Kidnapped, drugged and trafficked on her way to school

SALIMA* was on her way to school. It was a normal morning and she walked the route she knew well. In a few minutes, she would reach her school. But a few steps away, a group of men stopped her and put something over her mouth that made her lose consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she was on a train, squeezed between three adult men. Her eyes would barely open and she wanted to scream for help but the drugs that were forced into her system prevented her from making a sound. Salima was taken from her home in West Bengal all the way to Gujarat where she was sold to a brothel. For the next 6 months, this little girl was forced to endure the worst torture known to a child – sexual abuse. 

 

Salima’s world consisted of school, home and friends. How to escape a brothel was not something she didn’t know how to do. But she found a friend in a local tailoring shop who spoke the Bengali language and poured her heart out to him. Fortunately for Salima, the tailor was a good man who helped her escape and put her on a train back to West Bengal. When she arrived in Howrah, the police and the team from the anti trafficking NGO Vihaan were waiting to take her home. Her family was overwhelmed to see her and their 6 months of misery was finally over. But the knowledge of what their underage daughter had to endure in a brothel was far too much for them to bear. Her family wanted justice. 

 

The anti trafficking NGO VIHAAN helped Salima and her family register an official complaint and held their hand through the legal process, which is often daunting for victims. Alongside this, Vihaan paid careful attention to Salima and made sure she received the medical, psychological and educational care she needed to recover from her horrific trauma and start to rebuild her life. ViIHAAN provided Salima with education and vocational skills training that would help her find safe and decent employment when she became an adult. Fast forward to the future and Salima is a well-adjusted young woman who is married with children of her own whom she cherishes with her whole heart.

 

Criminals target the poor and powerless

Kidnapping and sexual exploitation of children can – and does – happen to anyone, regardless of economic class. But poverty makes people more vulnerable to these crimes. Salima’s father was a daily wage labourer earning a meagre income. For the traffickers, this meant that he was not a formidable opponent and could not fight back when his daughter was kidnapped. The anti trafficking NGO VIHAAN exists to help people such as Salima and her family, people who cannot help themselves. Disadvantaged people are often considered “unimportant” because the assumption is that no one will fight for them. But VIHAAN is a powerful force that is taking on traffickers who sexually exploit children while helping children heal.

 

The anti trafficking NGO and their fight against trafficking

As an anti trafficking NGO, VIHAAN has rescued more than 5,000 victims, supported 3,500+ survivors through their aftercare program and trained 1,100+ survivors and those vulnerable with survival skills. But as we learned with Salima’s case, Vihaan does more: bring traffickers to justice –  Vihaan’s efforts led to the arrest of 1,300+ criminals with the assistance of law enforcement and has secured 180 convictions. 

 

VIHAAN has offices in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi and has trained more than 63,700 frontlines workers of law enforcement, judiciary and like minded organisations, to fight the crime of the trafficking of children. The anti trafficking NGO VIHAAN consists of social workers, counsellors, lawyers and researchers who work closely with the local authorities, the police and other organizations in the fight against trafficking  and keep children across India safe.

 

Help Vihaan keep children safe from sexual exploitation

The words child and sexual exploitation should never belong in the same sentence. But anti trafficking NGOs such as VIHAAN are joining hands with the government and police to ensure children and their families are safe from sexual exploitation while victims have access to remedial measures in the fight for justice. In this fight, your support is needed to help VIHAAN rescue more victims and secure justice for their families. To keep children safe:

 

Support Vihaan

 

*the name of the child has been changed to protect her identity

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