Rescuing Girls Sexual Exploitation in India Nepal

Results 2018

• 15 rescue operations were conducted with the local authorities out of which 11 were successful.
• 29 girls were rescued in Nagpur and Pune
• 18 officials of police and courts were made aware of our work and educated about sexual exploitation
• 75 cases are followed up, 33 new cases are filed and 15 written petitions and 1 conviction. 

Case story

Bhavana is 15 years old. She is rescued from forced prostitution on the 12^th of September 2018 together with three other girls. She is from Andhra Pradesh, but she was trafficked to Maharashtra. She couldn’t speak Hindi very well, because her mother language is Telegu. The rescue team found a translator in order to better understand her experiences.

She told us that she was trafficked by her husband and his friends in a car. Her husband sold her to a brothel keeper, as he needed money. He asked her to work as a maid. The brothel keeper forced her to sleep with 4 to 5 customers per day and took half of her income as a debt repayment for the amount that was given to her husband.

Bhavana is not her real name. This name was given to her in the brothel. We often see this, because it makes it harder for a girl to be found. The brothel owner was arrested when Bhavana was rescued under sections of the ITPA, IPC and POCSO Act and sent to jail. Bhavana and the three other girls were brought to the shelter home.

Further plans:
Free a Girl will continue in the southern states: Karnataka, Andrapradesh, Tamilnadu and Kerala to conduct rescue raids. Planned results for 2019 are: rescuing 40 girls from forced prostitution.