Examination of victims of child trafficking – Why & how?

Child trafficking is a big social problem. It affects millions of children and families in many countries. The conviction rate of child trafficking cases in India is very low. Delays in filing the FIR, delay in medical examination and/or deficiencies in medical examination are found to be some important causes of the low rate of conviction. The deficiencies in medical examination can mislead the justice. To remove this deficiency the registered medical practitioners should have awareness about child trafficking and should know their role in the investigation of the cases. Important information about child trafficking, the role of medical practitioner in the investigation of such cases and examination procedure are discussed in this paper.