At 20 years of age, Sarifa was sold to a man in Mumbai by her husband. She was forced to live with him for 2 months after which she escaped, boarded a train to Howrah without any tickets and returned to her village. She had faced physical and mental abuse in Mumbai and on her return faced social stigma. She met Rebeca Khatun at that point in her village who brought her at Gokulpur Seva Sadan’s office. Now, she is an active leader of Bijoyini. She has received trainings from the organization which has built her confidence and capacity, allowing her to work with other survivors. She has helped them in becoming confident, claiming their rights and overcoming stigma. She wants to play a key role in preventing trafficking and ensuring that no women ever experiences what she went through. She has joined ILFAT to work towards the passing of the ToP bill, preventing trafficking and upliftment the lives of the survivors.

When Janaki was 19 years old, she entered the textile industry in the garments sector in Coimbatore.Her family was suffering from financial burdens and she was convinced by her neighbor to join the garment manufacturing sector. After entering the mill, Janaki was not allowed to study. She was forced to work for over 12 hours a day with almost no breaks. She had frequent night shifts, low wages, and no proper personal protective equipment. During her menstrual cycle, no proper resting time was given.She was frequently ill; the food she ate was not hygienic or nutritious. The bathrooms and toilets were not well maintained. The freedom of mobility was totally absent, and she couldn’t even contact her home. There is no leave for festivals also. The hostel wardens and supervisors behaved harshly. When she wanted to leave, the management did not allow her to. Her parents approached READ for help. The team of READ rescued her from the textile industry and subsequently trained and empowered her. Now, she is successfully acting as the secretary of Erode District Women Federation and allowing for the sustainable development of the society. She has joined ILFAT to address the issues and challenges of Textile and Spinning industrial workers at a national level and to get justice for so many people who are all suffering like her.

Puja is 21 years old. She was rescued from Sonagachi on the 5th of April 2013. She does not remember her parents, and only knows her father’s name. She was at Bombay first and then she was brought to Agra and then to Kolkata. She was staying with Malati Singh in Kolkata in the year 2012. Malati ran a brothel in Sonagachi, where she forcefully prostituted Puja and did not pay her for the same. She went through tremendous amount of physical, emotional, sexual trauma and neglect. She had gone through a financial crisis and even faced social stigma every single day as she had been prostituted. However, after being rescued she stood strong and fought for justice. An active leader, a part of the International Justice Mission’s Champion’s Program, she is also a part of the Global Network for Survivors. She is also working with a Freedom Firm business called Khushi Design in Kolkata. She has joined ILFAT to expose the depth of the darkness and depravity in human trafficking and fight against it.

Sumati Kumari is a 19-year-old girl from the Singa Village of Palcot Block, Gumla District.Sumati and her friend were trafficked from Bangalore, where they used to work in a textile factory. They were trafficked to Delhi, where they were sold for INR 20,000 and forced to work as domestic help. They were trafficked by a female trafficking agent, who also belonged from Palcot block. Sumati was brought back by the intervention of AHTU Gumla. Today she is the member of Bihan Samuh, which is a survivo collective mentored by the organization ‘Srijan Foundation’. She is also a member of the national level survivor’s forum named ILFAT. She says that she does not want that any other girl to feel as she felt.