7 Pathways of Trafficking

Did you know that India has the highest number of people trapped in slavery? 11 million, according to the Global Slavery Index. Many of these victims are women and children trapped in sex slavery. Below are 7 trafficking pathways that are particularly prevalent in India, along with real stories of girls Freedom Firm has rescued after they were trafficked through each of these pathways.

1. Caste System: Although the caste system was supposed to be abolished in 1950, it continues to exist and damage lives in India.

   
   

   1. Girls born into lower-caste systems (such as the "Dalits" untouchables) have restricted access to education and work, which increases their risks of being trafficked. Some families in these communities exploit their children for financial gain.

      
      

   2. Some caste-based communities, such as the Perna system, expect young girls to enter sex work as part of entrenched social norms. This leaves them with little agency or opportunity to escape.

   
   

Read this story about 3 young girls from one such community whose families attempted to sell them into exploitation—but Freedom Firm rescued them and helped set them on a path of healing and restoration.

2. Poverty: Families living in extreme poverty often face housing, food, and income instability, leaving girls especially vulnerable to exploitation as a means of survival. Economic hardship also forces families and children to migrate for work; many young girls become isolated, undocumented, or dependent on others—making them ideal targets for traffickers.

Samira shares her story of how she became trapped in prostitution due to poverty: "I was married, but my husband left me and our son... We were very poor and found it difficult to make ends meet. One day, my son asked me for shoes and clothes; I could not afford to buy for him..." Read more.

3. Child Marriage: In some communities, girls are married at puberty, and their husbands or families force them into prostitution where they become trapped in cycles of abuse with no perceived means of escape.

Karima shared her heartbreaking story with us. Her mother and brother had sold her into marriage for Rs 40,000 (~$450) to a 27-year-old man. Her husband sexually exploited and offered her out for money to multiple men a day. Karima pleaded with us over the phone to help her. Our team rescued Karima in May last year. Read Karima's story.

4. Religious Groups: In the Hindu Devadasi system, girls—often from lower-caste families—are dedicated to a deity. In some areas the practice has evolved into sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, despite being illegal.

Aarti was a victim of exploitation in the Hindu Devadasi system: "After her first menstrual cycle, her childhood was over. Now, seen as a woman by society, and marked by the tali around her wrist as "married," and "set apart," she would be sold as a "sacred sex-worker." Read Aarti's story.

5. Gender Discrimination and Disabilities:

   1. Girls and women with physical or mental disabilities face additional discrimination that increases their vulnerability. Social stigma and isolation, along with reliance on others for care, often leaves them unseen, unheard, and more easily exploited.

   2. Deep-rooted gender inequality in India devalues girls and women, limits their autonomy, and normalizes violence and exploitation, creating conditions where trafficking can flourish with little accountability.

Sarika and Hirini were intellectually disabled which made them easy targets for exploitation. Read their story here.

6. Social Entrapment: Girls who develop unhealthy peer groups may be invited to events or travel opportunities only to be threatened or deceived into prostitution, often by people they believed were friends.

   
   

Suhu was tricked by her friends and ended up trapped in prostitution. Instead of taking her to a birthday party, Suhu's friend took her to a brothel where she forced her into prostitution. Read Suhu's story here.

7. Romantic Deception: Girls are often targeted by traffickers through romantic deception, where young men promise love or marriage, gain trust, and then sell the girls into prostitution once they are isolated from their families.

In 9th grade, Kasturi met and fell in love with a boy. She kept the relationship a secret from her grandmother, and the relationship quickly became physically intimate. Little did Kasturi know, but her boyfriend’s mother was a pimp. He lured girls to his home, and then he and his mother forced them into prostitution. Read Kasturi's story here.

Freedom Firm has strategically rescued over 1000 young women and children in India and made a difference in each region that they work. Each rescue creates a ripple effect that leads to change.

Will you 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 and help to bring rescue, restoration, and justice to victims of sex trafficking? Our program is flexible to fit your schedule and stage of life. Learn more and sign up and email tabitha@freedomfirm.org with any questions.