State-level Round-Table discussion on World Day Against Trafficking in Person organized at XISS

A State Level Round-Table Discussion on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, marked annually on 30 July, was conducted by Save the Children in collaboration with the Rural Management Programme of Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi, and the media partner Morning India in XISS Auditorium on 28 July 2022. This year's theme for the day was "Use and Abuse of Technology," and a number of distinguished speakers were invited to talk on the topic to raise awareness about promoting and defending the rights of victims of human trafficking.

Dr Pradeep Kerketta SJ, Assistant Director, XISS, Ranchi, opened the event with a welcoming message. He discussed the fundamental elements of human trafficking as well as the role that technology plays in enabling traffickers to expand into remote and interior areas through improved communication and transportation systems. Discussing child trafficking with an emphasis on Jharkhand, Mr Mahadev Hansda from Save the Children pleaded that human trafficking is a massive violation of human rights and should not be tolerated. Ms Asunta Lakra, National Hockey player and former National Captain, spoke about the various social variables that encourage human trafficking and the need for knowledge in order to combat it. Every home has to have a safe family atmosphere, and every girl needs to be safeguarded and given the opportunity to pursue her dreams. Mr Praveen Raman, the deputy editor of Morning India, went on to highlight how social media is sometimes used as a weapon for people trafficking. The programme followed with a panel discussion, which was chaired by Dr Anant Kumar, Head of Programme (HoP), Rural Management Programme. The panellists were Dr Rajshree Verma, Assistant Professor, RM, XISS along with Ms Nidhi Dwivedi, IPS, SP, CID; Ms Priti Srivastava, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, Jharkhand; Mr Madhukar, Senior Journalist, DD Bharti, and Mr Praveen Raman, Deputy Editor, Morning India. The programme also included a number of discussions on the social, legal, and gender aspects of human trafficking. The importance of technology in both the negative, which encourages trafficking, and the positive, which may be utilised to curb it, was thoroughly covered during the session. The Valedictory session was coordinated by Ms Soumi Halder, Manager-Campaigns & Communication, Save the Children.