Young mother of two rescued from brothel

 

 

When they arrived in the city, the friend abandoned her at the bus stop similar to the one pictured above.

MUMBAI, 30TH JANUARY 2012: 24 year old Rachel* from a state in southern India, had been promised a job in Mumbai by a friend – the salary would be 10 times higher than what she was earning at that time. With two children, aged 10 and 8 to look after and an abusive husband who is an alcoholic and doesn’t bring in any money, Rachel knew she’d have to find work to support her two young children.

She told us that the friend who had promised her a job had brought her to Mumbai. She doesn’t remember anything about the journey - she fell into a deep sleep after she was given a cold drink in the bus. When they arrived in the city, the friend abandoned her at the bus stop. She stood there, waiting for hours for her to return until another woman approached her and offered to help her. She said Rachel could stay with her and took her home - home turned out to be a brothel. After two days, the woman told her she would have to work. Rachel felt that there were no other options for her, and said yes.

She didn’t see any of the money she earned. She had been in the brothel a fortnight before she was rescued.

Justice and Care suspect that Rachel’s friend and the woman were part of the same network of traffickers and were working together to trap Rachel. The brothel manager has been arrested and charged under sections of local anti-trafficking laws.

What Rachel wants more than anything, is to go home to her children after these two horrendous weeks, but until that time, she is in a shelter home where our Care and Intervention team is supporting her. We’re investigating her home situation to see how we can best support her and her family for a secure future.

* name changed to protect victim’s identity