SEX TRAFFICKING IN MADHYA PRADESH

UNCLAS MUMBAI 002319

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USAID
STATE FOR DRL
G/TIP FOR MARK TAYLOR AND SALLY NEUMANN
INL FOR JONITA WHITAKER
SA FOR JENELLE KRISHNAMOORTHY
PRM FOR SONIA DENTZEL
IWI
DOJ FOR OIA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD SOCI ASEC PREF ELAB PREL IN
SUBJECT: SEX TRAFFICKING IN MADHYA PRADESH

Summary
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1. (U) Development professionals in the central Indian state of
Madhya Pradesh (MP) told Consul General and EconOff that the
northwest corner of the state served as a steady source for sex
workers, due to the existence of so-called "prostitute castes"
in several villages. While these interlocutors commended the
trans-border cooperation between the state governments of MP and
Rajasthan in attempting to rehabilitate rescued victims,
apparently there is little, if any, effort in MP to prosecute
traffickers. End Summary.

Northwest MP Source Area for Trafficking Victims
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2. (U) Consul General and EconOff met representatives of UK's
Department for International Development (DfID),Catholic Relief
Services (CRS),and CARE-India in Bhopal on November 27. In
addition to other issues, the group explained their consensus
perception of sex trafficking in the state of MP.


3. (U) According to these observers, northwest MP is a reliable
source area for sex trafficking victims due to caste realities
in several villages, where girls are sold to work in Mumbai and
New Delhi. Following old societal practices, all first-born
daughters of the Banchhara, Bedia, and Sansia castes (formerly
"untouchables") have been working in MP as prostitutes to
support their families since migrating to the area in the 17th
century. Many of these communities were originally from
Rajasthan, where similar communities exist today, following the
same practices.

NGOs Cite Challenges Battling Cultural, Economic Imperatives
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4. (U) The NGO group described anti-trafficking efforts in MP as
"very challenging" since "prostitute caste" families defend
their behavior as a cultural tradition and economic imperative.
After the Maharashtra state government closed Mumbai's dance
bars, for instance, many former "dancers" from MP -- who were
really prostitutes -- returned home to join the ranks of the
unemployed. The financial situation of the former dancers and
their families remained precarious because the dancers were
their families' main revenue earners. Our sources told us that
the families were now pressuring the dancers to return to work
in the big cities, either as dancers or openly as prostitutes.
There was no evidence offered that prostitution within MP is on
the rise due to the girls return, which thus remains an open
issue.


5. (U) While the MP and Rajasthan state governments reportedly
cooperate well in repatriating those victims who want to be
rescued, prosecution rarely occurs because the victims are
unwilling to press charges against the traffickers, who are
often their fathers and brothers. We are still attempting to
access official police records, such as they exist, but note
that neither our group of experts, nor the state's Chief
Secretary, knew of any action against families who sell their

SIPDIS
daughters to a life of prostitution or against any other
traffickers, for that matter.

Comment
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6. (U) The NGO representatives' claims appear credible and were
corroborated to EconOff by the local Maharaja's adult son, who
offered similar descriptions of this unfortunate local custom.
The key to cultural reform, in this case, is a combination of
poverty reduction measures, education, job skills training and,
not least, prosecution. End Comment.
OWEN