The Problem
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
27 million people around the world are estimated to be victims of slavery, for forced prostitution, labor, domestic work, and other forms of exploitation, with approximately 50% of victims being under the age of 18. UNICEF estimates that one million children will be forced into prostitution this year.
Victims of human trafficking are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members. In the case of traffficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple gang rape to break down their resistance. Since the bodies of young girls are not ready for sexual intercourse, this often results in abrasions, making the girls susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
INDIA
In India, there are over 2 million women and children working as prostitutes (1), 100,000 in Mumbai (Bombay) alone (2). 35% of these women working as prostitutes enter the sex trade before the age of 18 (3). Every day, about 200 girls and women enter prostitution, 80% of them against their will (4). In Mumbai, India lies Kamathipura; the largest concentrated red-light district in the world.
The women and children who are a part of the sex trade in India are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy and disease. The chance for escape from the sex trade is slim. Unlike the U.S. where government programs exist to help those who are destitute and want to make a change for the better in their lives, India has no financial aid for women who want to get out of the profession. The social stigma attached to children of commercial sex workers (the term used in India) bars them from entering public school, virtually forcing them into the same life that their mothers endure.
At least 80 indigenous organizations are working to rescue and provide after-care for women forced into this life-style (5). The capacity of these quality after-care homes is limited by the organization's dependence on charitable donations and their ability to provide the women tools and skills to help them make a successful transition back into society. Successful transition requires a sustainable skill that provides a viable lifestyle to a woman extremely vulnerable to re-victimization.
(1) BBC Report on Number of Sex Workers in India
(2) Robert I. Freidman, "India's Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to An AIDS Catastrophe," The Nation, 8 April 1996
(3) Dr KK Mukherjee NGO report on prostitution
(4) CEDPA and PRIDE, 1997
(5) India Human Rights Report, Trafficking in Persons
