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A landmark Supreme Court judgment recognising the rights, dignity and rehabilitation needs of enactment trafficking survivors could alteration India’s anti-trafficking response, according to Prajwala laminitis Sunitha Krishnan, who addressed the media successful Hyderabad connected Thursday (June 4, 2026).
The judgment, delivered connected May 29 successful the long-running Prajwala vs Union of India case, introduces a first-of-its-kind Victim Protection Plan (VPP) for victims of commercialized intersexual exploitation and lays down elaborate procedures for rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration and prosecution.
Krishnan said 1 of the astir important aspects of the ruling was its designation that trafficking victims indispensable beryllium treated arsenic victims alternatively than offenders. She said the judgement draws a wide favoritism betwixt adults engaged successful voluntary enactment enactment and those who person been trafficked oregon coerced into commercialized intersexual exploitation.
“The tribunal has clarified that erstwhile rescue operations are conducted, authorities whitethorn not instantly cognize who is acting voluntarily and who is nether duress. Therefore, everyone indispensable initially beryllium treated arsenic a unfortunate and brought nether the VPP,” she said.
Krishnan said the ruling besides provides for compensation to big victims of enactment trafficking and strengthens entree to rehabilitation services, ineligible practice and semipermanent enactment mechanisms. Calling for broader reforms, she urged the Union Government to enact a broad instrumentality covering each quality trafficking cases.
She besides highlighted the increasing situation of technology-enabled trafficking, facilitated done mobile applications, dating platforms and matrimonial websites, and called for urgent intervention.
Senior Supreme Court advocator Aparna Bhat, who was associated with the litigation, said the judgement was the culmination of a ineligible conflict that began much than 2 decades ago. She noted that contempt assurances made by the Union Government successful 2015 regarding a dedicated anti-trafficking instrumentality and a specialised organised transgression probe agency, neither had materialised.
Bhat said trafficking networks contiguous run crossed aggregate States and planetary borders, making investigations highly analyzable and requiring specialised expertise.
A subsister from West Bengal said she was rescued from trafficking successful 2015 astatine the property of 20, but her proceedings is yet to statesman 11 years later. She expressed anticipation that the caller model would accelerate ineligible proceedings and guarantee aboriginal survivors person services and rights that were unavailable to galore rescued women successful the past.
Another subsister from Odisha said societal acceptance remained 1 of the biggest challenges aft rescue. Recalling her experience, she said she faced stigma and judgement from her assemblage aft returning location earlier yet rebuilding her beingness done rehabilitation and employment enactment provided by Prajwala.
She said the judgement could assistance aboriginal survivors summation not lone rehabilitation but besides respect and dignity.
A subsister from Chittoor, who present works arsenic a supervisor astatine Prajwala and trains different women, said compensation and rehabilitation enactment could assistance survivors prosecute education, go financially autarkic and enactment their families.
