Ending Human Trafficking in India, One Story at a Time
Amy Hill
Human trafficking remains a significant problem globally, and women and girls pay the highest price. India is no exception; according to estimates, human trafficking affects between 20 and 65 million people in the country. Indian women and girls are trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage, and girls are also lured into forced labor as domestic servants. While laws that criminalize these practices exist, enforcement and prosecution are inadequate.
Recognizing the important role that storytelling and the performing arts can play in shifting the underlying social norms that continue to devalue girls and young women and encourage trafficking, the American Center Kolkata, Indian NGO Shakti Vahini, U.S.-based Theater Alliance, and Silence Speaks initiated Ending Human Trafficking in India, One Story at a Time. In March 2019, we led a five-day intensive workshop that supported young women impacted by human trafficking in sharing personal stories from their lives, and, with the help of previously-trained mentors in performative and digital storytelling (see case study of our 2018 work in Kolkata, to address gender-based violence), transforming their experiences into art. In order to enhance the wellbeing and agency of the storytellers, they and their mentors were guided through participatory activities to establish trusting relationships, build community, and foster a sense of empathy and shared purpose, in creating short digital stories.
The stories produced show not only the harsh realities of trafficking in India, but how people are taking action against it, and how women are rebuilding their lives in its aftermath. Shakti Vahini is sharing them extensively at skill-building trainings for law enforcement, criminal justice, and social services organizations; to date, they have been seen by more than 1,000 people in local community settings in India. All One Story at a Time partners are circulating the stories online, to prompt conversation and action that can lead to an end to human trafficking and all forms of gender-based violence. View the full playlist of stories now.