Behulia Paharin is a member of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in Jharkhand (in eastern India). At the age of 16, she was abducted by a human trafficking ring and taken to Gurgaon, near the capital of India.
Separated from her family, she was forced into doing household work with three other children. Those abducted were forced to work in the flesh trade, bear children or face sexual abuse.
Enter Shikha Kumari. As a member of the same tribe as Behulia, she could not let the matter rest. She first made a video on the issue and showed it to police officers. She then filed a missing persons report. Finally, Shikha submitted a written application to the Superintendent of Police (highest ranking officer).
The heat proved too much for the abductors, who quietly returned Behulia to her parents.
Jharkhand faces an epidemic of human trafficking. In the same year that Behulia was kidnapped, 8099 cases of human trafficking were reported. Even today, 90 percent of trafficked girls are tribals from Jharkhand, sold in major cities and even abroad for forced labor, sexual exploitation or prostitution. In many instances, cases are not reported and go unnoticed.
By purchasing verified impact tackling this difficult issue, you send financial support to Shikha to continue her valiant reporting and convey a strong message that human trafficking needs to end.
Impact Analysis
Value of rescuing a victim: $16,000 ($32 billion divided by 2 million), using OECD data showing 2 million women and children trafficked annually in an industry worth $32 billion
Community benefits in awareness and deterrence: $10,000
Total Benefit: $26,000
True Benefit: $23,400, taking a 10% probability that Behulia would return even without Shikha’s intervention (low chance as such cases require swift chance)
Cost of Impact: $1190, dividing $406,080 by 342 since Video Volunteers produced 342 impact reports in 2014-15 with a budget of $406,080
Benefit Cost Ratio: 19.66, dividing $23,400 by $1190
About Shikha Kumari, the Reporter
To make ends meet, Shikha Kumari’s father worked in a circus while she would help her mother make plaster of paris picture frames. She began reporting on her community in 2014 to combat the perception that scheduled tribes do not work as they receive government benefits.
While she was earlier shy and could not talk in front of men, after becoming a reporter she even takes on high ranking government officials. She has reported on affordable access to maternal healthcare, harmful effects of rock blasting for mining, human trafficking rackets and poor condition of government schools (which was featured on NDTV, a major Indian news outlet).
Shikha is a single mother under strained financial conditions and your support can help her continue her courageous reporting.