There are 1.3 million children in brothels/prositution-centers in India, Thailand, and the Philippines combined. Approximately 500,000 of these children are in India. 160,000 of India's women in brothels are from Nepal, and 5,000 Nepalese girls are trafficked every day. With 100,000 prostitutes in the city of Mumbai (Bombay) alone, India has approximately ten million prostitutes.
How/Where is it Happening?
The main destinations for South Asian child prostitutes are India and Pakistan. Another common way of luring these children is with "magic paan" (similar to cocaine), and a major problem in the brothels is that many of the girls are addicted to these drugs. A common way that the girls are sold to customers is from brothels that offer for them to "buy a bride".
The Conditions in the Brothels
In the brothels, the children are tortured, sometimes kept in cages, and are sexually abused or raped. The virgins are kept together, away from the other prostitutes, because of a false and widely-believed idea that one can cure themselves of sexually transmitted diseases by engaging in intercourse with a virgin. The prostitutes cannot earn any money until their original price has been paid off. They are moved around often to avoid familiarity by police and customers.
Diseases
India is second to South Africa in having the most people with AIDS. This is partially due to the brothels. As mentioned above, many believe that through sex with a virgin, STD's can be cured. The result of this is widespread gonorrhea and syphilis in the brothels. Other sexually transmitted diseases are tuberculosis, meningitis, scabies, chronic pelvic infections, etc.
What are the Causes?
Some of the main reasons why people are put in brothels are growing poverty (families sell the children into prostitution), unemploymet (people may become prostitutes if they have no other way to earn money) increasing urbanization (urban areas are where most of the brothels are), industrialization, migration (many of the prostitutes are from out of the area or country), families that have broken up because of abuse, incest, rape, or orphaned children, people with poor education or complete lack thereof, and young people who are lured by big cities and aspirations of work in Bollywood.
Devadasi System
The Devadasi System is where sexual behavior and the Hindu religion meet, and has been around for thousands of years. Devdasis are girls who are dedicated to the Goddess Yellmana. They are married to the Goddess and are servants of God. Up to 5,000 girls every year are dedicated. They are forced to entertain males to "invoke" the blessings of the Goddess. Some are simply entertainers, practicing the Bharatanatyam form of dance, while some are prostitutes. 50% of prostitutes in Delhi are Devadasis.
The Law? The Police?
Before taking any action, police officers will go into brothels and warn the owners of future raids. This is one of the biggest problems that contributes to the continuation of the brothels.
In 1956, the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act (SITA) forbade operation in sex-trade in India. It did not technically make sex trafficking illegal-- rather it made it "forbidden"-- and was greatly problematic because of its lack of enforcement, and its limitating of prostitution to the female gender. This law was later amended by the The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) of 1986. The amendment called for more strict enforcement, the recognition of both genders in prostitution, as well as a system that identifies prostitution in three categories: children (ages 1-16), minors (ages 16-18), and majors (18+). Violations that involve children or minors would be punished more severely, but even the new law has not proven to be significantly more effective. Today, it is easy for a brothel owner to escape punishment by feigning ignorance.
Rehabilitation from the Brothels
Some of the children or prostitutes in the brothels escape, and go to or are taken to rehabilitation centers. These centers are a whole different problem in and of themselves. While they are meant to help patients get off of the drugs that they were taking in the brothels, or help them reintigrate into society, the conditions of the rehab centers are terrible, due to lack of donations or government funding. Some of the people in the centers say that their lives were better before, when they were living in the brothels. Often, the owner of a brothel will come into the rehab center claiming to be a brother or relative of the prostitute or child, taking the patient with them.
What Can be Done?
While there is very little that can be done as far as outside intervention (the sex-trade in India is deeply intertwined with the Caste System), the more affluent and respectable sections of India's society must protest. The country's people must realize that sex-trafficking and the acts that it involves are not the children's fault, and overlook the past where this was believed to be the case. Better rehabilitation must be paid for by government funding. And finally, those who are involved in the keeping and selling of prostitutes must be punished, let alone severely punished. Unless if these forms of action begin to take place within the country, it can be expected that the sex-industry will remain a big problem in India for many years to come.
"Born Into Brothels" and Kids With Cameras
In 1997, English photographer Zana Brisk travelled to India to work on a project in the red light district of Calcutta. This project evolved into one where she became deeply involved with the children of the prostitutes in the area. Shocked at the condition that these children were living in, and almost certain that their fate would not leave the brothels, she started teaching photography classes to the children.
Upon realizing that these children had a true talent for capturing the images around them, Briski thought of a way that she could help the children to better their own situation. She began showing their work at exhibitions and auctions throughout Europe, a venture that has to this day raised over $100,000. All of these funds have gone towards putting the children in school. True empowerment in action!
