January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month: Part 2
January 13, 2025

January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month: Part 2

By: Justice Venture International 

[As we start the new year, we recognize January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month. For 18 years, The Rees-Jones Foundation has worked with trusted partners both locally and internationally who are actively in the fight against human trafficking. For Part 2, we invited Justice Venture International, one of our grantees, to write about their experiences combatting this injustice. We are grateful for their work and the efforts of so many other partners who are working tirelessly to prevent and ultimately end human trafficking]. 

In India, home to some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations, a staggering 11 million people are enslaved through criminal practices including sex trafficking, bonded labor, child labor, forced marriage, and domestic servitude. Global Slavery Index, India (2023). While trafficking for forced labor remains the most common form of trafficking, there are reports that the commercial sexual exploitation of children has increased in recent years, as poverty, lack of job opportunities, false promises of work, the need to support family, absence of care, and being sold by family members devastate the lives of girls as young as thirteen.

The call for justice in such situations is both urgent and necessary. As the prophet Amos declared: “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24). This scripture informs the vision of Justice Ventures International (JVI), highlighting that justice cannot be a trickle but must flow persistently, reaching every individual in need.

JVI’s mission is to secure freedom, justice, and restoration for victims of human trafficking and other extreme injustice by partnering with local organizations and global stakeholders. We operate through strategically placed “Justice Hubs,” which are local networks of non-government organizations, church, government, and private sector partners working together with a shared commitment to justice. Each Justice Hub team is comprised of lawyers, investigators, and aftercare professionals who implement JVI’s three strategies of securing justice for individuals, empowering local partners, and strengthening justice systems.  The story of a sex trafficking rescue involving a Justice Hub illustrates how collaboration among local partners and government agencies is critical to ensuring better outcomes for survivors.

A mother and her 12-year-old daughter were trafficked from Bangladesh to Mumbai, where they were sold to a brothel and repeatedly raped.. Thereafter, the daughter was sold to numerous other brothels and eventually trafficked to a brothel in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. After two years of being separated from her daughter with no knowledge as to her whereabouts, the mother escaped from the brothel and approached a social worker from a Justice Hub partner organization. Upon hearing the mother’s story, the social worker sought to locate the daughter by going undercover in order to gain access to brothel owners throughout Mumbai and Delhi. She located the daughter in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and, with the help of the local police, the Justice Hub intervention team rescued her from the brothel.

In what seemed like a miracle of grace and perseverance, the mother and daughter were finally reunited in Mumbai. The daughter had endured severe trauma, resulting in some physical disorders. Justice Hub lawyers assisted their repatriation to Bangladesh, where they were connected to an aftercare team that would accompany them on their restoration journey. This is one story of hope among the many, many accounts of women and children sold into sex trafficking and deprived of the flourishing life they deserve.

Justice is not simply about rescue – it is about restoration and accountability.  JVI’s Justice Hubs work to ensure that survivors are not only free but also equipped to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope and that perpetrators are restrained. The story of this precious mother and daughter tells of just two of the many lives transformed through this work. And as we partner with communities, local organizations, and governments, we continue to see what it means for justice to roll like a river and for righteousness to flow like a never-failing stream.

There is hope. In the darkest corners of exploitation, light can break through when people work together for justice. As we observe National Human Trafficking Awareness Month in January, we are reminded that every small act contributes to this river of justice. Together, we can bring freedom, restoration, and dignity to the millions still in bondage.



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