RESCUING 5 GIRLS FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING

A few months ago, in the city Naigaon, northern Mumbai, we carried out a new rescue: three girls were rescued and another woman was arrested and charged. As usual, we carried out the operation along with the police.

We had received news about a flat where a situation of sexual exploitation was possibly taking place. The operation was quickly organized to confirm if this was the case and indeed, we found that three young women, between the ages of 24 and 27, were being sexually exploited by a 26 year old woman.

The situation was particularly complex as we came to know that the defendant suffers from health problems and is in charge of her brother, since their parents had died of AIDS. Victim of the stigma and the situation caused by the COVID pandemic, she was unable to find work and in desperation she decided to deceive three other girls to get money through their prostitution and sexual exploitation.

Thus, we find ourselves once again in a situation of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation caused by the vulnerability of the victims. But in this case, we also found a component of health and work problems on the side of the exploiter, linked to the situation of poverty and the difficulty of seeing these fundamental rights guaranteed. For this reason, in this particular opportunity we decided not to join the accusation, and instead to offer both victims and accused the necessary accompaniment in order to guarantee them a dignified life with opportunities for the future. Since in this specific case, we found the line between victim and perpetrator is especially blurred.

Help us ensure that more women can live a dignified life with opportunities!

#breakwithtrafficking

Links:

• New rescue: boundary between victim and perpetrator