— Gary Haugen, President of International Justice Mission [11]

Despite efforts to curb sex trafficking networks, many continue to operate in full force. The networks are widespread, highly organized, difficult to identify and involve numerous intermediaries. Trafficking routes change frequently, often following migration patterns that are particularly active during periods of economic hardship, social conflict and natural disasters. Law enforcement and government officials repeatedly fail to ensure country-to-country border control and sometimes participate in the transactions themselves. Many girls rescued from Indian brothels recount stories of how policemen storm the brothels for rescues, but leave with bribe money secured from the brothel owners. Other girls tell of police officers who frequented the establishments as clients themselves.

Because sex trafficking is extremely complex and multi-faceted, approaches to combating it must take into account factors fueling the trade (supply and demand), factions involved in the trade (traffickers, customers, victims, societal support structures), and stages of application (prevention, rescue and rehabilitation/ reintegration). A successful approach would tackle the supply and demand factors while addressing the four major factions in the industry at each stage of application.

An example of a leading on-the-ground NGO involved in the anti-trafficking movement is New Delhi’s STOP. It uses a human rights-based framework to combating trafficking and contributing to the political, social and economic empowerment of children and women. STOP’s direct actions encompass the three Rs — recovery, repatriation and reintegration. In order to combat trafficking, STOP has mobilized a strong and cohesive network of partners, ranging from law enforcement officials, the government, the judiciary, sex workers’ organizations, human rights groups, HIV/AIDS care homes, media, international NGOs and civil society.

Disgraced and Abandoned

"They told me my life is saved…what saved? I have nothing to be saved — worn out, spoiled, where do I go? Will my family take me back?"

— The words of a trafficked girl in Hyderabad after she had been rescued (from Prajwala’s “Me & Us” documentary)

The destructive effect of trafficking becomes even more apparent when an enslaved woman or child is rescued. Deceived or forced into sexual slavery with the lure of jobs, marriage, and a better life, trafficked girls are emotionally, psychologically and physically shattered when rescued. Their self-esteem and sense of worth are destroyed. Critical to the healing process is restoration of dignity and a reassurance to the victims that they are individuals, with a unique identity and potential to proceed with their lives. Without effective rehabilitation in place, many rescued victims have no place to go and are forced to return to the dreadful world into which they were trafficked.

Those girls with supportive families are reunited with them. The unfortunate reality, however, is that, after being rescued, it is rare for girls to be welcomed back to their families and communities. Although coerced into trafficking, society treats them as if they entered the trade voluntarily. Girls who are HIV positive carry the brunt of this social stigma. Asma, a girl rescued by STOP, was thrilled about eventually returning to her family in Bangladesh. However, after her family members found out she was HIV positive, they refused to take her back. She was devastated and humiliated. Anisha, another trafficked survivor, feared going back to her community in the New Delhi slums because she felt that she might be forced back into the world of trafficking. Rather than rendering them as “outcasts,” STOP and other NGOs provide girls like Asma and Anisha with a home and the opportunity to acquire educational and occupational skills in order to develop a sustainable livelihood.

Looking at the Big Picture

Like all social ills, sex trafficking is a problem rooted in social and economic injustice. Trafficking is part of the larger pro-blem of poverty and the exploitation of people’s vulnerabilities. While at a micro level, the trade is driven by the abhorrent behavior of men, at a macro level, the sex trade is directly linked to exploitation through globalization, poverty and gender inequity. In some societies, women and children are considered “property,” or treated as second-class citizens, further exposing them to an already increased risk of enslavement into trafficking networks. Most importantly, it is the culture of silence that allows the perpetuation of the abuse.
STOP, Prajwala and partnering NGOs have found that a successful way to decrease supply within the sex trafficking trade is to couple global efforts against poverty with long-term changes in social perceptions of women. NGOs cannot do this alone—governments, donors, religious organizations and community groups must work with NGOs in order to address this devastating global problem.