Lalitpur, May 3

Human trafficking cases has declined in Kathmandu Valley after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, according to the latest report released today by the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Women and Children and  National Human Rights Commission.

The national report ‘Trafficking in Persons’ for the fiscal year 2015/16 shows that the reported number of human trafficking cases registered with the Nepal Police have come down from 23 to 15 in  Kathmandu Valley.

Similarly, there has been a decline in trafficking cases in Nuwakot, Kavre and Sindhupalchowk district. The cases in Nuwakot declined from seven to one, one to zero in Kavre and four to two in Sindhupalchowk. However, it has increased in other pockets of the country, including in Dhading, Makwanpur, Ramechhap and Okhaldunga districts.

According to NHRC Spokesperson Mohna Ansari, the number of trafficking cases registered with the Nepal Police is still low compared to the actual number of trafficked victims.

In the fiscal year 2015/16, a total of 212 cases of human trafficking were registered, out of which four in 10 victims were children. More than 95 per cent of the victims were female and three in four victims had received no formal education at all.

In the same way, the study estimated that there are currently around 600 entertainment establishments in Kathmandu Valley, where more than 2,000 girls and women are working as dancers, waitresses, etc.

Several non-government organisations have voiced that the number reported by the Nepal Police is very low in comparison to the reality.

Victory Thapa, programme coordinator of Youth for Social Transformation Nepal, said girls below 18 were being forced to work in the entertainment sector illegally and those cases had not been registered by the police. Mostly, these entertainment establishment in Kathmandu Valley are located in Thamel, Gongabu bus park area, Kalanki, Koteswor, Sinamangal, Gaushala, Chabahil, Sundhara, Durbar Marg.