New Delhi: Three million women are engaged in commercial sex activity (CSA) in India, a 50% rise from 1997.
Over 60% of those trafficked into sex work are adolescent girls in the age group of 12-16 years. More than 35% girls in India enter CSA before 18 years of age.
India has three lakh brothels in 1,100 identified red-light areas, housing nearly five million children in addition to commercial sex workers, the report by philanthropic foundation Dasra, the Hummingbird Trust and Kamonohashi Project said.
More than 25 percent women in commercial sex activity in India are in Maharashtra (14.20 percent) and West Bengal (13 percent), the report said.
Despite increasing public outcry about violence against women in India, systematic large scale abuse in the name of commercial sex work remains socially acceptable.
The report aims to draw attention to the growing victimization of women, highlights high impact non-profits working on the issue and the outlines the role of philanthropy in scaling their efforts.
