PARAGRAPH , WORDS AND MEANINGS

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TOPIC – Sensitive and precise

Undoubtedly, trafficking is a pernicious offence, one that societies and governments must have zero tolerance for, and yet, handling the offence of trafficking needs precision, not a sledgehammer. In its current form, the draft Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021 seems to be lacking in nuance, even if well-intentioned, to stamp out exploitative trafficking. The Bill, which will shortly be introduced in Parliament, aims at preventing and countering trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, to provide for care, protection, and rehabilitation to the victims, while respecting their rights, and creating a  supportive legal, economic and social environment for them. This is the Bill’s second iteration; the first was passed in the Lok Sabha, in 2018, but then meandered into nothingness as it was never introduced in the Upper House. Notably, the Bill has expanded the area under coverage to include offences taking place, not only within India but also outside it. It envisages the setting up of anti-trafficking committees at the State and national levels to implement the provisions, when passed. In the days the Bill was up in the public domain for comments, civil society activists and legal experts have criticized its various provisions, and submitted that an overzealous approach would blur the nuances and an understanding of the contributing factors, including vicious poverty, debt, lack of opportunity, and development schemes missing their mark. Vociferous opposition has arisen over the key aspect of handing over investigation in trafficking crimes to the NIA both by those who believe that it would burden the already stretched unit further, and those arguing that this move would be an attack on federalism, by removing local enforcement agencies out of the picture. Another key criticism of the Bill has been its broad definitions of victims, smacking of refusal to consider consensual sexual activity for commerce. This would only land up criminalizing sex work and victimization of the exploited. Bringing pornography into the definition of sexual exploitation would not allow even for any adult consumption of non exploitative, consensual material. Reporting of offences has been made mandatory with penalties for non reporting, but those with an understanding of the tortuous processes, point to the fact that victims often do not want a complaint to be recorded. The mention of the death penalty for various forms of aggravated trafficking offences needs to be flagged too. The Government would do well to scan and incorporate the responses to its Bill in order to ensure that the fence does not eat the crop. While sexual exploitation and trafficking can be ghastly crimes invoking public horror, for the state to not employ a wholesome approach, cognisant of the causative factors, one that would be sensitive and precise, would be equally horrific.

WORDS AND MEANINGS

  1. Pernicious (adjective) –Exceedingly harmful

Synonyms – Baneful, deleterious, detrimental, baleful, pestilent

Antonyms – Salubrious, innocuous, anodyne, invigorating, restorative

  1. Precision (noun) –Exact limitation

Synonyms – Exactitude, veracity, perspicuity, explicitness, limpidity

Antonyms – Falsity, chaos, ambiguity, equivocation, fuzziness

  1. Sledgehammer (noun) –A heavy long-handled hammer used to drive stakes or wedges

Synonyms – Maul, gavel, beetle, thump, thrash

Antonyms – Etiolated, compassionate, indulgent, gracious, affectionate

  1. Nuance (noun) –A shade of difference

Synonyms – Subtlety, connotation, tinge, implication, innuendo

Antonyms – Blatancy, imprecision, accord, garishness, similarity

  1. Iteration (noun) –A repeated performance

Synonyms – Recurrence, tautology, rehearsal, ingemination, prepping

Antonyms – Concoction, innovation, original, winds of change

  1. Envisages (verb) –To look in the face of

Synonyms – Envisions, contemplates, envision, dreads, predicts

Antonyms – Abrupt, rebuff, spurn, unsought, rebuff

  1. Vicious (adjective) –Having the nature of vice

Synonyms – Savage, nasty, ferocious, spiteful, venomous

Antonyms – Decent, virtuous, amicable, aesthetic, affable

  1. Vociferous (adjective) –Noisy

Synonyms – Blatant, strident, obstreperous, tumultuous, uproarious

Antonyms – Diffident, bashful, meek, chaste, prudent

  1. Ghastly (adjective) –Inspiring horror

Synonyms – Grisly, hideous, dreadful, macabre, abhorrent

Antonyms – Elegant, marvelous, aesthetic, alluring, exquisite

  1. Invoking (verb) –For inspiration

Synonyms – Beseech, solicit, adduce, conjuration, adverting

Antonyms – Crippling, curbing, fettering, encumbering, dampen

  1. Cognizant (adjective) –Showing knowledge

Synonyms – Conscious, conversant, acquainted, heedful, enlightened

Antonyms – Oblivious, baboso, insensible, ignorant, crazy