Keralam moots prevention component in SOP for missing children, human trafficking
The Kerala government has proposed a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling missing children and human trafficking cases, emphasizing a prevention-first approach. The proposal suggests focusing on vulnerable families and addressing the root causes of trafficking rather than just enforcement.
Why it matters
This policy shift represents a proactive strategy to combat human trafficking by targeting systemic vulnerabilities rather than relying solely on reactive rescue operations.
The Keralam government has proposed that a standard operating procedure (SOP) on missing children/child or human trafficking should contain a prevention component covering identification of vulnerable families and children, community-level emotional and social support, frontline (teacher/anganwadi) sensitisation, awareness education, and counselled repatriation.
Enforcement alone will not be enough since emotional, social and economic vacuum around the child drives most disappearances.
It has also stressed that the form of prevention should be left to each State to develop according to its local conditions since what suits Keralam’s near-universal institutional systems may not suit another State.
The proposals were made by the State’s Women and Child Development (WCD) department at a zonal consultation for southern States convened by a committee constituted by the Supreme Court in the wake of directives passed by the court in a case.
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