Freedom
restores dignity.
Prevent trafficking whenever possible. Rescue trafficked people at any cost. Provide trafficking victims a new future with education, employment, and hope.
THE NEED
Human traffickers prey on the most vulnerable, seeking women and children who don’t have support systems or financial security and are thus easier to convince, manipulate, or kidnap. Children quit school, or don’t attend at all, to beg in the streets or sort through trash for something to sell or eat. Girls and boys are enslaved as house servants for the wealthy or as carpet weavers or brick makers. Once a child is trapped in a trafficking situation, there is little hope of escaping.
Too often, the unthinkable occurs. A desperate family feels forced to sell their young daughter into the jogini system, a form of ritualized prostitution. It’s horrific and illegal, and yet there are still over 100,000 joginis in India.
But we fight for these, to give them a future and a hope. Preventing and rescuing children from slavery is just the beginning. We also work to give them what they need for a new way of life — counseling, education, skills training, and dignity.
WHAT WE DO
At DFN, we know the the best way to fight trafficking is to prevent trafficking, first through education and then through a network of freedom fighters. Freedom Fighters are women who have been trafficked and are now free. In villages all over India, they are on the lookout for girls in danger of being sold into ritualized prostitution. These brave women work with our team to identify at-risk girls, protect the child, and notify authorities.
At our shelter, we provide counseling, education, and skills training. We restore their dignity and give them hope for their future. It’s hard work, but it’s good work.
You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down: Nira’s Fight for Freedom
Born into a family of all sisters, Nira’s parents dedicated her as a Jogini, believing the gods and goddesses would bless them for their sacrifice to them. After dedication, joginis live in their family’s village home where they are used for sex by anyone in the village. It’s ritualized prostitution and it’s horrific.
You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down: Nira’s Fight for Freedom
Born into a family of all sisters, Nira’s parents dedicated her as a Jogini, believing the gods and goddesses would bless them for their sacrifice to them. After dedication, joginis live in their family’s village home where they are used for sex by anyone in the village. It’s ritualized prostitution and it’s horrific.
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