What choice do trafficked women have? New
Every woman in prostitution is forced into it, and therefore has to be forcibly rescued, says Dr Sunitha Krishnan, co-founder of the anti-trafficking organisation Prajwala, explaining her organisation’s strategies and the motivation for her work with abused and exploited women

By Charumathi Supraja

Many of us choose our view of the world through the TV remote. We engage with ‘reality' between ad breaks. We sit through tear-jerkers on TV but feel squeamish about real tears, real blood. We'd rather not hear the real screams of people being degraded and abused. We switch channels.

But what about people who have chosen to swim daily in the channels of exploitation and indignity? Those who routinely rescue young persons from violence? Do we dare listen to their stories?

Meet Dr Sunitha Krishnan. Co-founder of the anti-trafficking organisation Prajwala, and winner of national (Rani Lakshmi Bai Stree Shakti Puraskar) and international awards (Perdita Huston Human Rights Award 2006) for her work in the field of trafficking of women and children, Krishnan's vision for the future is “to close shop”.

Krishnan's idea of combining citizen and State efforts to combat trafficking led to the creation of a comprehensive rehabilitation policy. Through effective lobbying, Prajwala and its partners drafted a policy to guide State intervention in anti-trafficking in Andhra Pradesh. It was ultimately approved and implemented in January 2003.

A normal work day for Krishnan includes “arranging for a wedding or a funeral, planning rescue operations, meeting team members, lobbying with the government for policy change, begging for support, begging for funds...” In fact, she calls herself “a trained professional beggar”!

In 11 years, Krishnan's organisation has set up 17 schools for the children of victims of commercial sexual exploitation, a profitable industry run by rescued and rehabilitated victims, and a network of support for victims of trafficking (www.prajwalaindia.org).

Some excerpts from an interview.

You did your Masters in social work and a PhD on Mumbai's prostitutes. When did you decide on this course of work?

I wanted to be here, where I am today. I started thinking about what I wanted to do when I was around three or four years old. I didn't have the jargon then. But working in the social sector and working for the people has been my single-minded obsession from birth.

Did you get that from your parents?

No. It came with me. It was inborn, like eyes, nose, teeth... I constantly chose activities that involved doing things for others. I used to run tuition classes for children. I was always thinking about how I could be of use to others. I didn't have any other passion, ambition or distraction.

My mother tells me I used to come home from nursery school and ‘teach' the neighbourhood children what I had learnt. I used a slate that my father had given me as a blackboard. These were not extra things that I did. It was the only thing I did. For my parents, I was ‘a different child'. I didn't like playing. I was like a grandmother. Advising, questioning...

I was the second child, but was like an adult with my parents. I remember having one-to-one discussions with my father, guiding my mother. Labels like ‘big mouth', ‘grandmother' stuck to me.

As a teenager you were a victim of sexual violence.
Does your work as an anti-trafficking activist come from there?

No, it does not come from there. Incidents in your life mould you and give you direction. The incident crystallised my choice of work in the social sector. If that hadn't happened, I still would have been here. My orientation was such. It didn't occur to me that I should be depressed about this. I never felt that I was responsible. Analysis about my being, my being in a relationship with society and the community, etc, was not new to me. I was constantly analysing these issues. It was not unusual for me to think about power hierarchy or gender hierarchy in society, or about the ‘package deal' that victims of sexual violence get. Because of that I was never in conflict with myself. I definitely did go through the pain, humiliation and all the things associated with any violation. But the pain was not an impeding factor, it was a pushing factor. The pain made me realise that there are so many in pain. It helped strengthen the empathy already present in my being. I knew what women went through, but when I went through it myself I knew it better. My intentions became stronger. My conviction hardened and I became very clear about where exactly I wanted to go.

What did your family think of your choice?

What does it matter? I've never cared two hoots about what people think of my decisions. What kind of family would support this work? Even the most progressive families don't want their daughters to get into this line of work. Even after 20 years, I continue to be threatened. The fears my family had earlier have only become worse. My family has never been able to see the benefits of my working in this line. After all these years, I can say they are becoming tolerant. Given half a chance my mother would do anything for me to “normalise”.

Why did you start Prajwala in Hyderabad ?

I was in Hyderabad when one of the oldest red-light areas in the city was being evacuated. I met my mentor and friend Brother Jose Vetticattil there. And we decided to start Prajwala in Hyderabad .

What were the stumbling blocks you faced while starting Prajwala, 11 years ago?

Interestingly, the stumbling blocks now are the same as when I started. Funding, social stigma, civil society indifference…

By stigma do you mean that society ostracises your organisation?

Of course. Nobody wants to give us office space, nobody wants to work with us, and nobody wants to document our stories because we do that kind of work. After all these awards and recognition, my face is known. People deny admission to our children if they see my face. They say: “Oh, so these are those kinds of children… sorry.”

Sometimes, people ring me up and ask for domestic workers. They say: “But please don't send me those kinds of women…” The fact remains that we are unwilling to let victims back into society. We don't want to hire them as housekeepers, domestic workers. We don't want to marry them to our brothers…

Hasn't the indifference of civil society to trafficking changed even a little?

Maybe it has thawed. But I have moved on. I don't wait anymore for civil society validation or certification. I create jobs for my girls if society will not hire them.

And what is the government doing?

The government is doing a lot -- on paper. Policies are being made, conferences and seminars are happening…

And on the ground?

There is many a slip between the cup and the lip…
But a lot of love and affection is bestowed on our organisation. We are allowed to talk and present papers. They listen to us. So now, instead of throwing up my hands in despair at the remand home, I've designed and distributed protocols about how remand homes should be. I have had good responses to that. That's some improvement.

Why is the department not doing much?

You see, trafficking is nice kitty-party talk, article talk, seminar and conference talk. There's no passion in what the government is doing. They mostly believe that the girls are just after easy money; unwilling to work. It's very difficult to internalise anti-trafficking values. They'd all rather give me an award and shut me up. On the other hand, I must say the enforcement agencies are treating the girls as victims, not accused. There is a great change in the way they deal with victims.

Why is Andhra Pradesh particularly vulnerable to trafficking?

Andhra Pradesh is dealing with poverty that has hit suddenly. Globalisation and liberalisation have led to the disruption of traditional trades and occupations. Migration of men to the cities leaves many households with only women who have work for just two months in a year. So when they hear of a job in Delhi , they leave and get trapped. Many girls are trafficked in the name of films. Also, a large number of tribes in this state traditionally sanction prostitution.

What aids the invisibility of the trafficking process?

A large network provides excellent cover. Connivance at many levels makes it less visible.

Can you explain the process and approach in rescuing trafficked women and children?

We have vigilance groups in vulnerable areas. Informer networks help. Our focus is on minors. We try to rescue young girls just before initiation, or just after. Every second, the extent of damage to their bodies and their psyche is more. Sometimes I feel either we must rescue them immediately or not at all.

Is that because you encounter resistance to rescue from the victims themselves?

All women and girls are forced into prostitution. They live in dehumanised conditions and have no control over their lives. If you ask them, all of them say what the traffickers teach them -- that they are in this line “by choice”. They lack options and are links in a chain of abuse. So we have to rescue them forcibly. More than 95% of ‘rescued victims' are hostile. Our trained teams conduct rescue operations with the police.

Don't you face opposition from human rights lobby groups with respect to forcible rescues?

A lot. And mostly from HIV groups. They say this approach to rescue makes the women go underground. That's why it's safer to focus on minors. Prostitution is, after all, illegal in the country. After weeks of counselling, the rescued victims come to us and ask for help in learning job skills and starting a new life. Eighty-five per cent of victims stay. Some leave us but we've never met them again in those places.

What can the public do in response to trafficking?

Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is an organised crime. It is very difficult for young girls and boys to get out of the circle once they are in it. If you are aware of the issue, talk about it to two more people in your life. Don't tolerate incest or sexual abuse of any kind. Women should talk to men about these issues. The men who are using the victims are from our own families. They're not from outer space. There will be no supply chain if there is no demand.

(Charumathi Supraja is a Hyderabad-based journalist)

InfoChange News & Features, March 2007