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THE TRAFFICKING CONTEXT IN NEPAL PART 2.
Nepal’s trafficking situation is rapidly changing. Fifteen years
ago, almost all of the trafficking of Nepali women and children
was to India. Only a few were trafficked to other parts of the
world or within the country. Today, the picture of trafficking
is more complex, and more difficult to address. There are
three primary areas of trafficking which are a concern for
Nepal: (i) internal trafficking; (ii) trafficking to India; (iii) trafficking
outside the region (primarily Gulf countries however there
are reports of trafficking to Korea, the People’s Republic of
China and Thailand).
INTERNAL TRAFFICKING
In the last five years, the expansion of the local sex industry
has resulted in a rapid growth in the trafficking of women and
children for prostitution inside the national borders of Nepal.
The number of persons internally trafficked may exceed the
number trafficked persons outside the country. The majority
of persons trafficked into local commercial sexual exploitation
are children, some as young as 8 or 9 years of age. Because of
the significance of this new phenomenon, the third part of this
document is dedicated to the emerging entertainment and sex
industries, and the trafficking and exploitation that have
accompanied them.
TRAFFICKING TO INDIA
For what purposes are women and children trafficked
to India
The majority of persons trafficked from Nepal to India of
which we are aware are women and adolescent girls
trafficked for sexual exploitation purposes. Young boys between
the ages of 8 and 16 are trafficked to Mumbai and Delhi to
work in jari embroidery factories, garment factories, bidi
factories, metal workshops, agriculture and other forms of
sweatshop labour. 8 Until recently, many girl children were
trafficked to work in Indian circuses, although interventions
have today almost ended the practice. Although there are
insufficient formal data, informal reports suggest that Nepali
girls and women are trafficked to India for exploitative domestic
labour as well as for work in bidi factories and sweatshops.
To where in India are Nepali victims trafficked
Children and women have long been trafficked from Nepal to
India for sex work purposes. Until a few years ago, the primary
destinations of victims were the large brothel areas in Mumbai,
Kolkata and Delhi. Today, the traditional brothel communities
such as Kamathipura (Mumbai) and Sonagachi (Kolkata) are
disintegrating. This is due to pressure from law enforcement,
stronger legislation in India, and a change in the habits of the
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