Caste-based Sex Trafficking in Central Rural India: Understanding the Vulnerability of Girl Children
Trupti Jhaveri Panchal, PhD, MSW; Ramani Ranjan, MSW & Harshita, MSW | September 24 | 10:15-11:15 AM
Topic: Research, International | Knowledge Level: Advanced
The Bedia is a historically marginalized De-notified Tribe in India that is engaged in “traditional” intergenerational community-based commercial sex. The community faces discrimination due to their engagement in commercial sex. While Agrawal (2008) questions the “traditionality” of this practice, under-age Bedia girls continue to engage in commercial sex to support their families. While scholars (Dalla, et al. 2020) have laid the foundation for analyzing structural factors that perpetuate caste-based commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) among the Bedia, it is imperative to understand the particular familial and financial conditions that make a Bedia child vulnerable. A case narrative-based enquiry, substantiated by quantitative data collected from 544 Bedia households across 13 villages in 5 districts of Madhya Pradesh in January 2021, was conducted to answer two questions: 1) What familial conditions (and connections) exacerbate vulnerability for Bedia girls? and 2) How can one utilize household economic analysis to predict vulnerability for Bedia children? Findings illuminate a complex web of relationship between gender norms, financial dependency, family income and family size, age of a girl, etc. Factors such as a family’s social circle, a girl’s peer network, and unforeseeable events (such as the pandemic, or death in the family) further act as push and pull factors. The presentation concludes with how Samvedna, a Bhopal-based organization that works with the Bedia community to combat caste-based CSE, is designing and implementing interventions using this analysis framework, and the challenges the organization faces in doing so.
Presentation Objectives:
· Discuss a framework based on familial relationships and economics to assess a Bedia child’s vulnerability to CSE
· Describe the research design and implementation of interventions based on the mentioned framework
· Discuss the challenges faced in implementing these interventions