Trafficking: Karnataka


A report by Shakti Vahini (2004) confirms that Karnataka, where Odanadi is located, as one of the major trafficking supply states. There is a high volume of trafficking to tourist destinations such as Goa and Mumbai. It is estimated that 45% of the prostitutes in Mumbai are from Karnataka. 15% of trafficked women who were interviewed in a study carried out by UNIFEM were trafficked from Karnataka; the second highest total after Andra Pradesh (Sen, A. 2005: A Report on Trafficking of Women and Children, UNIFEM).

Devadasi

Karnataka is also in the “devadasi belt”. Devadasi is a traditional cultural practice in which a woman / girl is 'dedicated' to a God. Although illegal in Karnataka, the practice continues and provides a front by which trafficking can be legitimised.

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Trafficking Facts and Figures


A 2005 study by UNIFEM (Sen, A. 2005: A Report on Trafficking of Women and Children, UNIFEM) which interviewed victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation who had been rescued found that:

They were forced to service an average of seven clients a day. They could not exercise choice with regards to wearing condoms or other safe sex practices. 30% were suffering from a sexually transmitted disease; 8% had contracted HIV

20% were children aged below 18 years of age, the majority of which had been trafficked at a very young age.

57% of them had been previously arrested by the police but were not offered any support or rehabilitation so were forced to return to brothels

60% were also victims of child marriage

45.6% had their first sexual experience under the age of 16

22% had been working in a brothel when they were aged less than 16

68% were lured into brothels with the promise of jobs

50% of the traffickers interviewed for the study focused on rural areas for recruitment, targeting communities which are particularly vulnerable, due to lack of employment, illiteracy, social and gender discrimination