Media Report for History of Premodern South Asia at Messiah University
Human trafficking is the third largest and most profitable organized crime industry in the entire world, which brings in about $150 billion in revenue[1]. In the country of Nepal alone, it is estimated that about 5,000 to 7,000 young girls between the ages of 10 to 18 years old are either abducted or lured into sex trafficking rings each year. Some lures take the shape of employment agencies, who take in young girls, and promote promises of education that in reality turn out to be fraudulent ploys to secure victims. These girls are not only stolen off the street, but also from homes and places of education. Those abducted would be eventually added to the sex industry that entraps as many as 200,000 Nepali women acting as prostitutes[2].
Human trafficking is a widely used and organized crime that also happens to be one of the largest, yet unspoken industry in India. Reuters put out a study that estimated that there are 20 million prostitutes for commercial use in India[3]. About 16 million of that group are women and children who have been abducted into sex trafficking. Legal Services in India have even stated that within every hour four young girls, three of them against their will, are abducted into prostitution[4]. The Statista Research Department published on October 14th, 2022, the reported 2021 human trafficking cases across India from the following areas:
The history behind prostitution is as old as time due to the simple principle of supply and demand. In Nepal’s history, “the tradition of buying and dedicating virgins to temple deities (devakis) has been documented over centuries[5].” The young girls would originally be used in the context of the ceremony as assistants; however, this “tradition” would quickly become a form of prostitution. Men are not the only abductors in this organized crime. About one-third of accused traffickers are females between the ages of 25 and 45. 43% of human traffickers were neighbors of their victims. In some cases of poverty, fathers often sell their young daughters to middle-aged men whose only desire is sexual exploitation. Fathers can make between 15,000 and 40,000 based on his daughter’s age and virginity[6]. In 21% of households across India, according to a Kailash Satyarthi Foundation survey, who are put in the position of poverty are ready to sell their children into child labor for economic purposes[7].
This underground industry has become so ingrained into society to the point that it is seen as a necessity. The effects of this thought pattern coerce young female students to feel pressured to give up their areas of study and instead follow a career path in sex work to keep the supply up with the demand. Although there was a bill passed in India in 2018 with the hopes of investigating more cases, rescuing, and protecting young men and women; cases have only skyrocketed since the pandemic with child marriages alone increasing by 17%[8]. This unspoken problematic industry needs to be exposed and disassembled for the physical and mental protection of human individuals.
[1] Sujata Rana, “The Sex Worker and the Market - Himal Southasian,” Himal Southasian, September 1991, https://www.himalmag.com/the-sex-worker-and-the-market/. [2] Sujata Rana, “The Sex Worker and the Market - Himal Southasian,” Himal Southasian, September 1991, https://www.himalmag.com/the-sex-worker-and-the-market/. [3] India Times (India Times, October 28, 2021), https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/human-trafficking-in-india-552763.html. [4] Hamaad Habibullah, “Explained: Why Human Trafficking Remains One of the Top Organized Crimes in India,” India Times (India Times, October 28, 2021), https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/human-trafficking-in-india-552763.html. [5] Katerina Simonva et al., “Taking down One of the World’s Largest and More Profitable Criminal Industries: Trafficking in Persons (Part I),” Harvardilj.org, 2017, https://harvardilj.org/2021/05/taking-down-one-of-the-worlds-largest-and-more-profitable-criminal-industries-trafficking-in-persons-part-i/#:~:text=Human%20trafficking%20is%20one%20of,illicit%20drug%20and%20arms%20trafficking.. [6] Sujata Rana, “The Sex Worker and the Market - Himal Southasian,” Himal Southasian, September 1991, https://www.himalmag.com/the-sex-worker-and-the-market/. [7] Anuradha Nagaraj, “Rescued Child Sex Workers in India Reveal Hidden Cells in Brothels,” U.S., December 13, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-trafficking-brothels/rescued-child-sex-workers-in-india-reveal-hidden-cells-in-brothels-idUSKBN1E71R1. [8] Hamaad Habibullah, “Explained: Why Human Trafficking Remains One of the Top Organized Crimes in India,” India Times (India Times, October 28, 2021), https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/human-trafficking-in-india-552763.html.
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