Tourist visa for flesh trade victims

Lure of overseas assignment and glam world pushing girls into the vicious circle, say police

Trafficking of young women for commercial sex is no longer confined to innocent tribal people or girls from rural parts or from economically backward classes.

In the last one decade, the trend has changed. Today, any woman can be trafficked, irrespective of her background, says Sunita Krishnan of Prajwala, a NGO that rescues, rehabilitates, and reintegrates sex-trafficked victims into society.

Take the case of Madhavi (name changed), a MBA graduate from a respected family, who was recently rescued by Prajwala. In her mid-twenties, a drugged Madhavi’s intimate encounter with a person was filmed and the recorded clip was used to coerce her into hi-tech flesh trade. Later, she was blackmailed into bringing some of her friends into the trade by deception, said Dr. Sunita in an interview to

The Hindu .

The trend of forcibly pushing women and girls as young as 12 years into commercial sex through deception has assumed alarming proportions and technology, unfortunately, has been used as a key tool.

The “supply areas” are many, right from bus stops to railway stations and colleges to public places.

Employment, especially in the glamour world of film and modelling and overseas assignment, has been the common lure. A majority of the victims have been girls from the middle class families, who foster a dream.

“And that aspect is exploited by trained hawks,” says Charu Sinha, CID, IG, Telangana.

Recently, two rackets were busted in Visakhapatnam, wherein women and girls were being trafficked to Middle East countries, Singapore, and Malaysia.

According to DCP Trivikram Varma, the victims are sent on tourist visa. After reaching the destination, their passports are impounded and they are forced into flesh trade.

It is estimated that 20,000 girls from A. P. and Telangana are pushed into commercial sex market every year.

Dr. Sunita pointed out that trafficking followed a unique pattern.

“Girls from Rayalaseema districts such as Anantapur and Kadapa mostly land up in Delhi or flesh market in North India. Girls from East and West Godavari and Visakhapatnam are trafficked to Pune, Mumbai, and Goa. The network is pan India and global at times,” she said.