Breaking the cycle of intergenerational practices of grooming young women and girls into the sex industry in India: Promising interventions in skills building, education, and livelihoods options for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes

Abstract
Almost 20 percent of victims of human trafficking globally are sexually exploited (ILO and Walk Free Foundation 2017). In India’s sex industry, many young women and girls come from impoverished, low-caste communities, including Nomadic, Semi-Nomadic, and Denotified tribes. They can be often trafficked at a young age, making it difficult for them to choose to leave the sex industry and find different livelihood options. The Praxis Institute for Participatory Practices, a social development organization based in India, has enrolled young women into an intervention program to build their skills and confidence, promote agency and decision making, and provide them with educational and skills building opportunities to expand their choices of livelihood options. Researchers are collaborating with the Praxis Institute to explore and design a rigorous randomized evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the Institute’s interventions.

Key factors
systemic discrimination, barriers to services, inter-generational poverty, viable economic alternatives

Key outcomes
reduced participation in or resistance from the sex trade, entrance into alternative life trajectories that involve high education and viable economic alternatives