Delhi: Swati Maliwal on Monday re-circulated her February 6 address in the Rajya Sabha, renewing her call for sweeping reforms to tackle trafficking and sexual exploitation in the national capital. Posting a clip of her speech, the MP alleged that a major red-light district operates in close proximity to the country’s power centre.
“Just 3 km away from Parliament, there are over 90 brothels on GB Road, where nearly 5,000 women are exploited multiple times a day,” she said, urging lawmakers to confront what she described as a systemic failure in protecting vulnerable women and children.
Drawing on her nine years as chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, Maliwal narrated a rescue operation involving a minor. “It took us 4–5 hours to bring her out. She looked 32, but a bone age test revealed she was 14. She told us she was sold at the age of nine and injected daily with Oxytocin so her body parts appeared mature,” Maliwal told the House. She added that despite court-monitored protection, the girl later disappeared from a shelter facility.
Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau, she said that more than 90 rape cases are registered every day across India, while crimes against children crossed 1.77 lakh in 2023. Referring to the backlog under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, she noted that over three lakh cases remain pending nationwide, with a conviction rate hovering at 14.3 percent.
“Certainty and swiftness of punishment are critical,” she asserted, arguing that delays weaken deterrence and embolden offenders.
Maliwal demanded fast-track courts in every district, modern forensic labs, stricter monitoring of spas allegedly functioning as prostitution fronts, stronger child protection mechanisms, and accountability for officials who fail to act. “Women’s safety is not a luxury, it is a basic necessity,” she said, calling for bipartisan support to overhaul the system.
