NCJ Number
213816
Date Published
October 2005
Length
59 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes findings from a larger study on the trafficking of Nepalese girls and women in Mumbai and Kolkata, India.
Abstract
After winning their freedom from brothel owners, eventually all the Nepalese women returned to sex work. Of these that returned, approximately one-third had permanently severed relations with their families. Women who did make the journey back to their home communities in Nepal encountered such significant opposition from neighbors and relatives that it was impossible for them to stay. For some, they were forbidden to enter their family’s house or share food with family members. Additional findings revealed that the majority of Nepalese were trafficked by Nepalese and sold to Nepalese brothel owners; Nepalese girls entered slavery or debt bondage at an average age of 14 to 16 years; the length of time spent in slavery ranged from 2 to 10 years; averaging 3 to 5 years; and the profit to the brothel owner during this period of time ranged from 4 to 20 times that of the purchase price of the trafficked person. This qualitative study examined Nepalese girls and women after they had been sold for prostitution into brothels in Mumbai and Kolkata, India. It was a study of their first days, their years of confinement and their years in sex work after their release. In addition, it examined the living conditions of the greater population of Nepalese sex workers in these areas. The study is part of Terre des homes Foundation’s global campaign to prevent child trafficking and provide rehabilitation and reintegration to children affected by trafficking.