‘Technology becoming hotbed for human trafficking’

Our Reporter
Dimapur, July 31 (EMN): Technology has become a hotbed for human trafficking as artificial intelligence is being used to push products and use emotions of people, observed Hasina Kharbhih, a human trafficking crusader.

She said that “World Day against Trafficking in Persons” is observed every year in a bid to raise awareness about the ordeal of human trafficking victims but overlooks the new challenges and dimensions of trends and technology.

Kharbhih was speaking at a webinar on “use and abuse of technology” organised by Centre for Social Research in collaboration with Impulse NGO network on July 30 evening.

Traffickers, she said, are using artificial intelligence to make a person vulnerable and many people who post their daily events are being trapped by the traffickers.

“Law enforcement has not been able to understand who and how to book a case of cyber crime”, she pointed out. 

Another anti trafficking activist, Pallabi Ghosh, observed that poverty was one of the reasons for trafficking. She added that there is less interaction between children and parents, while children build their world outside with technology.

‘Too much information on the internet also makes a person vulnerable’, Ghosh stated adding that technology is being used by traffickers to manipulate others.  She underlined the importance of training even the lowest rank of law enforcers to tackle trafficking.

Importance of dialogue in combating trafficking

Sharing about her experiences, Ghosh said that in villages, many people do not know or are aware of trafficking and nobody talks about it.

‘Dialogue is important no matter what position one holds, as through conversation, we can make people aware about trafficking and rescue those being trafficked,’ she said.

Kharbhih pointed out that everyone wants to learn everything in a short span of time in isolation, without prioritising conversations.

“We need convergence of agencies so that all the information is disseminated by the service providers; we need to have a collaborative workshop under one platform”, she suggested.

Stressing on how tech can be used in combating human trafficking, Kharbhih said when information has to be presented to the judiciary, it has to be legally correct and that is when the use of technology for the right reasons come in place.

Government of India looks at the National Crime Record Bureau as the central data but it does not have issues that are centralized, she said. Ghosh also opined that the responsibility does not end with rescuing but a follow-up is also needed.