They take part in signature move; Apne Aap Women Worldwide petition will be submitted to the President on January 26, 2012
Members of Shapath, an anti-trafficking group started by students from Symbiosis College for Management & Human Resource Development, on Tuesday took to the streets soliciting signatures of citizens on a petition by Apne Aap Women Worldwide
addressed to the president of India.
The petition seeks to change the Indian anti-trafficking law to prohibit and de-normalise the purchase of sexual services and decriminalise and protect trafficking victims. The national campaign is aimed at educating and engaging the public to stop the purchase of sex and will work with student groups across the country to gather 10,000 signatures to present to the president of India by January 26, 2012.
Apne Aap Women Worldwide is a grass roots Indian organisation working to empower girls and women to resist and end sex trafficking.
Apne Aap’s founder, Ruchira Gupta, winner of the Clinton Global Citizen Award and member of the steering committee on social welfare of the Planning Commission, said: “The passion of the Symbiosis students shows that India’s young people will not stand by while girls are being bought and sold.”
Students also sold bands with the message, ‘Cool Men Don’t Buy Sex’ to create awareness that the demand for purchased sex fuels the rampant flesh trade and to raise funds for the Mundhwa Rehabilitation Centre, a home that houses, educates and supports over 25 survivors of sexual violence.
The primary message of the campaign is that sex trafficking exists because buyers create the demand that drives the sex industry and that with legal reform and awareness raising, society can change the behaviours around gender discrimination and the acceptance of purchased sex and in doing so, can bring an end to sex trafficking.
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