Survivors, victims facing stigma: VIMUKTHI

PNS|Vijayawada

VIMUKTHI, the State-level forum of survivors of trafficking and victims of commercial sexual exploitation, has said that 88 per cent of the women rescued from human trafficking and victims of commercial sexual exploitation are still defamed and dishonoured, besides facing stigma.

M Apoorva, president of VIMUKTHI, said that they were facing huge challenges and living pathetic lives, without a helping hand that consoled them and shared their problems. VIMUKTHI conducted a meeting here on Friday on the occasion of International Human Rights Day. “People don’t even realise that we, too, are human beings and are entitled to enjoy our rights,” Apoorva said.

HELP, with the support of Sanjog, conducted a survey recently, which found that 88 per cent of the survivors and sex workers were facing social stigma. Sadly, the major sources of stigma were immediate family members (parents and partners – 37 per cent, relatives – 16 per cent and neighbours – 27 per cent).

She added that 63 per cent of the survivors didn’t receive any support from their families when they experienced stigma. The cooperation and trust of family members and support from peers were what they needed most to combat stigma.

The leaders of VIMUKTHI demanded that AHTUs needed focus on preemptive actions and investigations to improve conviction rates and indictment of traffickers in source areas. They sought Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) approaches by the State and financial inclusion and protection to reduce debt traps. They further said that the victim compensation needed significant improvement.