Dibrugarh: The Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD) has launched a district-wide campaign against child trafficking in Dibrugarh as part of the National Campaign Against Child Trafficking.
The initiative, launched to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, aims to strengthen efforts to protect vulnerable children and curb trafficking through coordinated action involving the district administration, government departments, law enforcement agencies and child welfare institutions.
According to ACRD, the campaign will focus on awareness programmes, identifying vulnerable families, linking them with government welfare schemes, ensuring children remain in school, preventing exploitation and pursuing legal action against traffickers.
The district campaign forms part of the National Campaign Against Child Trafficking, launched recently in New Delhi during a four-day consultation titled Ensuring Child Rights, Potential and Prosperity. The event was organised by Just Rights for Children (JRC), a network of more than 250 civil society organisations working across 782 districts with the objective of making India free from child trafficking by 2030.
JRC said that between April 2023 and December 2025, it and its partner organisations rescued 1,22,516 trafficked children across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, ACRD Director Prerna Changkakoti described child trafficking as one of India’s most serious social challenges. Citing government data, she said 11 children go missing every hour, six children are trafficked every day and five children are forced into labour daily.
She said traffickers often target economically vulnerable families by luring them with false promises of employment or education.
According to Changkakoti, ACRD’s campaign will focus on prevention, legal assistance for victims, rehabilitation of rescued children and ensuring traffickers are brought to justice in coordination with the authorities.