Vol. 3, Issue 8, Part D (2017)

Abstract
The right of each human being to autonomy and self-determination over one’s own body sums up the principle of bodily integrity. According to Justice Blackmun, the right to bodily integrity is the cornerstone of all liberties while John Stuart Mill wrote “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign” and “each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily or mental and spiritual” (Neff, 1990). Human rights approach to deal with human trafficking victims is much needed to ensure equal protection to all victims of trafficking regardless of the kind of work they had been trafficked for. Current state level policies do not approach trafficking as a human rights issue but rather as a problem of gender based violence or transnational organised crime which detrimentally impacts the rights of trafficked persons making them secondary to another policy objective. When trafficking of persons is approached just as a crime the victims get further victimised by becoming instruments of criminal investigations with or without their free will. Human rights approach helps one to go beyond the level of coercion in dealing with the rights held by the victim, regardless of the circumstances in which he or she was trafficked. This paper explores the connections between body and rights and the complex complementary relationships between right to bodily integrity and victims of human trafficking. Beginning with the definition of human trafficking and bodily integrity, it highlights the abuse of the victims of human trafficking against their right to bodily integrity specifically in the Indian context. The explanation on different types of abuses faced by the victims of trafficking helps understand in detail the violation of the said right. With the help of a few cases and examples the paper tries to explain the subject under study. the study is concluded with a few recommendations to help the citizens realise this right without any discrimination.