Where Justice Falters: Sex Trafficking and Criminological Realities in North and South 24 Paraganas, India

Sex trafficking is among the most rooted forms of gender-based violence and organized crime in India, with extensive roots in systemized inequality, institutional collapse, and socio-economic fragility. The present paper critically explores the phenomenon from a criminological perspective, focusing on West Bengal's North and South 24 Parganas districts—areas infamous for cross-border trafficking because of their open borders with Bangladesh, climate-induced displacement in the Sundarbans, and prevalence of poverty. Utilizing criminological theories like Rational Choice Theory, Routine Activity Theory, Feminist Criminology, and Social Disorganization Theory, the research examines how trafficking syndicates survive in the face of lax enforcement, patriarchal social culture, and complicity by the community. From government documents, NGO statistics, and survivor accounts, it examines how traffickers take advantage of structural weaknesses and how victims get criminalized or forgotten by the justice system. The paper also examines India's law, such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the Trafficking in Persons Bill proposed, and finds gaps in enforcement and procedural inefficacies. Particular focus is placed on the breakdown of rehabilitation practices within Ujjawala homes and civil society's intervention in bridging state gaps. The analysis finds that India's anti-trafficking response remains divided, unresponsive, and punitive. The paper contends for a shift in the criminal justice strategy towards a trauma-informed, victim-focused, and people-oriented model of prevention and reintegration. Through the confluence of criminological understanding and grounded regional context, this paper adds to an enhanced comprehension of trafficking as both a legal and socio-political issue in modern India.

Keywords:
 Sex trafficking, Criminology, West Bengal, North and South 24 Parganas, Victim centric justice