Sexual Exploitation

Forced into sex work at a young age, Karnataka’s Manjula now works to help hundreds of sex workers get voter IDs, Aadhaar cards, and more, as well as fight violence and abuse.

Manila Bachan was sexually abused as child and suffered the traumatic experience alone for many years. She was eventually diagnosed with clinical depression and bipolar disorder. Watch how she set out on her healing journey.

This is the story of a mother's perseverance to find her 12-year-old daughter, who was rescued from human trafficking after five long years.

Cristelle Hart Singh from Switzerland came to India to volunteer for the Red Cross. But eventually she settled here and has helped hundreds of children who are victims of sexual abuse

While unsolicited images of genitals are floated around on Instagram without question from the authorities, activists and artists Durga Gawde and Roshini Kumar are speaking out against the patriarchy and detail what you can do in such cases too.

Bhimavva Chalwadi, a resident of Vasco, Goa, was forced into sex work at the age of 15 but has since worked for the rescue and rehabilitation of child sex workers, for which she won the CII Woman Exemplar Award in 2019.

“When the government was confused as to how to go about the operation, it was India’s actor, Suniel Shetty who supported us”, said Charimaya Tamang, one of the women rescued in the operation, in an interview.

Despite multiple threats to her own life, she never backed down. Nearly five years after her untimely passing, The Better India pays tribute to this unique soul.

“He kicked me in the stomach and I started bleeding profusely. At 5 weeks, I lost my baby. At that moment I was dead inside. I decided I needed to live again, this time for myself.”

“It was after a jarring incident, when a desperately hungry child asked his mother to take a customer, that the gravity of the situation hit me hard.”