The Safe Village Program is a unique, flagship prevention programme run by Operation Red Alert of My Choices Foundation to end sex trafficking in India. Through the programme, we have reached over 5,000 vulnerable villages in India, ensuring the safety of each person in the village. At present, The Safe Village Programs are being conducted in 8 states - Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar and West Bengal.
There are an estimated 20 million people in forced prostitution in India and according to Government of India statistics, 40% of these are children. The children are beaten, sexually violated, and have low chances of being rescued. This project, titled the Safe Village Program, is designed on the prevention model and provides awareness education to people in villages on how to identify traffickers and how to prevent them from operating in their villages - before the crime occurs.
Through Operation Red Alert, we researched the root cause of sex trafficking which resulted in the prevention-based "Safe Village Program". This programme uses technology to identify villages that are at the highest risk for trafficking. Once identified, our team visits the village armed with positive messaging for each demographic in the village, a comic book that spreads awareness and information about our toll-free helpline to prevent trafficking - making it a "SAFE VILLAGE".
This project will provide awareness education to villages in India to ensure that people (specifically children) learn how to recognize traffickers, keep themselves safe and also highlights the importance of girls remaining in school and not marrying before the legal age of 18. It will ensure that the people have access to tools such as the helpline and are connected to our NGO network in cases of emergencies. We also enlist volunteers in the village who help sustain the awareness.
