India is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and slave labor. Indian and Nepalese victims are trafficked to and within India, or through India en route to Pakistan and the Middle East. India is also a growing destination for sex tourists from Europe and the United States. Numerous studies show most females working in the Indian commercial sex industry are victims of enslavement.
The government's anti-trafficking responses are insufficient in comparison to India's huge trafficking problem, particularly its lack of law enforcement response. The 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report classified India on the Tier 2 Watch list, the same ranking they have incurred since 2004.
Shared Hope International provides funding to Bombay Teen Challenge to operate the Village of Hope in India “Ashagram”, a 72-acre village-style development two hours north of Mumbai. BTC and SHI have joined together in an effort to rescue, rehabilitate, restore and empower women enslaved by prostitution and their children, including those affected by HIV. Since 1998, SHI has funded the expansion and establishment of critical serve and shelter facilities providing holistic and long term care for survivors and their children. This ongoing partnership provides safety and security for more than 140 women and children rescued from brothels. Medical and emotional care are provided, as well as literacy and educational training. The women also have access to vocational facilities, providing a variety of options for economic development through the WIN program.
HIV/AIDS Clinic. Shared Hope recognizes the need for comprehensive medical care for prostituted women and girls who often can’t receive the treatment that they require. SHI also partners with Bombay Teen Challenge to operate HIV/Aids clinic, serving more than 2,000 people annually in and around the brothels of Mumbai. The HIV/AIDS clinic provides protein packed meals, counseling, ART (anti-retroviral treatment) and other services to prostituted women. Local and international leaders are continuously surprised at the miraculous restoration of women and children at the HIV/AIDs clinic. In fact, women who have advanced cases of HIV and are often discarded by the brothels have been nursed back to life and are now doing outreach in the same brothels they were rescued from.
Women’s Investment Network Program. Shared Hope understands it is not it is not enough to simply rescue a woman from bondage. The Women’s Investment Network (WIN) program helps equip her with life skills and a legitimate source of work in order to support herself, maintain her independence, and prevent re-victimization. At the Village of Hope near Mumbai, women and children rescued from trafficking not only find a home, but also a source of new opportunities. SHI provides funding for the WIN program – these funds go toward training in leather making, jewelry design, and tailoring. Their new skills provide them with a source of income to support themselves and their children. Each year, they create dresses, bags, leather products and precious stone jewelry, which are then sold to help raise funds toward the Village of Hope and their own future.
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