In October 2021, Justice Ventures International (JVI) and several of its local partners collaborated with District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) to carry out a large-scale human trafficking and legal rights awareness campaign across the state of Bihar, India. JVI and its partners closely coordinated with DLSAs in five districts – Madhepura, Purnea, Gaya, Motihari and Sitamarhi to conduct legal aid clinics, legal awareness seminars, and theme-based workshops, serving more than 800 villages with access to free legal services.
JVI and its partners printed and distributed human trafficking awareness material to nearly thirty thousand people by organizing and training paralegal volunteers, panel lawyers, and social workers carrying the message to households throughout the various districts. According to a local leader from one of JVI’s partners, “Our on-ground presence coupled with the DLSAs’ resources helped make this month-long campaign a huge success.”
Through this campaign, thousands living in rural areas were made aware of their rights and given access to a helpline number where they can report abuses and seek legal assistance. Legal aid clinics were set up in strategic locations like hospitals, colleges, jails, and government offices, providing many with access to free legal aid services so that they could submit their complaints to the relevant authorities and get legal assistance on the spot.
Legal awareness seminars were held through community meetings in poor villages where most of the population consists of scheduled caste tribes (previously known as lower castes), minorities, and the economically vulnerable. Local social workers also distributed material further into remote areas across the state. Those living on the margins in this vastly rural area now have greater awareness of their legal rights and resources so that they can report if their rights are violated and receive help.
Theme-based workshops were held on various human rights laws and government entitlement programs which address the welfare of citizens such as: Schemes for Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education 2009, Awareness to Prisoners to their Legal Rights, the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Child Labour Act 1986 /2015. The DLSA Secretaries themselves led these workshops and personally briefed all panel lawyers and paralegal volunteers on the topics.
Teams of paralegal volunteers were placed at police stations to sensitize the officers on benefits pertaining to victim compensation. Banners were put up at various police stations and outposts for public awareness. The DLSA at Madhepura also ensured that schools were covered through this campaign and held sessions on Child Rights, Child Protection, JJ Act 2000, Child Labour Act 1986, Child Marriage Act, and Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012.
On December 12, 2021, a lok adalat (open hearing) took place in Bihar, where legal cases that were pending in courts were fast tracked. As many as 8,000 cases were referred from Madhepura, a district where JVI partners played a crucial role during the campaign. These cases will now move forward in the courts.
This networked relationship demonstrates the power and effectiveness of JVI’s partnership model. Together in collaboration with government authorities, JVI and its partners are effectively and efficiently delivering vital justice services to the vulnerable. This partnership also allows JVI and its partners to directly refer human trafficking cases to DLSA, making this venture scalable and, most importantly, sustainable.
By forging partnerships such as these, JVI will help bring justice to thousands of victims of human trafficking, transform lives and change oppressed communities for good.
