Ending Large Scale Sex Trafficking in India

India has been under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic from mid-March 2020. During this time, we have been closely coordinating with our NGO partners in the field across 8 states to ensure that the populations we are working with are safe from violence, abuse and exploitation.

During natural disasters or emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic vulnerable people are even more exposed to traffickers and others who are working harder than ever to take advantage of their desperation. 

TRAINING

We have been conducting refresher trainings with all our NGO partners and providing new training sessions on the heightened instances of trafficking during the pandemic and the manner in which our NGO partners can use our tools (the toll free number and the NGO network) to serve and rescue as many people as possible. 

STATISTICS

Our Safe Village Programs have (as on 30 April 2020):

• Conducted 4,269 Safe Village Programs
• Reached 2,388,378 people with awareness education
• Distributed 1,169,652 comic books to help children understand trafficking
• Received 38,294 helpline calls on our toll free number (1800 419 8588)
• Handled 270 cases 
• Trained 1,698 Rakshaks (volunteers who are permanently in the village and report any suspicious activity back to Operation Red Alert)

RESEARCH

Operation Red Alert conducted a survey in 526 villages to assess the situation in different rural areas based on the following:

• Are there any COVID-19 cases?
• Are there any missing girls?
• Are there any child marriages?
• Are there cases of domestic violence or child abuse?
• Are there food shortages?
• Are there migrant workers who have returned? 

The results of this are attached to this report as a PDF document. 

COVID-19 RELIEF

Migrant workers and daily wage laborers are especially at risk during this time due to extreme poverty resulting from a lack of income and the subsequent lack of food, medicines and other essential goods required to survive during the lockdown and beyond.

Our NGO partners have reached out to 12,840 families across eight states in India with staple foods and goods such as: rice, pulses, mustard oil, wheat flour, potatoes, salt and sugar including soap, masks and other essential hygiene items. 

• Survey (PDF)