Millions of Indian women and children live as slaves, working in brothels, carpet factories or stone mines. About 1 million women and children a year are trafficked in India for sexual exploitation and 10 million to 40 million Indians work as bonded, or forced, laborers, according to experts’ estimates. In Uttar Pradesh state, often referred to as the “carpet belt” because of its dominant industry, about 2 million children work as bonded laborers. Lax law enforcement reflects the need for education and advocacy for more protection.

This Initiative educates Indians about the dangers of trafficking and provides prevention strategies. Projects will strengthen rescue and rehabilitation programs and offer job placement and microcredit to enable women to boost their family income and make them and their children less vulnerable to the lures of human traffickers. Projects also will educate law enforcement and advocate for stronger laws.

This Initiative brings together 12 to 14 experienced local implementers in North India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states. By educating at-risk people about trafficking, rescuing victims and equipping local

activists to push for reforms, thousands of Indian women and children will experience lasting Life Change.

Initiative Profile »

India has one of the world’s largest human trafficking problems. Its social infrastructure is inadequate to care for its 1.1 billion people, and an ancient caste system supports the abuse and exploitation of the poorest Indians who have few ways to avoid debt. Other factors include:

• Poverty. Poor Indians have relatively few choices for borrowing or earning money. A family that cannot afford to eat may see selling a child as the only alternative to starvation.
• Ignorance of the law. Few Indians, including law enforcement officials, know about human trafficking measures.
• Cultural beliefs and practices. Some traditional practices fuel trafficking and the exploitation of women and children.

• Migration. Indians who voluntarily seek work as domestic servants or low-skilled laborers are too often themselves enslaved.
• Bonded labor. Later generations work to repay a debt incurred by an older family member.
• Annual floods in Bihar. Cleanup and rebuilding leave people constantly struggling to recover economically.

This Initiative will educate vulnerable people about the dangers of trafficking, rescue and restore victims, protect at-risk women and children and improve access to justice.

North India in Focus »

Human trafficking is big business in India, reaching about 62 percent of its 593 districts. Indian women and children are bought and sold within its borders; others are brought to North India from nearby countries. India’s sex trade is a $9 billion industry, yet it employs just 20 percent of India’s trafficked persons. Some 80 percent of trafficking victims perform manual labor in unregulated industries.

Trafficking prosecutions are rare. India’s constitution leaves enforcement to state police, yet much of the trafficking crosses several state or international borders. Police corruption impedes Indias progress in combating trafficking. Low-level border guards take bribes to

ignore border trafficking or tip off brothel owners to impending raids. NGOs conduct anti-trafficking training for state and federal police, reaching many high-level officers, but more lower-level officers need this training.

This Initiative will provide training to law enforcement officials and work with community and state leaders to toughen laws and support prosecution. Projects will help vulnerable people evaluate job opportunities that may be trafficking scams. The Initiative will bring to light a problem that perpetuates the cycle of poverty. It will show the people of North India they can enjoy a better way of life.

Mangiri of Baniadabri, India, says, “I was promised a decent job, good food, comfortable living and a salary of about $35. I, along with three other women, went with [the trafficker] to Delhi. But after reaching Delhi, I was kept in a room with many other women from different parts of India where the agents negotiated with clients. The next day, I was taken to the place for work. This was the house of a wealthy family who hardly gave me any food to eat and treated me inhumanely. Not being able to bear the hunger any more, I insisted on returning back, and then was sent back to the domestic bureau. That night I witnessed the rape of a woman. I was too scared. I wept and told them that I wanted to go back home the next day. Finally I was put into a train, but only after they molested me and snatched away all my money. After reaching my village, I came in contact with an anti-trafficking program. I joined them and today I work actively in the community generating awareness, mobilizing people groups to address this issue.”