India’s NGO Workers Put Their Lives on the Line to Fight Prostitution

In India’s Uttar Pradesh NGO workers put their safety on the line to fight child prostitution, end sex trafficking, and restore victims’ dignity. 

Uttar Pradesh is amongst the poorest states in India and, with limited employment opportunities, women and girls who live in extreme poverty often have no choice but to sell their bodies to be able to be able to sustain themselves. 

I talked to Ajeet Singh, the founder of Guria, a Varanasi-based NGO which works towards eradicating trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children. 

Ajeet says that the key to success is a holistic end-to-end strategy which starts with the preparation for rescuing women, involves the actual seizure of brothels, and ends with empowering victims and lowering their dependence on the criminal nexus that puts them at risk of being exploited again in the future.    

Despite notable successes, Ajeet points out that the rescue and rehabilitation process in India is complex, lengthy, and sometimes dangerous.