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Inside the red-light district: Stories that choke our heart and our Safe Village Program is more than needed now!
Walking through the red-light district, we see narrow alleys and clusters of shacks where women stood at the doors and it is hard not to notice the harsh reality of oozing sadness in their eyes and how women and children are trapped in a cruel cycle of exploitation. Young girls, as young as 12, sold […]
Walking through the red-light district, we see narrow alleys and clusters of shacks where women stood at the doors and it is hard not to notice the harsh reality of oozing sadness in their eyes and how women and children are trapped in a cruel cycle of exploitation. Young girls, as young as 12, sold by traffickers, trapped for years and raped many times a day. Their dreams of getting rescued fade away day by day and they resign to their fate; they become prey for hungry beasts as their faces become faceless amongst hundreds of women and children living in the red-light district in West Bengal.
We visited the red-light district in West Bengal, home to more than 300 sex workers from different parts of India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Our heart was choked with sorrow when they recounted their past – from the promise of a good life to a happy marriage by traffickers to hungry stomachs to feed at home; they are ruthlessly exploited by sex traffickers, pimps and so-called ‘Ma’ and ‘Aunty’ every single day and night, making them impossible to escape the slavery.
The next step of our work will be to find out which villages they are from, so we can plan for our Safe Village Programs in those villages and if needed, get deeper with our interventions. ‘Blitz’ is a term that struck our minds, which means attacking from all fronts – an intensive attack (concerted and sustained efforts) with our powerful and passionate messages to empower families and communities which will threaten the entry of traffickers into their villages.
Our visit to the red-light district has helped us gather a deep understanding of the varied aspects of reality related to human and sex trafficking. The time is now to strengthen our Safe Village Program and we need your support. Let’s work together to give these innocent girls, the lives they deserve. Become a donor today – your support will help us prevent sex trafficking in Indian villages. Donate now.
My Choices Foundation
This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.
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