The Hindu : Kerala News : Trafficking in women on the rise in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 20, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Trafficking in women on the rise in State

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

Despite tough measures taken by Government

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Trafficking in women from the State to metros and Gulf countries and minor girls from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to beach destinations for commercial sexual exploitation is on the rise despite tough measures taken by the Government.

Young women falling into the trap of racketeers has become a matter of concern for the Government and non-governmental organisations fighting against trafficking in human beings.

Trafficking in women from the State is mainly to Mangalore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkota and to the Gulf, Sunitha Krrishnan, a social activist who has been fighting against commercial sexual exploitation, told The Hindu .

Dr. Krrishnan says she had come across women from the State while rescuing women trapped in red light areas. "Kovalam has become infamous for sex tourism. Minor girls from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are brought to the tourist destination. Those who run the racket now rotate children from Visakhapattinam, Kovalam, Mahabalipuram and Puri to avoid being caught by the police", says Dr. Krrishnan.

A study conducted by the Kerala State AIDS Control Society last year had identified 500 child sex workers each in the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. It was found that women and children are trafficked from the State by promising roles in films, good alliances and better job opportunities. Dr. Krrishnan, who hails from Palasana in Palakkad, heads the Hyderabad-based `Prajwala,' an NGO which has rescued over 1,600 women and successfully rehabilitated them. The home run by her has 120 HIV positive children rescued from traffickers.

She claims to have rescued a 16-year-old girl hailing from Iranjalakuda in Thrissur district who was pushed into flesh trade while studying in Mangalore for nursing. The girl was lured into the profession by the matron of the hostel and was being used for enrolling more women into the sex-for-money racket.

Ms. Krrishnan, who was in the UAE recently for shooting a documentary, says the new modus operandi is to recruit women as computer operators, graphic designers and housekeepers to Gulf countries. "One of the team members went as a decoy and met a 20-year-old woman hailing from Aluva who was pushed into flesh trade on arrival in the UAE. She was recruited as a graphic designer. Her passport and visa is with the agent and she has not seen the outside world for two years. She continues to sent money and her family does not know she is a sex worker".

A study conducted by the National Human Rights Commission has revealed rampant child trafficking by different agencies. It has been found that 15,407 children go missing from six metros every year and that over 3,200 women remain untraced every year from these cities.

Last week, 10 women who had been rescued from Kuwait were brought to the capital in a flight during the wee hours of the day. The families of many of them do not know they were pushed into flesh trade. Official sources say that although the Government wants to extend a helping hand to these women, they are rejecting it out of fear that their families and community will come to know of their plight. According to B. R. Swaroop of `Equations,' another NGO, there are reports of college girls from Bangalore coming to Kumarakom to make `money' by selling sex.

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