Save runaway girls from human trafficking

Our partners in Mumbai support girls and women with a range of complex needs. Many have run away from abuse or to avoid arranged marriages, others are in equally vulnerable situations and exposed to risk of kidnap and trafficking. Here, Charu shares the journey of Pooja, so far. This highlights the long-term support need for complex abuse and vulnerability and the multi-agency work undertaken by our partners. 

Your support helps ensure girls get the time, specialist care and resources needed to break free from abuse. 

CW, descriptions of substance and sexual abuse  

"Pooja (name changed), age 20, came in contact with our project when she was 19 years old. Pooja has studied until the 10th grade.  

At 17, she was exposed to alcohol and drugs, eventually getting addicted. When she left her home one day with a  boy, her parents filed a complaint at the police station. The police soon found them, the boy was arrested and she was kept at a children’s home. She was admitted to a hospital for counselling and treatment for her addiction. She was treated there for three months.

Following this, she started feeling pain in her stomach so she went to a clinic. But after sending her back, the doctor visited her at her hotel. When Pooja and her friend left the hotel and started staying at a friend’s sister’s house in Mumbai, the doctor would visit them frequently. Once, he invited them to the club and drugged them without their consent. When they lost consciousness, he took their videos and started to blackmail them. This horrific experience of abusive power repeated with a Police Officer. 

When Pooja went back to her house, suffering from severe addiction, Pooja began to steal money from her father. Her parents did not know how to deal with this or how to help her. Her father eventually filed a complaint against her at a Police Station where the Police then referred Pooja to our project. When we met Pooja, she was in a toxic relationship with a boy who used to force himself on her and record videos to blackmail her. He was threatening her that if she didn’t marry him, he would show these videos to her parents. 

We started supporting Pooja by working on her addiction with a psychiatrist. She was attending counselling sessions and taking medications. She survived a suicide attempt during her treatment when she tried to consume all her medications at once.  Her further treatment was continued at a hospital. 

We had consulted with a residential addiction centre for Pooja’s treatment, however, the process got delayed as her mother was tested positive for COVID. Currently, Pooja is at home with her family. We remain in touch with Pooja and her family during this time and continue to support them."

While Pooja's story is far from over, your support ensures our partners are engaged and supporting rehabilitation, providing expertise and advocating for Pooja's care. Thank you.