NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, a platform working towards ending sexual violence, is mapping out districts in the country where caste-based sex work among minors is prevalent.
The survey would be conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
According to the Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan (RGA), the communities engaged in this profession mostly belong to scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and denotified tribes.
In many communities, inter-generational sex work continues to be prevalent and children are often pushed in to this cycle. “The study would assess the prevalence of caste-based sex work among minors. We would bring out the report within the next two months. These are cases of unrecognised rapes which remain invisible,” said Ashif Shaikh, convener, RGA.
The platform is also rallying for the importance of the accused being charged under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences and not only under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 in cases of children trafficked and engaged in sexual exploitation.
According to the 2016 National Crime Records Bureau report, over 8,000 cases of human trafficking cases were reported in India.