ENDING MODERN SLAVERY & TRAFFICKING
Girls trafficked for exploitation are often born into impoverished homes in rural Nepal, sometimes with a disability and often illiterate with no education. On the false promise of a well-paying job or marriage, or through coercion, kidnapping and drugging, and at times with the complicity of family and community members, girls are taken from their homes.
Some girls, driven by poverty, are already working in exploitative child labour - brick kilns, as domestic workers or in carpet factories - where traffickers prey on their already desperate circumstances, with offers of better work.
Sold into brothels, women and girls work in conditions that degrade, demean and threaten their physical and mental integrity. Many girls are enslaved into debt bondage, working many years for no money while never paying off the debt placed on them by the brothel owners.
Some girls, driven by poverty, are already working in exploitative child labour - brick kilns, as domestic workers or in carpet factories - where traffickers prey on their already desperate circumstances, with offers of better work.
Sold into brothels, women and girls work in conditions that degrade, demean and threaten their physical and mental integrity. Many girls are enslaved into debt bondage, working many years for no money while never paying off the debt placed on them by the brothel owners.
Why does trafficking happen?
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Poverty
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with approximately 25% of its population living below the national poverty line. Lack of employment and access to adequate nutrition, healthcare and secure housing leaves families in desperate conditions, where the enticement of a job, even one that is risky, seems like the only option. Gender discrimination
Particularly in rural Nepal, women face pervasive discrimination, gender based violence and unequal opportunity, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. Lack of education
Poverty, gender discrimination and early marriage are barriers to girls' education in Nepal. If they do make it to school, Nepal’s rigid education system, does little to equip girls with the confidence, self-worth or income generation skills needed to provide viable alternatives to the lures of traffickers. Lack of law enforcement
Despite having anti-trafficking and corruption laws in place in both Nepal and India, trafficking continues to flourish. The long open shared border means it’s difficult to catch the criminals. Police, border agencies and judiciary can be involved, colluding with or taking bribes from the traffickers. Natural disasters
The majority of Nepal’s population relies on subsistence farming for their livelihood, making them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural disasters. The two devastating earthquakes of 2015 displaced families, separated children from their parents and destroyed livelihoods, magnifying the the vulnerability of already vulnerable women and girls to traffickers. |
Project Didi Australia is committed to restoring hope, dignity and independence to women and girls in Nepal exposed to trafficking and abuse, through trauma-informed care, family strengthening and reintegration, education and pathways to employment.
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ABN 68 320 267 277
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Project Didi Australia is a partner for Project J1082N
Futures of Dignity and Opportunity with Global Development Group (ABN 57 102 400 993). For more information please visit GDG projects: www.gdg.org.au. |