Giving flesh trade survivors a life of dignity

I love didi. I carry her photograph in my wallet. She has been transferred to another office and I don’t have her contact number, but I can never forget what she has done for me,” says Reema (name changed), a 27-year-old rehabilitated survivor of human trafficking, about her programme officer at Save the Children India (SCI), an NGO working towards empowering disadvantaged women and children since 1988.

Like the 140 others like her, Reema was trained by experts handpicked by SCI for starting a new life post-rescue from a brothel. “Apart from rescuing girls from brothels, we give vocational training to the freed girls ending up in state homes, like the two at Deonar, between 10am and 5pm,” says SCI CEO Dr Subhadra Anand. At a time a batch of 20 to 25 girls are brought to Sahas Kendra, the rehabilitation centre at Bandra-Kurla complex, and imparted training hospitality, computer graphics, tailoring, nursing and housekeeping, to name a few, says legal consultant Nandini Thakkar, also a programme manager at SCI.

After working as a trainee in the hospitality sector, Reema went on to become a trainer of supervisors within four years. “Her success story, like many others’ here, was all about empowerment and independence,” says Thakkar. After three months, we identify the survivor’s skills and conduct a career test, which helps in deciding her vocation. “Following this, we start training and counselling them for placements later. A year down the line, the girls don’t need us anymore,” explains Thakkar.

Another aspect that the SCI is working on is sensitising and training police personnel in the various districts of the state. Stating that over 2,000 investigation officers had been trained in the three phases so far, programme officer Pravin Kadam, who is in-charge of police training, says, “We found that the police did not treat the victims sensitively, so we had to work on changing that.”

It is often the lack of understanding of the issue among the policemen which causes them to look down upon the victims, thus exposing her to the risk of getting stuck in the flesh trade forever. “Victims are often treated as illegal immigrants, criminalised and re-victimised, without being offered appropriate assistance and protection while the true perpetrators remain at large,” says Kadam, adding that, “There is significant need to enhance the knowledge, ability and expertise of law enforcement agencies about human trafficking.” He suggests the police to concentrate on going back to a victim’s life, looking into her transit and family, and other factors involved.

The NGO also trained members of the judiciary and the Child Welfare Committee in rural areas to ensure a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding survivors. “In the rural setup, the nature of the problem is very different as they don’t know where to keep the rescued girls. So, we had to address those issues. Now, when the police officers call us asking for advice or giving feedback, we refer them to agencies that can help the victims,” says Kadam.