An Act to prevent and combat trafficking in persons especially women and children
WHEREAS it is necessary to provide for effective measures to prevent and combat the trafficking in persons especially women and children; to promote and facilitate national and international co-operation in this regard; to protect the trafficking victims; and to provide for matters connected therewith or ancillary thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows: —
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
(1) This Act may be called the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018.
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, —
(a) “child” means a person under eighteen years of age;
(b) “Code” means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898);
(c) “Government” means the Federal Government;
(d) “Penal Code” means the Pakistan Penal Code, I860 (XLV of 1860);
(e) “prescribed” means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;
(f) “Provincial Government” means the Government of a Province; and
1[(fa) “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of position of vulnerability or trust for sexual purpose, including but not limited to profiting monetarily or any other gain for the sexual exploitation of another;]1
(g) “victim” means a person against whom an offence under this Act is committed regardless of whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted.
3. Trafficking in persons.
(1) Any person who recruits, harbours, transports, provides or obtains another person, or attempts to do so, for compelled labour 1[or organized beggary or sexual exploitation]1 through the use of force, fraud or coercion, commits an offence of trafficking in persons and shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 1[ten years and fine which may extend to one million rupees]1.
(2) If the offence of trafficking in persons under sub-section (1) is committed against a child or a woman, the person who commits the offence shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to 2[fourteen years and with fine which may extend upto two million rupees]2.
(3) In this section:
(a) “coercion” means use or threat of use of force, or other forms of nonviolent use of force including—
(i) threat of harm to or physical restraint of any person;
(ii) any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint of any person;
(iii) threat due to the vulnerable position of a person; or
(iv) psychological pressure; 2[*]2
(b) “compelled labour” includes involuntary servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, or debt bondage and forced labour 2[; and]2
2[(c) “organized beggary” includes an act of a person to allure, entice or coerce a person intentionally, knowingly, by use of force, fraud or without fraudulent intention to indulge or to be indulged in soliciting or receiving alms directly, indirectly or on any pretext and includes,—
(i) soliciting or receiving alms at a public place, under any pretence visibly in a form of beggary;
(ii) having no visible means of subsistence and wandering about or remaining in any public place in such condition or manner which raise a presumption that the person doing so subsists by soliciting or receiving alms;
(iii) enters on any private premises for the purposes of soliciting or receiving alms;
(iv) exposes or exhibits with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound, injury, deformity or disease, whether of human being or of an animal; or
(v) allows oneself to be used as an exhibit for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms.]2
2[(4) A victim’s consent or consent of guardian on behalf of minor victim to, or acquiescence in, any of the acts constituting the offence of trafficking in persons as provided in sub-section (1), shall be irrelevant and shall not be considered a defence in any proceeding as to the conduct that would otherwise constitute an offence under this Act.]2
4. Aggravating circumstances.
Where an offence under section 3 involves:
(a) serious injury, life-threatening illness or death of the victim or another person;
(b) activity of an organized criminal group;
(c) confiscation or destruction of any travel document of the victim; or
(d) repetition of the offence by the same offender; the offender shall be punished with imprisonment 3[of not less than fourteen years]3 and fine which may extend to two million rupees.
Explanation.— In this section, ‘organized criminal group’ means a structured group of two or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing any offence under this Act, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, any financial or other material benefit.
5. Abetment and criminal conspiracy.
(1) Any person who participates as an accomplice, aids, or abets an offence under section 3 or section 4, shall be punished in accordance with Chapter V of the Penal Code.
(2) Any person who is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence under section 3 or section 4, shall be punished in accordance with Chapter V-A of the Penal Code.
3[6. Victims of trafficking in persons.
Without prejudice to any other defence available under any law, a victim of trafficking in persons shall not be criminally or otherwise liable for acts and omissions that were the direct result of having been trafficked or were in obedience to the order made by the trafficker in relation thereto, but may become witness in the case:
Provided that the acts done by the victim of trafficking in persons were direct result of force, fraud or coercion by the Trafficker.]3
7. Presumption in case of child victim.
Where the victim is a child, the prosecution may not prove actual use of force, fraud or coercion and the Court may not consider the consent of the victim, his parent or guardian as a defence.
8. Investigating agency.
(1) Subject to sub-section (2), the police shall investigate an offence under this Act.
(2) If the offence involves transportation of the victim into or out of Pakistan and it constitutes part of the transaction constituting the offence, the Federal Investigation Agency shall investigate the offence.
9. Cognizance.
An offence under this Act shall be cognizable 3[, non-compoundable]3 and non-bailable under the Code.
4[10. Cognizance of offences.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, a Magistrate of the First Class shall try an offence punishable under this Act and may impose any punishment provided under this Act:
Provided that if an offence involves transportation of the victim into or out of Pakistan and it constitutes part of the transaction constituting the offence, the Special Court (Central) constituted under the Pakistan Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958 (XL of 1958) shall try such offence, punishable under this Act and may impose any punishment provided under this Act.
(2) Where in any trial before a Special Court of an offence punishable under sections 3, 4 and 5, it is proved that an accused person has accepted or obtained, or has agreed to accept for himself or any other person, any financial or material benefit from a victim or any person on his behalf, it shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved, that he accepted or obtained, that financial or material benefit, or as the case may be, as such as is mentioned in sections 3, 4 and 5.]4
11. Safety of victims and witnesses of offences.
(1) The Government or a Provincial Government may, in the prescribed manner, take appropriate measures to ensure that a victim, witness of an offence under this Act or any other related person is provided adequate protection, if safety of the victim, witness or the person is at risk.
(2) When it is necessary to safeguard the physical safety of a victim or witness of an offence under this Act, the Government or a Provincial Government may, in the prescribed manner, take necessary measures to relocate victim or witness or to limit the disclosure of name of the victim or witness, address and other identifying personal information or both.
12. Protection of victims and witnesses by the Court.
(1) The rules made under this Act may specify circumstances in which the Court may—
(a) conduct the Court proceedings in camera;
(b) seal or restrict access to record of the Court proceedings;
(c) permit evidence of a victim or a witness behind a screen or similar adequate means out of view of the accused, or through a video link or the use of other communications technology; or
(d) use a pseudonym of a victim or a witness.
13. Compensation to victims.
Where an offender is convicted of an offence under this Act, the Court may direct payment of compensation to the victim under section 545 of the Code.
14. Awareness raising and prevention.
The Government may—
(a) develop and disseminate information programmes to increase public awareness regarding offences of trafficking in persons and dangers to victims;
(b) promote and strengthen development programmes and national and international cooperation in order to address the root-causes of trafficking in persons, and the special vulnerabilities of women and children;
(c) establish procedures to collect data and to promote research in relation to trafficking in persons, the factors that cause trafficking in persons, and on the best practices to prevent trafficking in persons, prosecution of offenders, and protection of victims.
15. Power to make rules.
(1) The Government or a Provincial Government may, by a notification in the official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) if the rules made by a Provincial Government are inconsistent with the rules, at any time, made by the Government, the rules of the Government shall prevail over the rules of the Provincial Government.
16. Repeal.
(1) The Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance, 2002 (LIX of 2002) is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding repeal of the Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance, 2002 (LIX of2002), any act done, prosecution or proceedings undertaken or the rule made under the repealed Ordinance shall deemed to have been done, undertaken or made under this Act.
(3) In the Penal Code, section 369-A shall be omitted.
This digital version of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018 is provided as-is. Although reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and avoid error, no warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Consult the official sources or Gazette when legal accuracy is material.
