Rescuing Girls Sexual Exploitation in India Nepal

I had recently visited our project in Maharashtra that aims to rescue girls from forced prostitution. For this project, we work with our local partner Freedom Firm. I met with the rescue team and had the opportunity to discuss in detail their work method and the complexities of the problem of forced prostitution of girls in their communities.

The rescue team explained that they conduct investigative and undercover work in order to identify minor girls that are enslaved in brothels. Once they find the girls, the rescue team provides them with counselling in the brothels. Following this, the rescue team documents the crime and then reports this information to the police. The rescue team, along with the police, liberate the girls and arrest the brothel keepers and traffickers.

Executing rescue raids come with a long list of challenges. Most importantly, finding the right people with whom to work! Between local law enforcement officials, the inefficiencies of a broken criminal justice system and even unreliable medical centres for age test results – it becomes a very complex operation.

It was great to see that during my visit to the project, there had just been a girl rescued the day before. The local police had actually identified the victim and then requested the rescue team for assistance. It was good to see this collaboration – after all we have to work together to combat this horrific crime.

Following the rescue, the girls are temporarily placed in government shelter homes, and they are assisted by the legal team to file criminal complaints against their oppressors. In the shelters, the girls are supported as part of the aftercare programme. I found the work of the aftercare team to be very impressive. In total there are around 100 to 120 girls in the aftercare programme. The staff members keep in touch with the girls through shelter visits, home visits and phone calls long after they were rescued and rehabilitated. The aftercare team work in partnership with shelter homes across India, to provide rescued girls with counselling, job training, and education. It’s very special how the aftercare team stays connected with the rescued girls and how this bond and trust deepens as time goes by. They watch as the girls transform into young, independent women over the years.

Another part of the strategy is to prevent girls from becoming victims of forced prostitution or being re-trafficked after they’ve been rescued. The idea is to break harmful and discriminatory social traditions and beliefs that may lead to girls falling into forced prostitution. This involves informing and educating communities and villages about trafficking and forced prostitution as well as the rights of girls and women.

I’m extremely optimistic about the work that we and our local partners do in India but there is still so much to be done!

This report presents an overview of the outcomes of the Rescuing girls from forced prostitution in India project for the full period of 2015.

Rescue

In 2015, the rescue team conducted investigative trips in Pune, Nagpur, Wani, Koregaon, Nasik, Sangli and Madhya Pradesh and executed raids that successfully led to the rescue of 36 girls. The girls were mostly from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and 3 rescued girls were Bangladeshi nationals.

We are proud of the work of the rescue teams at Freedom Firm, which has enabled these girls to escape the horrors of such exploitation and start to build their own paths for a better future. 

Rehabilitation

The aftercare team travelled across the country to follow up on girls that were previously rescued and to check on their progress. They conducted 68 home investigation visits for recued girls and other cases referred from other shelter homes and police in various states. In total, the aftercare staff followed up with 215 girls at their own new homes, government or private shelter homes or through telephone conversations.

The team also conducted group counselling and individual counselling for 35 to 40 girls as well as facilitated recreational activities such as drawing, painting, crafts, Mehndi designs, indoor games and sports.

As part of the vocational training component of the project, a jewellery-making training was conducted in different regions – Maharashtra, West Bengal and Ooty – training a total of 34 girls in 2015.

Access to justice

In 2015, the legal team at Freedom Firm contributed to bringing about a ruling from the Bombay High Court that traffickers in most cases should be denied bail in Maharashtra.

The legal team presented information to the Bombay High Court as part of an ongoing Public Interest Litigation to ensure that accused traffickers cannot abscond when the case comes up for trial. Often traffickers secure bail and they abscond at the time of the trial, and then the police report that they are untraceable.

The team continued following up on the case and by November 2015, the Bombay High Court ruled that a trafficker in humans who is a habitual offender, has been violent, and has trafficked a minor amongst other things or a brothel owner whose brothel has not been sealed cannot be released on bail. The Judges also requested that the Maharashtra government creates a database of traffickers and those who have absconded after securing bail.

This is a win and a small step forward for victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation, particularly minors. Such a ruling can help prevent the stalling of trafficking cases and the release of accused traffickers on bail so that they can face trial. The legal team worked throughout the year on this case and contributed to this great result, making justice more accessible for the girls.

See story at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Bombay-HC-Human-traffickers-should-be-denied-bail/articleshow/49940376.cms

Finding justice and freedom: stories from two rescued girls

Below are two short case stories from Freedom Firm describing the stories of two recued girls who were re-trafficked, devastatingly, and who have endured drawn out legal processes in order to access justice and freedom. These cases remind us of the continued need for projects such as these to liberate young girls from sexual exploitation.

Sita*
Sita was first rescued in February 2013 from the Nagpur red light area and was soon released to her family who claimed custody. She was later found in the same red-light area in August 2013 and was rescued a second time. Aware of the vulnerable circumstances surrounding her, the social workers carefully followed up on her case. They made sure she was safe and prepared her to testify in court. Sita testified boldly in court in September 2015 against the accused. Sita says, “I hope that my testimony will prevent the accused from engaging other girls in prostitution.”

Varsha*

After far too long, the court passed orders in 2015 that  we believe will result in Varsha’s transfer to a very good and safe shelter home in Mumbai. Varsha was rescued in June 2011. Due to the systemic failures from courts and public service providers that were encountered at that time, Varsha was released and re-trafficked. Fortunately, the rescue  team was able to rescue her again in 2013. At that time she indicated that she did not want to be in the prostitution business and the legal team were thrilled to be able to advocate for her. We didn’t realise it would be another 2 years of continuous effort and difficulty to get the orders we sought on her behalf.

*The girls’ names have been changed to preserve anonymity and confidentiality.