Sometimes rescued girls don't embrace their freedom. Instead, they continue to believe the lies that all they can do in life is prostitution. Not Radha! She has set her mind and heart to walk in the freedom she enjoys today and has plans for her future. She has said goodbye to prostitution forever.
23-year-old Radha* from Rajasthan’s Kanjar community was rescued from a brothel in Nagpur, Maharashtra in 2019. After rescue, Radha and her infant daughter lived in a government shelter home in Nagpur 10 months. Her mother, who was responsible for trafficking her, was arrested and sent to jail.
When our social workers went to Radha’s house in Rajasthan for subsequent follow up visits, Radha house was locked. Their immediate fear was that she was re-trafficked. For a few months, they were not able to find her. When they called an informant at the local police station, they learned that there was a new police officer-in-charge. They called him and shared their concern about Radha and asked if someone from the station could visit her house.
On 1 July, 2020, our social worker got a call from the police station saying that Radha was at home. She had recently returned from Mumbai with her daughter, father, and uncle.
The police gave his mobile phone to Radha, and our social worker was finally able to talk to her. Radha shared that after her release from the government shelter home, she went to live in Mumbai with her sister and her sister’s family. Her sister works as a housekeeper at an office. The few months spent with her sister gave Radha the opportunity to observe her sister's healthy work environment while reflecting on her own painful memories of the brothel. Combined with witnessing her mother’s prison sentence, the time spent in Mumbai made a deep and lasting impact on her.
Radha told our social worker that she is happy now, and enjoys life with her daughter and her father. When asked if she needed any provisions or clothes during the lockdown, she declined and said she will let Freedom Firm know if a need arises. Her plan is to work on agricultural land and take care of her daughter.
Consider partnering with Freedom Firm to continue to support Radha and other rescued girls through counselling and in- person follow up visits. Freedom Firm social workers travel thousands of miles by train and bus to remote locations to visit girls and make sure they have not been re-trafficked.
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