“Prostitution is not sex work. It is exploitation.”

THE torture that women and children – yes, children – are forced to endure in red light areas is unimaginable. The people who are trapped in red light areas and forced into so-called sex work are people who have been abducted and brought to these areas against their will. Some women and children manage to escape. Others are trapped yet continue to resist. But most people are forced to submit to the demands of traffickers through beatings, starvation, rape, drugging and psychological torture. Through this process of “breaking”, women and children are tortured to the point of being so afraid to fight back, that they “give up” and do whatever is demanded of them just to avoid worse torture being inflicted on them. 

 

In short, these women and children are forced into what is called sex work. But, as if the abuse and exploitation wasn’t enough, these girls and women are also discriminated against and treated as outcasts by people who come across them. The children of women who are forced into prostitution are denied admission in schools, and the women themselves have no opportunities to rebuild their lives if they ever get the chance to escape or leave the red light district after a lifetime of being tortured. It is the lack of understanding that fuels this discrimination but there are organizations such as Mumbai-based Purnata that are working to rescue and rehabilitate women and children from mistreatment and stigma. 

Purnata’s mission of hope 

Purnata was founded in Mumbai in response to the devastating stories of abductions and sexual exploitation that the founder of the organization Aaboo Varghese heard from girls and women. He came across the real case of a mother and her daughter who had been abducted and locked up in an apartment by a group of men. The men kept them in that apartment until the mother was snatched from her daughter and sold to a trafficker in the red light district. The daughter was then subjected to sexual abuse by that group of men and at the young age of twelve, she became pregnant as a result of rape. But the men didn’t stop there. Punching, beating and kicking her hoping to murder the fetus, the men continued their torture.

 

Eventually, the daughter was sold to a red light district in Delhi. Her troubles went from bad to worse as she was sold to one trafficker after the other who passed her around as if she were an object. Her mother had managed to escape and went to the police to beg for help to find her daughter. But being a woman forced into so-called sex work, she was kicked out of the police station. Desperate, she found her way to Purnata. The NGO took her to the police, filed an FIR and accompanied the police to Delhi to search for the daughter. It was discovered that she had been taken to Uttar Pradesh and as soon as Purnata arrived there, her trafficker had fled. The NGO continued its search and in two weeks, she was found.  

Purnata began a long process of rehabilitation to help the rescued girl begin her gargantuan task of recovering from the worst torture known to a human being. What happens to trafficked victims in red light districts is not just physical abuse. Exploiting a person inflicts grave mental and emotional wounds that are often too deep for most people to acknowledge, let alone overcome. But this is a challenge that Purnata takes on because the organization has hope in the possibilities of restoration. When this particular victim started on her path to recovery, Purnata also worked with the police to make sure her traffickers were arrested and in prison – where they remain to this day without bail. 

 

Prostitution is exploitation

In the three decades that Aaboo Varghese has worked in anti trafficking, he has seldom come across a woman that has chosen to be there. In almost all cases, when men come to red light districts to engage in sexual acts with women, the assumption is that these women want to be there. But the process of “breaking” destroys a person’s entire being so much that they submit to whatever is demanded of them for fear of future abuse. He goes on to explain that “there’s a wrong idea out there that women are in “sex work” out of their own free will. But these women were trafficked and the only way to stay alive is to say yes to being raped. That’s the reality of what they go through and this is why prostitution is not sex work – it is exploitation.”   

Purnata’s impact in ending trafficking

Purnata has rescued and rehabilitated 1,500 women and 500 children and is on a mission to end trafficking across India. The organization works across source, transit and destination areas to track down victims to rescue, prosecute traffickers and prevent trafficking from occurring in the future. Purnata provides rescued women with safe housing, nutritious food, mental and physical health care and rebuilds their futures through life skills and livelihood training to help them find safe and decent employment and lead dignified and independent lives. The NGO also gives the children access to education, sports, arts and crafts, music and counseling to recover from trauma and prevent second generation “sex work” and exploitation. 

 

Support Purnata and help innocent victims

When you support Purnata, you help the organization rescue women and children from sexual exploitation and give them the rehabilitation needed to not allow their past abuse affect their future or their children’s futures. What is considered sex work is nothing but abuse, exploitation and crime. Purnata does more than save victims from a future of abuse. The organization works in local communities to empower people in recognizing the signs of trafficking and keep themselves and their peers safe from this dangerous crime. Purnata needs your help to reach more people in need of rescue from red light districts and help them rebuild their lives. To support the organization Purnata:

 

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