Maha: Conclave on laws to combat trafficking held

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) and the International Justice Mission (IJM) on Saturday released guidelines to educate public prosecutors on laws and procedures to deal with cases relating to commercial sexual exploitation.

A curriculum on commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) at a judges conclave here, a press note said.

The curriculum includes a thorough overview of the laws to combat CSE, delves into issues pertinent to the cases and offers relevant Supreme Court and high court rulings to equip public prosecutors to address the issue sufficiently, the communique said.

Speaking on the occasion, MSCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said trafficking is the world's second-largest crime with a large number of victims constituting women and children.

"The curriculum is designed for the public prosecutors of our country to provide them all legal information in a single document, to represent the interests of these victims," she said.

The conclave was attended by senior judges of the state's district session courts, district government pleaders, chairpersons of women's commissions across India and was addressed by several retired judges of Bombay High Court as well as IPS officers.

The IJM is a global organization that protects the most vulnerable from violence and oppression irrespective of their gender, community, caste, race, and ethnicity.