This Varanasi based NGO, Guria, is fighting child prostitution, second-generation prostitution, and sex trafficking in Northern India.
Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here.
– Kailash Satyarthi, Indian Activist
In 1988, a 17-year old Ajeet Singh adopted three children of a woman from a red-light area. This laid the blueprint for Guria, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting against human trafficking and forced prostitution, especially among women and children.
According to the latest data available with the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 6,616 human trafficking cases were registered in 2019.
Guria has rescued 2,473 persons from slavery, including commercial sexual exploitation and bonded labour, built a 42,000 strong rural women’s organisation to prevent human trafficking in risk-prone areas.
With the vision to “build a just and humane world where all beings co-exist in harmony”, Guria since its inception has been working towards preventing second-generation prostitution, human trafficking, unsafe migration, and ending child prostitution. For Guria, these pressing issues have never been ‘isolated issues with isolated solutions’
According to them, an issue as complex as trafficking requires a holistic approach with innovations. While responding to victims’ immediate suffering they also focus on the root causes of prostitution – poverty and inequality.
Converting grass-root level interventions into Public Interest Litigations (PIL) and bi-annual reports on police misconduct are few measures undertaken by them to bring change at the policy level. Brothel seizures, providing victim-witness protection, opposing bails of traffickers are few actions on the legal front carried out by the organisation.
Campaigning in schools, mobilising communities, rescuing victims, providing health support and legal intervention, sensitising stakeholders such as police, media, NGOs are some of the core activities carried out by the organisation. They also focus on education, vocation and mental health support for the victims to ensure complete support for them.
Thus the team aims to break the criminal nexus that exploits vulnerable women and children. They do this by working with stakeholders like police, media, NGOs, etc. With its holistic approach and concerted efforts, Guria constantly empowers the rescued people and provides a new ray of light to them.
Read our article about Budaun Rape Case: Understanding the Causes of Rape in India.
More power to Guria and ulaunch!!