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Help us rescue 20 girls from sexual exploitation and human trafficking
Help us rescue 20 girls from sexual exploitation and human trafficking
On May 13, the Mumbai Smiles team rescued two women, sexually exploited, in a massage center in Virar West, Maharashtra (India). After the rescue, one of them went back to her husband, who will probably force her into prostitution again. The other, Deepti, 25 years old – about whom we have read recently with a twin son and daughter, has been in a rehabilitation center where she will have to stay for an year.
At Mumbai Smiles, almost every week we receive notices to rescue girls who are being sexually exploited in inhumane conditions. They are girls between 20 and 25 years, but many of them are also minors. They are captured, deceived and sometimes even kidnapped by mafia networks, which transfer them to Mumbai, where they are forced to work as prostitutes in unacceptable conditions of slavery.
These women are forced to have sex with up to 11 clients a day, in rooms and spaces without the slightest hygienic conditions, and live under the constant threat of pimps. They suffer abuse, verbal and physical violence, humiliation and to cope with their situation they often have no other way out than to take refuge in alcohol or other substances.
For an year now, at Mumbai Smiles we have had a team dedicated to rescuing victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, in coordination with the local police and other agencies, and we have already managed to help a total of 13 women. But these ransom demands are becoming more and more, in a city where it is estimated that there are 4, 00, 000 women trafficked and sexually exploited, of which 1, 80, 000 are minors. For this reason, on the International Day against sexual exploitation and human trafficking, we launched a campaign to rescue 20 sexually exploited and trafficked girls. The action will be carried out through the crowdfunding platform #migranodearena.org. Jaume Sanllorente, our founder and the General Director gives us more details in his video.
Through the website of the #breakwithtrafficking campaign (this campaign is also a part of it), you can also collaborate by signing the manifesto and access more resources to expand the information. Precisely, in the 8th edition of the #MuseoChicote awards, held in Madrid on September 21, the Foundation has seen this work recognized with the special solidarity award 2022.
The fight against human trafficking is today more necessary than ever, since according to the latest report “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery” carried out jointly by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), it is The number of people in conditions of slavery stands at almost 50 million, a figure that represents an increase of 23% compared to what was estimated in 2016, the date on which the three organizations had made their last joint report on the subject. The current global political and economic situation and the impact of the pandemic have generated a clear increase in the number of people vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation.
That is why it is important to get involved in the eradication of this scourge. They can’t show faces, but you can show your face for them.
