Rescuing minor sex workers from human trafficking circles in Pokhara

Prostitution and child trafficking is a very serious problem across the Himalaya. Climate change and loss of livestock in the village, apart from other problems like alcoholism and domestic violence lead these kids to migrate into towns and cities from the rural countryside. Often young girls are pulled into trafficking circles and Kaski police along with the several child protection services and NGOs are working diligently to overcome this very difficult problem.

In December 2024, I tipped off Kaski Police on three underage girls that had confided in me their experiences with sex trafficking.

Sadly, Pokhara is a tourist destination but often sex trafficking circles from across the rural belts in the hinterland function across Lakeside, Pokhara to cater to "sex tourists". The girls I was in contact with are between the ages of 15 to 17 years old.

I have spent a lot of time with the Police, the child protection services and the women's rights groups. It is very hard to rebabilitate the girls - often many of them are trauma bonded to these circles, and find a sisterhood even among the very groups exploiting them. 

This is a difficult problem with no easy solutions. The police managed to take the girls off the streets and placed them in a child protection home for almost a month. Consequently the girls have returned to their native villages in the vicinity of Pokhara. 

This is a special shoutout to all my colleagues, associates, women’s rights groups, long-time friends, journalists, police and especially the child protection services.  I'd really like to highlight the important work of the Kaski Police here and the bravery, the resilience and the grit of the women police officers, and the child protection services.