1.0World Vision Advocacyhttps://www.worldvisionadvocacy.orgLena Peacockhttps://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/author/lcampbellworldvision-org/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="PJEQ1MV09F"><a href="https://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/2022/08/12/human-trafficking/child-trafficking-story/">Child Trafficking Story</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/2022/08/12/human-trafficking/child-trafficking-story/embed/#?secret=PJEQ1MV09F" width="600" height="338" title="“Child Trafficking Story” — World Vision Advocacy" data-secret="PJEQ1MV09F" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://www.worldvisionadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AU165-0004-14.jpg1200801Eighteen-year-old Samira* was trafficked and sold by a close relative. She is now back with her family in West Bengal. Mumbai- the city of dreams, becomes Samira’s worst nightmare Samira loved going to school. However, at the age of fourteen, after having studied only up to class four, her family could no longer afford that luxury. They sent her to live and work with her older sisters in Mumbai. In a 2018 baseline study by World Vision India’s ’Combat Child Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation Project,’ a key informant interviewed noted that ‘’Recruitment into domestic work is not seen as harmful by communities. The community makes a difference between good and bad. Working in a brothel is bad. However, getting a job as a dance trooper or domestic worker is not seen as bad. However, they’re still illegal,’’ notes the NGO worker. Although Samira longed to continue her education, her family needed an extra earning member. With a heavy heart, she made the 2000 kms journey from her village in rural West Bengal, leaving behind her close family and friends, to work in Mumbai- the city of dreams. While in Mumbai, Samira asked her sister’s husband to find some work for her, probably as a domestic help in someone’s house. One day, on the assurance of finding a ‘’good’’ opportunity, Samira’s brother-in-law handed her over to her future traffickers. Just like that, Samira was pushed into the world of commercial sexual exploitation in the brothels of Mumbai. The three months she spent in captivity were brutal. She tells us, ‘’Only if I worked, I would be given food… They would beat me with belts- the brothel owners and even customers- when I refused to work. I was forced to drink beer and alcohol. They burnt my hands with cigarette butts… I cried a lot and begged them to let me go home… I overheard my owner say that it was my brother-in-law who sold me to them,’’ says Samira. It was heartbreaking when Samira came to the