Red Light Districts - Places where more than 2,00,000 children and women stolen from the Indian streets can be found but yet still MISSING

Human trafficking is trading humans mostly for the purpose of forced labour, bonded labour, sexual slavery, commercial sexual exploitation or extraction of organs. It is a heinous crime that occurs not only within a country but also cross-borders. Trafficking of humans is considered one of the fastest growing crimes of  International criminal organisations. It is a crime which involves violation of human rights by means of exploitation and compulsion. Human Trafficking mostly includes women and child trafficking. 

Human trafficking in India remains a significant problem. People are frequently illegally trafficked through India for the  sexual exploitation and forced labour. Men, women and children are trafficked in India for diverse reasons. Women and girls are trafficked within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage, especially in those areas where the sex ratio is highly skewed in favour of men. Men and boys are trafficked for the purposes of labour, and may be sexually exploited by traffickers to serve as gigolos, massage experts, escorts, etc. A significant portion of children are subjected to forced labour as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers.

India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Nepali children are also trafficked to India for forced labour in circus shows. Indian women are trafficked to the The Middle East for commercial sexual exploitation. Indian migrants who migrate willingly every year to the Middle East and Europe for work as domestic servants and low-skilled labourers may also end up part of the human trafficking industry. In such cases, workers may have been 'recruited' by way of fraudulent recruitment practices that lead them directly into situations of forced labour, including debt bondage; in other cases, high debts incurred to pay recruitment fees leave them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers in the destination countries, where some are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude, including non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement, unlawful withholding of passports, and physical or sexual abuse.

It is estimated that 16 million women are victims of sex trafficking in India a year; 40% of them are adolescents and children, some as young as nine years old. The victims are further plagued by low wages, exploitation by traffickers, customers and society, and reduced life expectancy. Trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation continues to be a significant issue in India, a crime that denies millions of women and girls their basic rights to liberty and education, and causes serious health problems. Human trafficking in India results in women suffering from both mental and physical issues. Mental issues include disorders such as PTSD, depression and anxiety. The lack of control women have in trafficking increases their risk of suffering from mental disorders. Women who are forced into trafficking are at a higher risk for HIV, TB, and other STDs. Condoms are rarely used and therefore there is a higher risk for victims to suffer from an STD.

THE INDIAN FIGURES

•  In 1998, between 5,000 and 7,000 Nepalese girls, some barely 9–10 years old were trafficked into the red light districts in Indian cities. More than 250,000 Nepalese women and girls were already in Indian brothels at the time

• 12.6 million children are engaged in hazardous occupations

• Only 10% of human trafficking in India is international, while 90% is interstate

• According to a report by the National Human Rights Commission of India, 40,000 children are abducted each year, leaving 11,000 untraced

• NGO's estimate that between 12,000 and 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the country annually from neighboring nations as a part of the sex trade

• In 2014, 76% of all people trafficked in India were women and girls

• According to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) reports from 2009, there are an estimated 1.2 million children involved in prostitution in India

• The Indian Government estimates that girls make up the majority of children in sex trafficking

• Children make up roughly 40% of prostitutes

 

The Conditions of Prostitutes in India

A prostitute or a tawaif or a devadasi as different times have called them in India — are the facilitators of what some people say the “oldest profession of the world”, Prostitution.

Prostitution was once upon a time a theme of Indian literature and arts for centuries. In Indian mythology there are many references of high-class prostitution in the form of celestial demigods acting as prostitutes. They are referred to as Menaka, Rambha, Urvashi, and Thilothamma. They are described as perfect embodiments and unsurpassed beauty and feminine charms. Even during the medieval period and rule of mughals they were treated very royally — Sanskrit plays have been written on this, even now, they form a central theme for many movies. Some of these movies have been able to provide an insight to the plight of the prostitutes in our country. But the true face still lies hidden.

India is one of the biggest market for prostitution in Asia with Mumbai alone accommodating 200,000 prostitutes. Trafficking, sex tourism and ‘clandestine’ nature of the industry is further imposing problems and spread of HIV/AIDS is on the rise at an alarming rate with woman being more prone to infection. Because of such nature and lack of regulatory body the real magnitude of severity of the actual situation cannot be comprehended.

India's efforts to protect victims of trafficking vary from state to state, but remain inadequate in many places. Victims of bonded labour are entitled to ₹ 10,000 from the central government for rehabilitation, but this progrmme is unevenly executed across the country. Government Authorities do not proactively identify and rescue bonded labourers, so few victims receive this assistance. Some states provide services to victims of bonded labour, but non-governmental organisations provide the majority of protection services to these victims. The central government does not provide protection services to Indian victims trafficked abroad for forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation. Indian diplomatic missions in destination countries may offer temporary shelter to nationals who have been trafficked; once repatriated, however, neither the central government nor most state governments offer any medical, psychological, legal, or reintegration assistance for these victims The Government of India launched an anti human trafficking web portal in February 2014 that they hope will be an effective way for interested parties to share information about this topic. The Salvation Army has a program that provides safe places for children of women who work in the red district in India.

We only have two choices – do something or do nothing - Unknown

I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do - Helen Keller