The alarming figures comes from a study conducted by the Global March Against Child Labour, led by child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi

The trafficking of young girls from countries like Nepal and Bangladesh into India for forced prostitution shows no signs of abatement, even as three million women are estimated to be sucked up into flesh trade.

This alarming figure comes via a study conducted by the Global March Against Child Labour, led by child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.

The study titled ‘Economics Behind Forced Labour Trafficking’, which was spearheaded by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, found that the sex trade in India has flourished over the years.

ILLEGAL BUSINESS

The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s statistics, meanwhile, reveal that while this estimate is based solely on women employed in red-light areas, the number stands at nearly six to nine million if other illegal businesses such as dance bars and massage parlours are taken into consideration.

“The figures are shocking. Younger girls are sold at a higher price in the market primarily because they can work for longer as compared to the older women. In India alone, the money generated through sex trade so far stands at a whopping $343 billion.

"Research confirms that several agencies such as traffickers, brothel owners, money lenders, law enforcement officials, lawyers, judiciary and to a certain level even the victims of CSE (commercial sexual exploitation) eventually receive money for participation,” Satyarthi said in the study.

EXPLOITATION

As per the study, law enforcement officials have gained nearly $24 billion through child sexual exploitation. Similarly, lawyers and the judiciary in India have gained $51.5 billion.

While the total potential cost of the child sexual exploitation industry stands at $309 billion, its potential gain is pegged at $34 billion.

Nearly 3.6 million children have been forced into child domestic labour by placement agencies in India, the study says. Delhi alone is reported to have nearly 3,000 placement agencies.

“If, assume on a very conservative level, that the total market for child domestic labour in India is 2.5 times the market in NCR, then the illegal money in circulation could be anywhere between $35 to 361 billion,” the report said.

A growing area of concern is the rising inflow of children from domestic labour to sexual exploitation.

“These children are trafficked into the city from Bihar and Assam by people posing as wellwishers. Most of them are young girls and they face different forms of exploitation by their employers. Case studies have revealed that nearly 40 per cent of child domestic labourers were forced into sex trade,” Satyarthi said.

The Centre too has discussed strengthening anti-human trafficking norms as a means to crackdown on the illegal trade.

“Trafficked victims need to be given monetary compensation. Many states have adopted plans for victim compensation (ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh), but they are not yet standardised or adequate.