Grace As Justice Vol. 1, Issue 5

GRACEASJUSTICE t he fight against human t rafficking graceasjustice.com Volume 1 Issue 5 July 2016

in books

C ou ra geou s C om pa ssi on in business | by Nicole Robyn P o l is h e d p e a r l in the arts | by Jayoti Soor

Dancing my way to freedom

EDITORIAL As I finished another book on the issue of trafficking, I pondered the reasons behind this mind boggling atrocity. No doubt there are many, but some of the biggest issues are economic and mindset. In many parts of the world, parents are willing to suffer heartache and separation from their children if it means an education and ultimately a better life. Others are willing to risk everything including their lives to save their young ones from being conscripted into a rebel army. I cannot even begin to imagine what that must be like.

Living in a very progressive land, and following strong women who left me believing nothing was off limits to me as a woman, I cannot connect with certain ideals that leave women stranded in sexual slavery. I once again learned that women in collective societies such as India often choose to remain in their line of work to support their brothers. Their value is little to nothing, even a burden to families unable to pay their dowries. It was right for them to be sold to support the males in the family. I was completed astonished when I learned of the plight of Moldovan orphans. As one who was taught by both religion and country that orphans were to be cared for because their advocate was God Himself, I was shocked to find they were considered the worst of the worst in Moldovan society.

They were easily trafficked and rarely returned ? and when they did, it was under the cloak of silence.

So would I continue to be silent? Who will champion the cause of the poor and support the outcasts and the brokenhearted if it is not those of us living in privileged societies? We have no right to feel guilty about the work and efforts our

parents and grandparents put into our countries so we can be free both physically and mentally.

Yet, do we have a duty to take these same efforts and charge into the darkness? Are we willing to say: ?It?s their culture? without realizing that every culture ? including our own ? needs constant progress and change?

I believe we can end human trafficking and slavery in the 21st century. It requires a big vision by many little people. No one will stand as an isolated tower, but we can stand together. One person might bring her powerful insight into freedom for women. Another can bring her love and compassion. A businesswoman and educators bring more dimension to shape the hearts and minds of an entire society ? one generation, and even one person at a time.

Each person has a special gift ? including those who have been trafficked. As we bring people out of the darkness and into the light, a global shift will take place.

Mindsets will begin to change, and powerful traditions within cultures that cause oppression and division will fall. This is a long-term, high-risk experience. If we all do what is in our hand, we will join together and tighten the net around this despicable crime. Are you in?

Rachael Williams-Mejri, Editor

EVERYLIFE ISAPEARL "In India, the incredibly oppressed Hindu Dalits are unlikely to find any type of decent employment, if they find anything at all.

They are more likely to starve than any other group of people in the country due to their ?untouchable? status. This makes them especially vulnerable to labor and sex trafficking within their own country. It is also very challenging for women of any caste to find employment, especially survivors of trafficking."

Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

-4-

"W hen one of these precious pearls is released from that dark shell, she needs a place that will remind her of the truth that she one is one of a kind. Then she needs a life that encourages her uniqueness and beauty. That is where we come in?Polished Pearl helps to train and employ these beautiful women to make gorgeous, meaning filled accessories."

CHANGINGDIMENSIONSOFHUMANTRAFFICKING Migration from one place to another is a common manifestation across the world.

Migration in Nepal dates back to the 19th century, but in recent years those dynamics have changed. Initially, the majority of the women from rural Nepal migrated to the southern and northern part of the country in search of a better life. People from the rural areas went to the neighboring countries like India for the purpose of security and to improve the living standards of their families. Migrant workers returning to Nepal brought new skills with them, which helped their society in some practical way. Recently migration has taken varied forms. For example: Nepalese workers earlier travelled to India to be posted in the Army, but now they have been migrating to the Gulf countries like Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, Syria, and Malaysia. Due to lack of employment opportunities and the rising levels of poverty in Nepal, Nepalese are compelled to migrate to the Gulf countries in search for better opportunities in order to improve the standard of living of their families. On the one hand migrating to Gulf countries opens up new potentials of social, cultural and economic welfares. On the other hand it also poses a huge risk for the women to resort to a place which is totally different in culture, language, laws and customs. The majority of the women become victims of trafficking during their travel process, especially when they are deceived by the recruitment agencies regarding their documents.

Migrant

APNEAAPWOMEN WORLDWIDE byJuanitaKakoty

Apne Aap Women Worldwide is an Indian anti-sex trafficking organisation working with the most marginalised, prostituted and at-risk women and girls from red light areas and certain caste communities suffering from inter-generational prostitution by mobilising them to access their rights in the form of education, citizenship documents, government subsidies, livelihood linkages, legal support, and friendship networks. The organisation was started in 2002 by Ruchira Gupta, an abolitionist, feminist campaigner, human rights activist, writer, Emmy award winning journalist, and academic, along with 22 women in prostitution. To date, the organisation has touched more than 20,000 lives in Forbesganj Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

(Bihar), Kolkata and Delhi. Across national and international platforms, Ruchira Gupta has spoken of how as an activist organising prostituted and at-risk women and girls she has noticed that they struggle to access even their most basic needs ? food, clothing, shelter, and protection from violence. She has written in her latest book River of Flesh and Other Stories: The Prostituted Woman in Indian Short Fiction: ?I saw women live and die in debt bondage. I came to know of the huge profits which pimps and brothel-keepers make? . The average age of a girl pulled into prostitution is between nine and thirteen years. Ice is used to physically break pre-pubescent girls and make them amenable to exploitation? . I saw mutilated bodies... scars - 12 -

determining the culpability of the pimp or the client. In another landmark intervention in Nov 2014, in response to a writ petition filed by Apne Aap, the High Court of Bihar pronounced a comprehensive judgment in favour of the organisation which addresses more effectively the issues and concerns of sex-trafficking and the victims.

List en t o w om en Through Apne Aap?s efforts, 30 home-based brothels have been shut down in Forbesganj (Bihar), and about 57 brothels have been shut down in Munshiganj (Kolkata). Children of prostituted women in Delhi, Bihar and Kolkata have been enrolled for the first time in schools and boarding schools. And we have provided livelihood linkages to the women where we have our presence. But this was not easy. It took years of advocacy and field intervention. Yet challenges remain and are immense. It is the zeal for social justice that energizes Apne Aap staff. We seek to spread this zeal for social justice across communities and people. Gloria Steinem said in the 1980s: listen to what the women want, and there lies the solution to their problems. This is what we have tried to do at Apne Aap. We have tried to empower women by listening to them. We have listened to the women of caste communities suffering from inter-generational prostitution, as well as to women from Mumbai and Kolkata?s red light areas. They want their daughters in schools and hostels. They want their daughters to be never prostituted. Apne Aap Women Worldwide is a registered charitable trust in India. It has consultative status with the United Nations.

Apne Aap International is registered as a 501 (c)(3) in the US to raise awareness and funds for Apn e Aap Wom en Wor ldw ide.

Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

BIO Juanita

Kakoty has regularly contributed feature stories and documentation of socio-political issues in publications like The Deccan Herald, The Thumb Print and The Book Review. Her short stories have appeared in Himal Southasian, Earthen Lamp Journal, Eastlit, New Asian Writing and Writers Asylum. She also has about a decade of experience in the field of development communication, where she has worked with both national and international organisations, state and central governments.

Her academic articles on gender and identity have appeared in two books, published by Routledge and Anwesha; and she has contributed learning units in Sociology for the University Grants Commission (UGC) e-Pathshala programme and KK Handique Open State University, Assam. Juanita is from Assam, a northeastern state of India, and works with Apne Aap Women Worldwide as a communication and documentation specialist.

- 14 -

fragmented part of myself falling in place. Each and every sharing experience by the participants brought a fresh insight, a new way of looking at things. Dance and movement has helped me reconnect with my body and spirit. It has helped me move from a space of darkness, being a victim of my past to ownership of the light within me. My primary hope is that with my journey, I will be able to help others recognize their own potential and help them move on from their stagnant spots. Movement helps me become more alive as it is action in the here and now. It is more real because the body can?t lie!

BIO Jayoti

Soor is currently pursuing her second Masters in Dance Movement Therapy and Counseling at Antioch University, New England after 8 years in journalism across various Indian media houses like Times group, NDTV, DNA etc. Her stint in journalism made her realize that change begins from ground level rather than top-down trickle down approach. She has worked with juvenile convicts, trafficked women, children with drug and substance abuse. She uses the medium of dance and movement in India in association with Kolkata Sanved and Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

- 16 -

In t er view | Ryan Ber g f ou n der of Ar u n a w it h Gr ace As Ju st ice

GAJ: What does Aruna mean?

RB: Aruna is a Hindi word that means bright morning sun. It serves as a metaphor for what we offer to these women? a new start.

GAJ: What is Aruna?s mission?

RB: Aruna is an international accessories brand created to free, empower, and employ sexually exploited women.

GAJ: Can you tell me something about the history of Aruna? What inspired you?

RB: We work exclusively in India at the moment. [Some time ago] on a missions trip to India, I was shocked that trafficking existed; that people knew [about it]; and that no one seemed to be doing anything about it. In needing to learn more about how I could help bring about change, I went into a brothel. The smell of stale urine was so pungent that it made me step back.

There were huge rats everywhere. The idea of hope had been raped out of the sex workers years before. Once I left the brothel, I started weeping when I stepped out onto the street. Within a 2 square mile area, there were estimated 15,000 sex Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

workers. I realized at that point that I needed to steward this experience well by getting involved to help affect change. GAJ: What are some of the needs that you see at present?

RB: After my first trip to India, I went back and did a lot of research to understand what is effective and not. Sustainable employment seemed to be the greatest need but available nowhere. There is such a cultural difference from the woman held in a brothel in India to the typical Westerner. For instance, if we asked a sex worker ?if we give you shelter, food, etc. for the first 12 months of being free, would you go?? They would ask: ?How much money would I make.? It was shocking to think they could ask that question in lieu of being provided for completely. However, we quickly realized they had often been sold to provide for their family, especially if the family was in desperate poverty. In their culture, it would be more shameful for them to discontinue sex work and provide no money back to their family, thus neglecting their younger brothers, for example, than to continue to do what they were doing.

Ryan took the time to tell me a story about turning the corner one day in the red light district and seeing a man holding a brick ready - 18-

GAJ: Will the store be associated with Aruna?

RB: Yes and no. Because of the strong belief of wanting to be product driven and story enhanced, we are creating a website that will position the product first. That way if someone is just going shopping, they can land on that webpage and shop, then beneath the ?fold? they can learn more about the Aruna Artisans which will link them to the non-profit site the shares more fully about the cause, effort, success and how to be more fully involved. The website will most likely be launching this summer.

7 management staff, 19 Artisans (women freed, empowered, employed) currently employed, 2 others that have transitioned back to family or independent living, we have a beautiful production facility, and a safe and caring transitional housing facility with plans to accelerate freedom for many more through the success of the new product line. GAJ: What is Aruna?s motto?

RB: We free. We empower. We employ.

Visit u s at Th e Ar u n a Pr oject

GAJ: What does Aruna do in terms of products and those who produce them?

RB: Through our Indian Private Limited Company (owned by Aruna Proejct, the US non-profit) we employ those set free from the brothel system and bring them into an environment marked by holistic care. In purchasing from Aruna each customer receives a modern, spirited product with great purpose that extends to the very Artisan who handcrafted it. GAJ: What has your impact been so far?

RB: In India, we have helped over 100 women in need. Since the start of the freedom business in January 2015, we have

Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

- 20 -

SHILOH SHELTER God draws the hearts of His followers to different burdens and has a plan that takes each of them on a beautiful journey. There are different forms of slavery, and the form for which God has most burdened my heart is sexual slavery. It is an intense reality and the statistics are not easy to swallow. Every year millions of women and children are trafficked into India alone. Girls are often first put into forced prostitution when they are 10-13 years old.

However, it is often that they will give girls as young as 6 years old a hormonal shot so that they will develop quicker, resulting in them being forced into sex work at an even younger age. It is a dark and heartbreaking lifestyle, but it is a worldwide issue that cannot be ignored. Having time and time again walked through the alleys of the red-light district in our city, my burden only grows. I have sat alongside a woman there who looked mid-sixties and said she had been there since she was twelve. The thing is, the prostitutes I have met are some of the sweetest and most kind-hearted people I have ever known. Just recently when I was in the district, I walked into a room and sat down and was greeted with a big Grace As Justice Vol.1 Issue 5

- 22 -

FORCEDMARRIAGEINTHEUK byJĂşliaTomĂĄs We might think that forced marriage is a cultural practice that does not happen in Europe any more, but we are wrong. Just last month, the Guardian published an article about the latest ? and youngest ? victim of forced marriage in the UK: an eight-year-old boy. The school boy is amongst the 329 cases of forced marriage involving children. Indeed, the figures are staggering. According to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in 2015: -

-

1220 cases received support from the FMU. 329 w er e m in or s (27%).

427 victims were aged 18-25 (35%).

980 w er e f em ale vict im s (80%); 240 are male victims (20%).

29 cases (2%) involved victims who identified themselves as LGBT. 141 cases (12%) involved victims who had either a physical or learning disability.

The FMU handled cases from 90 countries.

The highest volume countries were: Pakistan (539), Bangladesh (89), India, (75), Somalia (34) and Afghanistan (21).

175 (14%) cases involved forced marriage entirely taking place in the UK.

However, according to the police, the investigations that lead to prosecution are rare.

This is due to the fact that most victims are reluctant to press charges against their own family or because they are terrorised to give evidence against their abusers The pressure put on victims can be physical (including threats, physical violence and sexual violence), emotional or psychological (for instance, bringing shame to the family) and

GRACEASJUSTICE

graceasjustice.com

FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING