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HUMAN TRAFFICKING

entitled to, and how these can help them Community-based rehabilitation plans, minimized as the model itself is refined
rebuild their lives from scratch after repa- in short, map rehabilitation and reintegra- and put in practice in larger spaces.
triation in their native communities. tion journeys with survivors, and not for Roop Sen, secretary and technical
A survivor emerges confident and au- them. The agency for every process that advisor at Sanjog, a Kolkata-based tech-
tonomous when she has been adequately makes up the whole rehabilitation scheme nical resource organization that has
trained on her rights and their implica- for each woman remains with her, and not developed a community-based rehabilita-
tions, able to have conversations assertive- with a social worker, counselor, lawyer, tion model, says,” In the absence of a state
ly with dutybearers involved in the larger or administrative official. Each of the par- backed community based rehabilitation
scheme of her rehabilitation. Zulikha (not ticipants in community-based rehabilita- policy, Panchayats, block and district
her real name), a North 24 Parganas survi- tion is sensitized to the survivor’s needs administrators are restricted in their ser-
vor, says, “I feel more confident now. I am and agendas as the plan shapes up. Social vice delivery to survivors - there are no
not afraid to go and meet any dutybear- worker Soma Sarkar says, “It really worked. clear directives to set priorities and targets.
ers and I will write all the applications in When we approached the dutybearer with The biggest challenge in community based
Bengali and deliver them on time.” Piya the rightholder (the survivor) the applica- rehabilitation is when it is not backed by
(name changed), another survivor, reports, tions became that much more credible. policy and programmes.
“Previously I did not want to approach any Dutybearers started really feeling their The CBR model in Bengal can be sus-
work. I was ashamed and afraid to fail. But responsibilities, they behaved sympa- tainable once it is backed by policy, when
now I know it always takes initiative to thetically and sensitively, often they didn’t the State recognises that the focus of reha-
begin something.” bilitation needs to be based in community
Also, community-based rehabilitation based rehabilitation models instead of in
(CBR) plans introduce elements of restora- The CBR model can be shelter homes.” Sen endorses heavy duty
tive care to develop individual rehabilita- sustainable once it is central and local scheme design (based on
tion plans for each survivor based on her the Ujjwala and MuktirAlo blueprints) to
personal narrative and struggles and her backed by policy, when reinforce CBR implementation, which lets
needs and wants, in keeping with her the State recognises social workers assist survivors better with
vision of autonomy, of having her own accessing their entitlements. These mod-
voice. Each story of having triumphed that the focus of els of rehabilitation for sex trafficking sur-
abuse, violence and deprivation is central rehabilitation needs to vivors in India are not widely popular yet,
to the survivor’s sense of self, and as she despite their incontestable benefits over
receives restorative care, this self-image be based in community custodial models in practice everywhere.
and ways to boost it get the respect and based rehabilitation But Partners in Anti-Trafficking and Ban-
attention they deserve. sra Birangana Seva Samity work in the
Restorative care is also coupled with models instead of North and South 24 Parganas of West Ben-
a trauma-informed method of respond- gal on a project called Shakti founded on
ing to the survivors’ needs; this means shelter homes community-based rehabilitation concepts,
that caregivers involved in the reha- with 130 survivors in the region.
bilitation process acknowledge that she need us, they just talked directly with the The Shakti prototype is the brainchild
has been through (perhaps irreversible survivor.” of technical resource think tank San-
and unforgettable) trauma and this has Although the ideal community-based jog, which has invested in the program’s
molded her personhood in strong, en- rehabilitation scheme is participatory and resource mobilisation, training needs,
during ways. They answer to the experi- democratic, with every player in it per- capacity building activities, and offered it
ence of such deep trauma with empathy, forming their roles adequately and punc- leadership and communications facilita-
with the objective of making the survivor tually, the survivor comes first; her needs tion support since 2016. Sanjog has also of-
feel physically and emotionally safe. “It is are subject to change as her primary enti- fered policymaking support to community
unfortunate that our current rehabilita- tlements (citizenship papers, food security, based organisations and state government
tion systems are based on a way of offer- housing) are secured and long-term psy- bodies. Uma Chatterjee, Sanjog’s execu-
ing mental healthcare to survivors of traf- chosocial interventions are made to her tive director said,”Shakti can be one of the
ficking that is convenient at best and lazy case, and room must be left for improvi- exemplary models of rehabilitation and
at worst,” says psychologist Chandrani sations to be made to case management prevention under the new anti trafficking
Dasgupta. “We need to put much greater plans over time. There is the risk that ad- Bill. Financiers and governments need to
emphasis on the depression, anxiety, and ministrative red tape imposes obstacles in financially back such community based
anger that a trauma victim has to live with, the way of the survivor getting the services models in partnership with survivors to
and factor in the distress she experiences she needs, or of an official occasionally be- finally see an end to this menace.”
due to sexual and body-image concerns, having insensitively and stigmatizing the
when we think about her care plans.” woman and her story, but these risks are LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

TEHELKA / 15 FEBRUARY 2019 55 WWW.TEHELKA.COM

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