Anti-trafficking bill: Forced to be a bar girl at 15, trafficking survivor wants vengeance

New Delhi: Trust can be a scary word to a victim of trafficking, as many trafficking survivors shared with us- I knew them since childhood that's why I agreed to go with him or My friend's boyfriend whom I used to call a 'brother' sold me to a brothel. Getting sold into a life of misery by a near and dear one is not easy to digest. But it happens.   

MyNation met one such trafficking survivor from the entertainment industry at a recent consultation meeting organised by Prayas, an NGO founded by ex-Delhi DCP Amod Kanth. Taken from West Bengal to Uttar Pradesh, the survivor was compelled to join a dance group and perform in many dance bars. Entertainment sector is a fertile ground for human traffickers where women are coerced to work in dance bars, massage parlours and guesthouses that often double up as brothels.

She underwent severe mental and physical torture, which made her suffer from acute mental health problems even after getting rescued in a raid. She received no rehabilitation. No compensation. No prosecution.

Also read: Sold kidney for Rs 2 lakh and left without medical care, this organ trafficking survivor wants to fight back

Dance bars are the grim reality of every Indian city's underbelly. The proposed, Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha and awaits a discussion in the Rajya Sabha. The bill, which may become law in 2019, provides confidentiality of victims, witnesses, time-bound trials and repatriation of the victims.  

Also read: Sold to sex slavery by 'brother', here's what this trafficking survivor has to say