladesh and identified as the sensitive zone of human trafficking.
The baseline survey identified 47 routes (land routes and water ways) of human trafficking in
this region. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of trafficking
of Bangladeshi women and children being trafficked into West Bengal and other parts of
India.
3 Chapter Three
3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Bangladesh
4
http://www.indexmulundi.com/g/r.aspx.
5
www.state.gov/g/tip
6
Anindita Dasgupta, “Dreams—and Hunger—Drive Trafficking into India,” Inter Press Service, 9 December 2003.
7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessore,/Oct.2005
17

West Bengal, India:
Stretching for 32, 87,782 sq. km, India is the largest country in the Indian Sub continent.
The population of India in 2001 was 1028 million, placing the national population second
only to China. The 2001 census reveals that the sex ratio was 933 females for every 1000
males. Also pointed out that the literacy rate is 65.38%, certain States like Kerala marking
an impressive literacy rate of 90.92%. India, a Union of States, is a Sovereign, Socialist,
Secular, and Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of Governance. Presently
there are 28 States, 6 Union Territories and 1 National Capital Region.
West Bengal is a state of eastern India. With a land area of 88752 sq. km, West Bengal is
defined as one of the most densely settled (90.4 person/sq. km) state in the India. According
to 2001 census, the total population of the state is 80,221,171 making West Bengal the
fourth most densely populated Indian state. The vast majority of the populations of West
Bengal are Bengalis. Hinduism is the principal religion - 72.5% of the population are Hindus.
Muslims comprise 25%, and other religions make up the remainder. The state contributes
7.81% of India’s population. The state’s 1991–2001 growth rates of 17.84% is slightly lower
than the national rate of 21.34%. The gender ratio is 934 females per 1000 males. The
literacy rate is 69.22% whereas the rate of female literacy is 60.2. But the literacy rate among
Hindu women is 15% higher than Muslim women. In the age group of 6-10 years, there is
no more male-female disparity in education, with 83.7% male children and 82.1% female
children attending school. But in the age group 11-14 years, and 15-17 years, only 68.7%
and 36.9% females respectively attended school, compared with 75.4% and 51.4% males
in the corresponding age groups8
. The life expectancy in the state is 63.4 years, marginally
higher than the national value of 61.7 years. About 72% of people live in rural areas. The
proportion of people living below the poverty line in 1999-2000 was 31.85%9
. Agriculture
and wage labour is the main income option for the people who are staying at below poverty
line.
However, the study area focuses on North 24 Pargana and South Dinajpur districts of West
Bengal, which shares a long natural international border with Bangladesh. North 24 Pargana
constitutes 11.13% of the State’s population and South Dinajpur holds 1.87 % ref: India
2006. Both the districts have been ratified as high-risk areas of women and child trafficking
by the state government of West Bengal and National Human Rights Commissions. Due to
existence of long natural boundaries, the illegal movement of people from Bangladesh to
West Bengal searching jobs or secured inhabitants has been gradually increased and it is
contributing to generate a platform of criminals’ activities that always victimises a number of
women and children.
3.2 Area Coverage:
The Joint Research study covers the entire project implementation area, which consists of
Jessore-Satkhira districts in Bangladesh, North 24 Pargana and South Dinajpur districts in
West Bengal, India. These areas located on adjacent side of the India-Bangladesh border, are
commonly associated with inter- and intra-national human trafficking. The research specially
concentrated on border lying areas whereas the three partners NGOs implementing the C-
BAT activities involving local communities.
8
P.M. Nair, Women and Child trafficking in India, 2005
9
http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal
18

Jessore-Satkhira district is located in the south-western part of Bangladesh, where there
is defined some common routes for the trafficking of women and children to India. The
Bangladeshi implementing partner of C-BAT project, Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) has
very close linkages with the community, local Government and law enforcement agencies
in these regions and, as such, has chosen Satkhira and Jessore districts as study area.
And the North 24 Pargana district in West Bengal is directly across the border from the
DAM implementation area in Bangladesh has been selected by SLARTC as one of the
major transit points between Bangladesh and Kolkata. Another area of study is located in
Balughat of South Dinajpur district, and selected as the implementation area of Women’s
Interlink Foundation (WIF). It is basically the northern part of West Bengal, and is identified
by WIF as both a source and transit point of trafficking in women and children. Unlike the
North 24 Pargana, South Dinajpur does not have any activity with local stakeholders on the
corresponding side of the border with Bangladesh; it will extract a comparative sense of
simultaneous, coordinated “cross-border” approach in analysing the situation of trafficking in
women and children.
19
Chaugachha
Sarsa
Jhikorgacha
Monirampur
Abhoynagar
Jessore District
Satkhira
West Bengal
S
N
EW
Selected Upazila
Outside Upazila
Upazila Boundary
2 0 2 50 Miles25 0 25 50 Miles
LEGEND
Jessore
Bagherpara
Keshabpur
Satkhira District
Kaliganj
Shyamnagar
S
N
EW 2 0 2 50 Miles25 0 25 50 Miles
Selected Upazila
Outside Upazila
Upazila Boundary
LEGEND
Study Area
India
West Bengal
Bay Of Bengal
India
Satkhira
Jessore
Bangladesh
District Boundary
S
N
EW
100 1000 200 Miles
DarjeelingWEST BENGAL
2001
Jalpaiguri
Kochbihar
Uttar Dinajpur
Dakahin Dinajpur
Birbhum
Puruliya
Sankua
Medinipur
Hugli
Haura
Calcutta
South Twenty
Fourth Pargana
North Twenty
Fourth Pargana
Nadia
Barddhaman
Maldha
Murshidabad
N
Bangladesh
Figure-2: Area coverage of joint research
Note: The Scale is applicable only for Bangladesh

4.0 Status of women: Analysis of Community Perspectives on Human
Rights
4.1 Child Rights
The studies conducted in West Bengal and Bangladesh aimed to take steps to identify
particular behaviours and beliefs about children and childhood within the CBAT project area
communities that create or contribute to the specific vulnerabilities of children to trafficking. It
is the widely held belief that children, and childhood, hold a special position in every society
and an appreciation that “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs
special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection10
” that are behind the
responsibilities and obligations articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Despite this, it remains difficult to reach a universally acceptable definition
of childhood which incorporates the different and, at times, conflicting concepts of the
social functions of children across different cultures. However, it is incontrovertible that the
phenomenon of trafficking in children is abhorrent to any understanding of the level of care
and protection that is due to the world’s children. In order to try and reconcile ideas about
the special status of children with the high incidence of trafficking in children in the CBAT
implementation area, an attempt was made to study the area specific meaning of childhood
and its linkages, if any, with the trafficking of children.
International Conventions
All international conventions are founded on the inherent dignity of the human being and are
guided by the principle of non-discrimination. This means that all rights apply to all people
regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinions, origins, wealth, birth status
or ability.
The International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was signed by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1989. Both India and Bangladesh have ratified the CRC11
, and
accordingly have specific obligations to respect and ensure the rights contained therein12
.
The CRC defines a child as every human being under the age of 18. An all encompassing
document, the Convention contains universally agreed standards relating to the duties of
both state and non state actors in respecting the basic human rights of children, which
include “the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences,
abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life13
”. In signing
the CRC, states have agreed to always act in the best interest of the child and have made
a commitment to, and agreed to be held accountable for, the provision of health care,
education, legal, civil and social services14
.
4 Chapter Four
10
Preamble, International Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990
11
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, accessible at http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ratification/11.htm
(last accessed 25 March 2007)
12
Article 2, CRC
13
Unicef, “Introduction to the Human Rights Framework: The Convention on the Rights of the Child”, available at http://www.
unicef.org/crc/, last accessed 25 March 2007
14
CRC art 24, 26, 27, 28, 31
20

From the moment of birth, every human has the right to a name and to have their birth
registered15
.Theenjoymentofthisrightiscrucialforfutureaccesstothebenefitsofcitizenship,
the services and institutions of government, such as health care and education and the right
to vote and stand for office. In the context of trafficking, and in addition to those Convention
articles which address broad socio-economic conditions crucial to the full development and
quality of life of children, article 35 requires states to “take all appropriate national, bilateral
and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, sale of or traffic in children for any
purpose or in any form”. The Convention also protects children from economic exploitation,
hazardous labour and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment16
.
TherightscontainedwithintheCRCarecompoundedandsupplementedbyotherinternational
conventions addressing the rights of children in the specific context of circumstance. Thus,
children are protected by the rights articulated in various International Labour Organisation
Conventions and girl children are also protected by the provisions of the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
National Commitments and Laws
In India, a child’s right to primary education is one of the fundamental constitutional rights17
.
The state has a clear responsibility to provide free and compulsory education to all children
aged 6 to 10 years. The State also has constitutional obligations to protect children from
hazardous work and to build their moral and mental strength in childhood.
The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (Article 17 a, b and c) imposes
obligations on the State to establish universal free and compulsory education for all
children18
. In accordance with its constitutional and international obligations, the Bangladesh
government enacted a law for compulsory primary education for all in 1990.
4.1.1 Community understanding of child rights and childhood
One of the most fundamental rights of the child is to have their birth registered. Birth registration
serves three fundamental purposes. First, it is an exercise of every human being’s right to
an identity and a nationality. Second, it provides protection from violence and exploitation.
And third, birth registration is an opportunity to receive education, health care and the right
to vote20
. Although not universal, a substantial number of women across both study countries
had been informed about birth registration through government and non government health
workers, and according to the community women, the majority of children’s births are being
registered.
In Bangladesh, the female community leaders identified the Village Development Police,
health workers and social workers as those involved in registering the birth of a child, and
knew that the UP was ultimately responsible for birth registration and for providing birth
certificates. These women were also able to articulate why birth registration is important, and
highlighted that it has consequences for admission to schools, to verify the age of each of the
spouses at marriage and to be able to vote. The women in the Indian implementation areas
were particularly aware of the need for birth registration in the context of the free midday
meal provided by the government to all primary school students.
15
CRC art 7; ICCPR art 24
16
See articles 32 and 37
17
Article 21-A, 86th constitutional amendment of India, 2002
18
Bangladesh Constitution article 17
19
UNICEF, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse: The Importance of Birth Registration”, available at http://www.
unicef.org/protection/index_25216.html
21

However, there remained a significant percentage of women in the more remote areas who
had no clear idea about birth registration. These women were able to recall people coming
to their village to collect information about the child around the time of birth, but were unsure
what the purpose of this visit was. Whilst it is promising to hear of high levels of awareness
about the importance of birth registration, it remains crucial to ensure that children in all
communities, particularly the most remote, are registered at birth and that their families
understand the importance of such registration.20
This is particularly important in the context
of cross border marginalized communities who, due to their physical distance from the
mainstream, would benefit from the added security of having formal identification documents
and official notification of nationality. Universal birth registration is also an important step
towards the protection of the rights of the child through the elimination of child marriage.
Much has been written about the persistence of discrimination against girl children, particularly
in South Asia.21
From the discussions we conducted, the children themselves did not speak
of manifest discrimination and inequalities they had identified in the treatment of boys and
girls under the age of ten. However, the older the children with which we were speaking, the
more readily they identified differences in parent and community behavioural expectations
of them and in the aspirations they, and their parents, held for the future. In the children’s
groups the most marked differences between the boys and girls were concerning the dreams
the children held for the future.
Although the children themselves seemed too young to be able to recognise any gender-
based discrimination in their day-to-day lives, it is clear from the interviews with the adolescent
groups and the women’s groups that this discrimination does have a formative impact on the
direction of their lives. Although most women in Jessore-Satkhira and North 24 Pargana
didn’t agree that a male child should be given better education and health care when there is
not enough money to provide equally for daughters and sons, in South Dinajpur the results
were more divided. Despite this anomaly, the results clearly indicate that in reality, boys are
much more likely to receive better access to services and care than girls [Table 4].
Table-4: Attitude scaling of women on treatment of male and female child
Statements
Jessore-Satkhira
(Percentage of response)
North 24 Pargana
South Dinajpur
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
1. A male child should be
given better education
and healthcare than a
female child if there is
not enough money to
provide for both
70 10 10 10 0 76 20 4 0 0 0 4 60 20 16
10 10 10 65 5 0 0 4 24 72 0 0 44 8 48
Legend: Scale
Present perception (0=don’t agree; 1=slightly agree; 2=partially agree; 3=agree; 4=fully agree)
Practical reality (0=never happens; 1=rarely happens; 2=sometimes happens; 3=usually happens; 4=always
happens)
Both girls and boys said that they are expected to do regular chores, with girls normally
expected to help their mother with duties around the house and the boys typically helping
their fathers with work in the fields. The children were unable to state the amount of time
20
Geraldine Van Bueren, “Combating Child Poverty--Human Rights Approaches” , Human Rights Quarterly, vol.17(4), 1995
21
Rohini P. Pande, “Selective Gender Differences In Childhood Nutrition And Immunization In Rural India: The Role Of Siblings”,
Demography, Volume 40-Number 3, August 2003, p395
22

spent working each day, so it is difficult to analyse the relative differences in the load of the
children’s work. It is assumed, however, due to the nature and the number of chores the
children identified as their responsibility, that the girl children spend more time each day
helping around the house, particularly because the girls had obligations to serve their father
after he returned from working in the fields while the boys only had responsibilities to assist
their father with his fieldwork, the majority of which would be done during the hours of the
school day. The gendered division of work was clearly understood, and accepted, by the
children. The boys remarked that they only help their mother when she is unwell because;
“household work is mother’s work… boys cannot do it”
The girls explained that they help their mothers because;
“Girls are weak and so cannot help their fathers in the field”
When asked whether they ever help their father, the girls said that they bring him water to
drink, serve him food and bring him clean clothes, reflecting clearly how gender roles are
defined at the young age.
Interviews with the adolescent groups, comprising children aged between thirteen and
seventeen years old, were enlightening in terms of revealing the speed with which the
progression from childhood to adulthood occurs. At least half of the adolescent girls were
married, a small number were already mothers of young children, and an even smaller
number had already been divorced by their husbands. Very few were still at school, and many
of those who were had reached an agreement with their father that they would marry as soon
as completing their studies. The community women, the adolescent girls and adolescent
boys groups explained that girls usually do not continue past their primary education, and
rarely complete secondary education, because such education is viewed as excessive and
wasteful. A girl will leave her family to live with her husband and start a family, and a high
level of education is considered not only useless to her, but increases the amount her family
must pay as dowry to her prospective husband.
In contrast, all of the adolescent boys spoken with were still studying at school and many
had concrete plans to continue on to university level study. None of the boys were married.
Boys are considered an asset for the future. They can provide safety and security to their
parents in their old age;
“My father always tells me that having a boy is like having a boat
in the river.”
Both the children’s groups and the women’s groups had difficulty in articulating the
particularities of the concept of childhood. Most of the women’s groups considered childhood
to end at around the age of eleven. The children thought that they would become ‘grown
ups’ when they were tall. Most of the boys mentioned that they would be considered adults
at the age of eighteen and that this would entail the extra responsibility of earning income
for the family. The girls were less able to express what would change, beyond the physical,
when they became adults, and were undecided about the age at which this would happen
(answers ranged between fifteen and eighteen). Although some of the girls in Bangladesh
mentioned that when they grow up they would like to serve their families by becoming a
teacher or a doctor, most of the girls, particularly those in India, were unable to clearly define
their future ambitions and felt that the final decision about their future would be made by their
parents.
23

It has been observed that childhood is a ‘social construct22
’, and varying views and
experiences of what children should be entitled to, and protected from, flow directly from
each individual community’s perception of childhood. For the community women childhood
ends early, and much earlier than eighteen. One adolescent girl insightfully explained to us
that the legal age of majority was too low. She advocated for an increase in the legal age of
majority (and marriage) for girls from the age of eighteen to twenty one, on par with the men.
She justified this by saying that the girls are unable to finish their education by the time that
they are eighteen, and should be supported and protected for the whole time it takes for them
to complete their formal schooling, or at least until the age of twenty one. Comments like this
help to explain why the young girl children had more difficulty in articulating their hopes for
the future. Despite ideas and thoughts fostered by being at school, their trouble in envisaging
an independent future might be attributed to their everyday witness of the experiences of
older girls and women in their communities, who are either unable to finish their schooling
because of social pressures to marry, or who marry and start a family immediately after the
completion of their secondary education.
As it stands, the obscurity of the concept of childhood amongst the community people
suggests that extending the legal age of children will have little practical effect for children
in this cross border area. Although primary education is free for all children and education
up to class ten free for girls, rather than viewing education as capacity development for the
future, the focus on the “opportunity cost23
” of having girl children at school longer means
that schooling is seen to impose a substantial financial, and social, burden on parents. Social
pressure for girls to follow the fixed passage from childhood to adulthood seriously impedes
their ability to pursue education to the same level as boys. The informal understanding in
this area of the early end of childhood, particularly for girls, hinders access to knowledge
through which young women gain the opportunity to assert themselves as self-reliant and
independent. Perception about the importance of education for girl children is damaged
by the community’s limiting conceptualisation of childhood and perpetuates the cycle of
dependency for young women in the cross border areas.
Furthermore, the mobility of girls is restricted from a very early age. The young girls
commented that they cannot go out without a chaperone because their parents worry about
them when leaves the house. The young boys also said that they are often accompanied
by their parents or a guardian because of the fear of being kidnapped. However the cogent
difference was evident when the children were asked to describe how things would change
when they grew up. The girls said that even when they are ‘grown up’ they will be unable to
travel outside the village alone or with friends and will always need to be accompanied by a
parent. In contrast, the boys said that when they grow up they will feel safe and secure and
will be free to spend time with their friends outside the family home.
The girls in Bangladesh said that they already had restrictions on who they were allowed to
associate with, with some of the young girls prohibited from playing with boys because of
the social stigma and the potential for gossip. While the concept of equality demands non-
discrimination in both treatment and opportunity, social conditioning prepares children for the
differing values attributed to the different characteristics they must portray and the distinct roles
that they are expected to fill. In many of the FGDs, when asked to identify the consequences
of having many girl children in one family, both the men and women continually spoke of
the difficulties in raising female children without the girls developing a bad reputation and
being the subject of gossip and criticism from the community. The constraints placed on the
22
Marian Koren, “Human Rights of Children: An Emerging Story”, The Lion and The Unicorn vol. 25 (2001), p244
23
Zehra F. Arat, “Analyzing Child Labor as a Human Rights Issue: Its Causes, Aggravating Policies, and Alternative Proposals”,
Human Rights Quarterly, Vol 24.1 (2002), p188
24

girls’ mobility and association from early childhood reflect the primacy of this concern about
honour and reputation. Bangladesh has been described as a society in which “the perceived
honour of the family hinges on the virtue of its female members24
”. Community attitudes
certainly support this statement and, in the context of trafficking, the potential for tragic social
consequences arising from such rigidly held beliefs adds to the vulnerability of these girls
and women. The strict rules that determine one’s reputation are used to legitimise the control
exercised over girls, who carry the large burden of family honour. Attributing responsibility
for family status to girl children has serious implications in restricting the exercise of a broad
range of their rights, and increases the potential for child marriage as a guarantee that a girl’s
name is protected from the harmful effects of community gossip. This status attributed to girl
children is significant in increasing vulnerability to trafficking.
Additionally, the comments of the young girls that the final decisions about their future lay
with their parents indicate a certain fatalism that the choices about the direction of their
lives lie outside of their control. While the young boys said that they expected to have a
say in decisions made about their education, mobility and marriage, and that they argue
regularly with their parents, the young girls said that they make no decisions and would not
be confident to challenge the decisions of their parents. These comments, made at such
an early age, indicate the degree to which women are deprived of the right to personal
autonomy, to be independent in thought and make decisions governing their own future.
Similar sentiments were evident in discussions had with the community women about their
limited participation in family decision making. In theory, children and adults alike have a
right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. However, from a young age, female
children are expected to suppress their opinions and to obey their parents unconditionally.
This is indicative of the status of women within this cross border area, and is demonstrative
of the underlying causes that contribute to their vulnerability to trafficking.
During discussion with the children about punishment at home, both boys and girls said
that they were beaten for disobedience. Specifically, the boys said they were beaten for
not studying, while the girls claimed to be punished for being too lively and energetic. In
India, the girls explained that physical forms of punishment are used by their parents on the
grounds that if the girl is disobedient once she is married, she will be beaten by her husband.
The openness with which the girls made these statements suggests community acceptance
of the existence of domestic violence and its potentially widespread nature. In communities
where violence is accepted as the most appropriate form of conflict resolution, women and
children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, with studies showing that many trafficked
girls have come from abusive domestic situations.25
Domestic violence featured prominently
in the pre-trafficking situation of many of the trafficking victims who provided case studies for
this research. Although the field research did not focus on the extent and forms of violence in
the implementation area, implied in the girls’ answers is that domestic violence is ‘legitimately’
used by men as an acceptable way to regulate and control their wife’s behaviour.
One limitation of the present research is the inaccessibility of children who are completely
outside the school system. Because the children’s groups’ discussions were held with
children from the local schools, the experiences of childhood noted herein do not reflect
the views of some of the most vulnerable of children, those who are not supported and
protected by the education system. One seven year old boy from Bangladesh told that after
his father’s death he was expected, as the eldest son, to take on responsibility for the care of
24
Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, “Women in Development”, 2006, available at http://www.novartisfounda-
tion.com/en/projects/right_health/backgrounds/women_development.htm
25
Vidya Shah, Beverly Brar and Sonam Yangchen Rana, “Layers of Silence: Links between women’s vulnerability, trafficking
and HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh, India and Nepal”, Draft paper prepared for the UNRISD project HIV/AIDS and Development,
March 2002, available at http://www.unrisd.org/UNRISD/website/document.nsf/ab82a6805797760f80256b4f005da1ab/
b4d9538de438a5f3c1256bb900324e59/$FILE/shah.pdf, last accessed 25 March 07
25

his family. He now works as a day labourer in order to support his family. Stories such as this
indicate the devastating effect on a family precipitated by the death of the main bread winner,
and suggests the pressing insecurity of families living at subsistence level. The difficulties
these families face in absorbing economic and social shocks is reflected in the hardship
experienced by the children, and impacts on the ability of local society to guarantee the
protection and fulfilment of children’s rights.
4.1.2 Children, childhood, rights and trafficking
In the C-BAT implementation areas several noticeable underlying social, economic and
cultural factors were uncovered that potentially create vulnerabilities to trafficking for women
and children. Eve n though all cultures and societies possess different ideas about the social
functions and responsibilities of children, the concept of creating an international regime
of child rights came from international society’s consensus to accord extra protection to
children, being those under eighteen years of age, given their “particularly vulnerabilities
and the importance to society as a whole in ensuring the health development and active
participation of its young members26
”. Children living in the border communities are literally
on the fringes of society. Without adequate support networks to ensure that children receive
the assistance and protection they need in order to achieve healthy development, these
children will remain susceptible to trafficking.
The gradual process of ‘growing up’ refers not only to physical and bodily changes, but
also an evolving intellectual and emotional maturity. The local communities marked physical
changes in children, such as the attainment of puberty, as the benchmark between childhood
and adulthood but attached no significance to factors like level of understanding and ability
to make responsible decisions. According to one community woman;
“We need to get our daughters married when they are of an age
when we can easily find a life partners for them. All the maturity and
responsibility will come automatically after marriage”.
Although the community identified certain problematic outcomes of child marriage to do with
a girls’ inability to handle complex relationships involved in marriage, when asked about
the differences between children and adults, communities see physical changes as the
primary indicator of the end of childhood. This strongly held belief in the early maturity of
children, combined with rigid gender stereotyping that has the effect of limiting a girl’s field of
experience and knowledge presents itself as a strong contributing factor in the vulnerability
of women and children to trafficking.
Both the children’s groups and the adolescent girls’ groups were able to articulate a number
of the basic human rights, including, amongst others, the right to hold and express an
opinion, the right to security of person, the right to participate in decision making and the
rights to education and recreation. Despite their knowledge of the concept of human rights,
all of the girls think that they are unable to enjoy these rights. Because rights are not given,
but must be actively sought by rights holders,27
primary importance need not be placed on
programs educating children and women about the rights they hold, but in teaching skills
in advocacy. A holistic approach to trafficking prevention and rights awareness must teach
both rights holders and duty bearers simultaneously, so that the benefits of empowerment
enfranchises previously silenced sections of society and can be experienced in the dynamics
of relationships that are founded on equality and mutual respect.
26
Human Rights Education Associates, “The Rights of Children and Youth”, available at http://www.hrea.org/learn/guides/chil-
dren.html
27 Expert Group Meeting on “Trafficking in women and girls”, 18-22 November 2002 Glen Cove, New York, USA; Trafficking in
persons: a gender and rights perspective, Prepared by Jean D’Cunha, Technical Advisor on Migration and Trafficking (India),
document number EGM/TRAF/2002/EP.8, 8 November 2002, available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/traffick-
ing2002/reports/EP-DCunha.PDF
26

4.2 Liberty of Movement
“Knowledge is power, the foundation of intellectual and political
development. It is gained through experience, education, and
association with knowledgeable others. … Freedom to move in
public and to travel independently, even within a limited area, allows
both for gaining more experience and for exchanging experiences
with others, increasing both knowledge and education.28
”
4.2.1 What is liberty of movement?
Liberty of movement has been recognised as an indispensable condition for the free
development of a person.29
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
guarantees all human beings the right to liberty of movement.30
It is understood that this right
must be protected from interference in both the public and the private sphere, such that the
state should eliminate “any practice which restricts women’s right to freedom of movement,
for example the exercise of marital powers over the wide or of parental powers over adult
daughters31
”, or practices “which may deprive women of their liberty on an arbitrary or
unequal basis, such as by confinement within the house32
”.
Equal rights to freedom of movement are also enshrined in CEDAW, which requires states
to ensure the equality of women with regards to movement of persons.33
Importantly, and
related, is the obligation imposed on states to ensure rural women enjoy adequate living
standards in relation to, amongst other things, transport and communication.34
National Commitments and Legal frameworks
The constitution of India (Part III: Article 19) specially reserves the citizen’s rights to move
freely throughout the territory of India35
. Liberty of movement is also provided for in the
Bangladesh Constitution, under which ‘every citizen has the right to move freely throughout
Bangladesh’, subject only to reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest.36
4.2.2 Factors affecting mobility
During the two studies of women’s mobility, one undertaken in Jessore-Satkhira and the other
carried out in West Bengal India, it was apparent that, overall, women perceived themselves
to have a very limited enjoyment of the right to mobility. While women in Bangladesh thought
they had benefited from a slight increase in their right to mobility, primarily due to increased
involvement in NGO activities, the most apparent difference between the two study areas
was that, consistently in West Bengal, the women’s perception of their liberty of movement
was that over the last five years, due to increasing tension and the rise in illegal activities
along the border, their mobility has been further restricted [Table-5].
28
Arvonne S. Fraser, “Becoming Human: The Origins and Development of Women’s Human Rights”, Human Rights Quarterly,
vol 21(4), 1999, p856
29
United Nations Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 27: Freedom of movement (Art.12), 2 October 1999, docu-
ment number CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.9
30
ICCPR article 12
31
United Nations Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 28: Equality of rights between men and women (article 3):
29 March 2000, document number CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.10
32
ibid
33
CEDAW art 15
34
CEDAW art 14
35
Constitution of India, Article 19
36
Bangladesh Constitution art 36
27

Table-5: Women wrights to mobility and reasons for change over time
Rights
Jessoe-Satkhira
Reasons for change over time
Present Score 5 years before
Rights to
mobility
3.33 0.67
• Raise women awareness about their
surroundings through NGO and media/TV.
• Increase women sharing in the community
• Fear feeling of parents/guardian for social
teasing and missing or suspiciousness
North 24 Pargana
Rights to
mobility
0 0.5
• Increase criminal activities isolates women
in their village
• Increase in tension on the borderline
• The rise of illiteracy
South Dinajpur
Rights to
mobility
3 4.67
• Women can enjoy enough freedom in
parents’ house but now it is restricted in-
law house.
• Fear feeling from increased criminal
activities in the locality
[NB: respondents were asked to score, on a scale from 0 to 10, the extent to which they were able to
exercise the mentioned right presently, and the extent to which they had been able to exercise that
same right ﬁve years earlier].
In addition to rising fears about physical security and safety, the women in South Dinajpur
had observed that their mobility had further been restricted through their marriage and their
relationship with their husband’s family.
In Bangladesh, the women considered that, owing to the extensive work done by NGOs in
their locality, they were now able to play a more active role in the local community, reﬂected
by the improvement in their perception of the right to join associations and the right to work.
This has contributed to a rise in their liberty of movement. The women explained that as a
result of their greater involvement in income generating activities, their husbands are more
accepting of their independent travel because they realise the extra income the women can
contribute to the family. One woman, when speaking of her ability to move freely, stated
that;
“If women are able to contribute to her family’s income, or to place
more money into the hands of her husband, then everything is ok.”
In Jessore-Satkhira, the involvement of women in income generating activities has had a wide
impact on varying aspects of their day to day lives, including increasing liberty of movement,
and has thus gone a limited way to achieving some form of women’s empowerment. This is
in contrast to West Bengal, where NGO activities such as self help groups and assistance in
starting income generating activities are less available, and women have observed further
restrictions placed on their movement.
In order to ascertain what factors impede and what factors increase women’s mobility, the
women and men in all study areas were asked to identify which services existed in their
35
Constitution of India, Article 19
36
Bangladesh Constitution art 36
28

locality, how far these were situated from their village, and the frequency with which they were
visited. In both West Bengal and Bangladesh, women were generally limited to accessing
services within one kilometre of their house. Consistent with their domestic responsibilities
and their role as the children’s primary care givers, the women invariably awarded the highest
accessibility scores to the market and the primary school. Women rarely mentioned the
police thana or the local government offices. The only service mentioned that was accessed
despite falling outside the one kilometre radius surrounding the village was the hospital.
Markedly, even when some local service institutions did fall within the one kilometre area,
the women still scored them zero accessibility, saying that there are some places where
only the men go. One of these places reserved for men was the high school. In general
the men were able to name a greater range of services and institutions in the locality, had
much higher accessibility scores than women for all services and were seemingly much less
restricted by distance. Men in West Bengal and in Jessore-Satkhira consistently mentioned
the police thana and the local government offices of the Gram Panchayat or the Union
Parishad respectively, as places they frequently accessed [See Annex-1].
In the context of trafficking, it is significant that the police thana is generally located more
than one kilometre from the most vulnerable communities, and therefore is considered
inaccessible to the women. Practically, the distance of the thana from the local communities
prohibits women from attending to seek protection of the law, to ask questions or to lodge
complaints. On a more personal level, it is difficult to sensitise the women to the police, and
vice versa, when there is very little possibility of regular contact between the two groups.
Thus, restricted mobility has very real consequences in contributing to women’s vulnerability
to trafficking, effectively placing them beyond the physical bounds of police protection.
The women in both study areas identified deficiencies in electricity, transport and
communication networks as major causes of their limited mobility. They viewed these
inadequacies as, not only restrictive factors in themselves, but also as directly contributing
to their fears about safety and security when travelling outside their village. Thus, the
failure of the governments to provide and maintain adequate essential services like roads,
transport and electricity continues to restrict women’s liberty of movement, by either making
it physically impossible to move around, or raising issues of security and safety which can
provide justification for others to impose limitations on their mobility. Without access to good
roads and reliable communication, women are denied the opportunity to benefit from equal
and fair access to information. For a woman, this increases her vulnerability because she
lacks the experience and knowledge upon which to base her decisions, both in the context
of everyday life, and also when extraordinarily moving beyond her immediate locality. One
focus group discussion explained that;
“When women are forced, through abuse or exploitation within their
families, to follow desperate actions to change their situation such
as by running away, they become vulnerable to trafficking because
they are not prepared for the experience of mobility and place trust
in any person who presents themselves as being able to help.”
Changing the engrained social inequality and discrimination that affect women’s enjoyment
of the full spectrum of international human rights is a challenging process, which will only be
achieved over time. However, fixing a road or a communication system is certainly easier
and more short term, and, most importantly, is action that the women consider crucial to their
full enjoyment of the liberty of movement.
29

All the women’s groups were asked whether they had to, and whether they should have to,
have their husband’s permission to move outside the family home. The responses were very
varied. In Bangladesh, 75% of women agreed that they should have to have their husband’s
permission to travel freely. This was similar to the results in South Dinajpur where 100% of
the women thought they should have to receive their husband’s permission to move outside
the home. In stark contrast, in North 24 Pargana the overwhelming majority (80%) of women
felt that they should not have to have their husbands’ permission to move outside the family
home. Despite this difference in perception of the rights that they should be able to exercise,
the groups in all of the studies indicated that the day to day reality is that they usually require
their husband’s permission to move outside the family home [Table-6].
Table-6: Attitude scaling of women for seeking husband’s permission to travel freely
Statements
Jessore-Satkhira
North 24 Pargana
South Dinajpur
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
1. Women must have their
husband’s permission to
move outside the family
home
5 10 10 70 5 80 12 8 0 0 0 0 0 28 72
15 5 10 10 60 0 0 0 0 100 4 0 20 0 76
1. It is dangerous for a woman
to travel outside the village
without a chaperone
0 10 10 20 60 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 16 84
10 5 5 15 65 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 4 96
Legend: Scale
Present perception (0=don’t agree; 1=slightly agree; 2=partially agree; 3=agree; 4=fully agree)
Practical reality (0=never happens; 1=rarely happens; 2=sometimes happens; 3=usually happens; 4=always
happens)
Similar issues were discussed with the adolescent groups, with the girls explaining that they
must always be accompanied by another family member when they leave the house, while
the boys said that they were free to travel on their own. Through discussion, the requirement
for company when travelling seemed to be attributed to two issues; trust and weakness. The
women mentioned that through uninhibited movement they may have the opportunity to talk
with other men and this would make their husband jealous and lead to tension in the home.
The men thought that unaccompanied women were much more likely to be taken advantage
of and were more susceptible to exploitation.
4.2.3 Restrictions on liberty of Movement and trafficking
More and more women are being pushed into migration, or being forced through economic
necessity to rapidly expand their field of movement. The desperate need for economic
migration is making women increasingly vulnerable to trafficking.37
Qualitative testimony
gathered from the field suggests that many migratory decisions are based on the desire to seek
work, and a better life, in the city. As women are increasingly making decisions to migrate in
search of employment, the effects of historically discriminatory practices that prevent women
from making independent and autonomous decisions about their own mobility, and restrict
women’s field of knowledge and experience to their immediate surroundings, play a major
role in contributing to their vulnerability to trafficking. Limiting women’s field of experience to
their immediate locality also increases a woman’s vulnerability during the trafficking process,
and presents obstacles to the smooth return and repatriation of rescued victims.
37
Janie Chuang, p141
30

Making women reliant on either men’s company or their permission to move freely seriously
impacts on the right of women to liberty of movement. These practices are evidence of
“socio-cultural attitudes and economic inequalities that reinforce women’s subordinate place
in society38
” and make women dependent on the mobility decisions of others. Previous
studies in the implementation area identified close relatives and guardians as the main actors
in women and child trafficking in the area.39
Denying women the autonomy and freedom to
make their own decisions about their movement is a serious factor in increasing vulnerability
to trafficking, as women are forced to place trust in the information given to them by and
decisions made by others who do not necessarily have their best interests at heart.
Mobility can be liberating, so more must be done to ensure that women are able to participate
in safer mobility. Women, who have been subjected to social inequalities and discrimination,
are not adequately prepared for the experience of migration because they have less access
to information, are hardly exposed to the outside work, and lack the confidence to negotiate
and make decisions.40
38
United Nations General Assembly, Report of the Secretary General, “In depth study on all forms of violence against women”,
document number,A/61/122/Add.1, July 6 2006
39
C-BAT Project Baseline Survey 2006
40
Vidya Shah et al, “Layers of Silence”,
31

Research Report (Community Perspective on Human Rights and Decision Making)

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