"We are waiting for the anti-trafficking bill to come. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill, and I am hoping that the Rajya Sabha will pass it," Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said on Saturday, as she expressed hope that the proposed anti-trafficking bill would be passed by the Rajya Sabha in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.
The bill provides for confidentiality of victims, witnesses and complainants, time-bound trials and repatriation of the victims.
Her statement came after she was questioned on her ministry's bills coming in the Winter Session.
The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament in July.
Gandhi had said the legislation did not intend to harass sex workers and it was intended to go after human traffickers and not the victims.
"This is a bill that has a compassionate view of people who have been victims of sex rackets," she had said.
The legislation proposes to create institutional mechanisms at the district, state and central levels. It calls for punishment ranging from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine not less than Rs 1 lakh.
It also covers aggravated forms of trafficking such as forced labour, begging and marriage besides prevention, rescue and rehabilitation.
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