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OVERVIEW
Sex trafficking is a devastating assault on human rights and freedom, stripping women and girls of their dignity, autonomy, and the essence of their humanity. Most girls are not taken by strangers; they are handed over by parents who have been deceived — tricked by traffickers offering false promises of jobs, education, or marriage. What families believe will lead to opportunity instead becomes a path into violence, exploitation, and lifelong trauma. Some girls, including those as young as seven, are forced into sexual slavery, enduring unimaginable daily abuse, rape and unimaginable suffering.
- In India, 16 million women are victims of sex trafficking annually, with 40% of them being adolescents and children, some as young as nine years old.
- 95% of trafficked victims are forced into sexual slavery in India.
- 1% of the enslaved girls get rescued.
- 1 in 3 of the world’s child brides live in India.
- 223 million child brides are in India, of which 102 million were married before turning 15.
- Globally, more than 40 million people are enslaved today, and 71% are women and girls.
- Of those subjected to forced sexual exploitation and slavery, women and girls account for 99 % of the victims.
- 21% of victims of sexual exploitation are children.
- Close to 40% of people trafficked into forced marriage are children
The distressing reality is that we live in a society where women and girls are treated as commodities, who can be sold, resold and repurchased. Every single time this happens, a life is shaken to its foundation.
WHAT WE DO?
Working with more than 100 Implementing Partners across India, Operation Red Alert adopts the evidence-informed grassroots thinking approach to prevent sex trafficking at the grassroots level. We aim to reduce the vulnerability to sex trafficking and build well-coordinated systems and structures to prevent crime in a sustainable way. We are active in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal and conducted programmes in more than 10,000 locations across India.
OUR APPROACH
Pillar 1
Eradicate at grassroots level
Drawing insights from behavioural research on male behaviours in the buying and selling of girls in the human trafficking trade, the Safe Village Program was launched to sensitise at-risk community members about sex trafficking, its causes, and its risk factors. The programme aims to create awareness about ways to prevent trafficking and sustain this awareness through active participation and involvement from the community.
Pillar 2
Equip village custodians
Our village custodians are the first line of defence against traffickers. These passionate volunteers who commit to My Choices Foundation to sustain the messages of the Safe Village Program, ensure children stay in school, stop early marriages and child labour, intervene in cases of child abuse, report suspicious activity, and ensure the safety of the villages.
Pillar 3
Empower by helpline
We operate a 24x7 sex trafficking sex trafficking helpline 1800 419 8588. The helpline serves as a safe way to ask for help and respondents are available to guide people in the right direction, provide resources or connect them to the local IPs, grassroots stakeholders and district/ state authorities.
Pillar 4
Expose by mass media
We create large-scale media campaigns to raise awareness, build knowledge, influence attitudes, and mobilise support and involvement to help prevent and combat sex trafficking.
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
Grounded in extensive consultations with diverse stakeholders and strengthened by our team’s field experience, Operation Red Alert’s Theory of Change guides our work to prevent sex trafficking, address its root causes, and support survivors on their path to safety and restoration.
OUR IMPACT
Safe Village Programs Conducted
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Calls Handled Through our Sex Trafficking Helpline
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People Received Educational Comic Books About Set Trafficking
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People Educated on Sex Trafficking and Its Pathways
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Implementing Partners
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Village Custodians Registered (Rakshaks, Gram Mitras, Nodal Teachers and Community Leaders)
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