Call for heavy prison sentences in crimes against children
Nepal and India's brutal trade in girls must stop
Nepal and India's brutal trade in girls must stop
The destructive Nepal earthquakes which happened in April and May of this year re-exposed the festering problem of child sex-trafficking between Nepal and India.
After the earthquakes, child-predators in Nepal took advantage of the suffering and misery of many girls and their families, as they convinced these poor, and often homeless, earthquake victims to travel to India where they promised jobs and a better life.
The sordid and appalling truth, however, is that what awaited these girls, and those who have subsequently followed in their footsteps, was, and is, a type of living hell.
Being sold into an Indian brothel at age 13 (the average age of these girls). Being drugged. Being beaten. Being sexually violated up to 50 times per day.
Being treated like human garbage.
This type of foul inhumanity is too much for many of these girls to bear.
And, they die young. Of HIV/AIDS. From beatings. From suicide. Really, these girls are murdered slowly, over time, by their captors.
How can we not be utterly appalled by this situation?
Now, in Nepal, a new Prime Minister - Mr KP Oli - has just been elected.
This petition calls on him and his Indian counterpart, Mr Modi, as well as on the US Ambassador-at-Large for Women's Issues and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, to redouble their efforts, to put a definitive end to this brutal assault on children.
The penalties for such crimes against children and human dignity must be severe and must be enforced. Traffickers, brothel owners, government officials, police, and, yes, parents who would sell their own children, must all face long prison sentences when convicted of such crimes or colluding in such crimes.
Unfortunately, this kind of thing has been happening even in the absence of natural disaster - for many years. Indeed, many reputable anti-exploitation NGOs, who work in Nepal, estimate that at least 10,000 Nepalese girls, annually, are trafficked and sold into Indian brothels.
These girls are essentially kidnapped...And, because anti-exploitation NGO workers cannot cover all of the unofficial passages from Nepal to India, they even say this number is low.
These girls - no matter their caste! - do not deserve this. Rather, they have an absolute right to their childhood, free from such disgusting abuse by lustful and greedy adults.
And, now, we must do what we can to put an end to this abomination and gross affront to human dignity and freedom.
As you can see from the information below, these crimes have been tolerated for far too long. Enough is enough.
Please join and share this petition. Thank you.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
The picture used on this page is from a 2007 movie, Sold, and is a portrayal of this problem which has only been made worse by the lawlessness created by the recent earthquakes. See more here: http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/film/how-oscarwinner-emma-thompson-got-involved-with-sold-a-film-on-human-trafficking
A superb article cover the good work of serveral anti-exploitation NGOs who work in Nepal/India, to rescue girls from child sex-trafficking: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/the-tremor-of-trafficking/1/455225.html
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Sex trafficking of girls from Nepal to India must stop
Dear Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr KP Sharma Oli,
Dear Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi,
Dear Ambassador-at-Large for Women's Issues at the US State Dept., Ms Catherine Russell,
Dear High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Federica Mogherini,
The earthquakes in Nepal earlier this year caused deaths and homelessness.
To add insult to injury, the despicable predators involved in child sex-trafficking between Nepal and India took advantage of the chaos and misery (and, in some places, lawlessness), to induce and trick vulnerable girls to enter into their clutch.
Earthquakes or not, this has been going on for too long.
Conservative estimates put the number of Nepalese girls trafficked, each year, at 10,000.
This is a gross violation of human rights and freedom.
We, the undersigned, therefore call on you, politicians (local and international), to pass new laws which would make child sex-trafficking a thing of the past. At a minimum, heavy penalties should be imposed on traffickers and pimps, including those predators who scout villages looking for vulnerable girls.
In addition, family members who sell their young daughters, sisters, nieces or grand-daughters into sex slavery should be severely punished.
In addition, and moreover, examples must be made of brothel owners, government officials and police who are found to be engaged in child sex-trafficking, or cooperating with such traffickers. Especially long sentences must be handed down.
Additionally, there must be measures which ensure that minors are not able to travel alone between countries.
In the end, the US State Department, along with its EU counterpart, must work with the new Nepalese Prime Minister and the Indian Government, to see that this kind of brutal trade is eliminated. If necessary, political and economic pressure, including sanctions, must be applied.
Thank you for your consideration on this important matter.
Sex trafficking of girls from Nepal to India must stop
Dear Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr KP Sharma Oli,
Dear Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi,
Dear Ambassador-at-Large for Women's Issues at the US State Dept., Ms Catherine Russell,
Dear High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Federica Mogherini,
The earthquakes in Nepal earlier this year caused deaths and homelessness.
To add insult to injury, the despicable predators involved in child sex-trafficking between Nepal and India took advantage of the chaos and misery (and, in some places, lawlessness), to induce and trick vulnerable girls to enter into their clutch.
Earthquakes or not, this has been going on for too long.
Conservative estimates put the number of Nepalese girls trafficked, each year, at 10,000.
This is a gross violation of human rights and freedom.
We, the undersigned, therefore call on you, politicians (local and international), to pass new laws which would make child sex-trafficking a thing of the past. At a minimum, heavy penalties should be imposed on traffickers and pimps, including those predators who scout villages looking for vulnerable girls.
In addition, family members who sell their young daughters, sisters, nieces or grand-daughters into sex slavery should be severely punished.
In addition, and moreover, examples must be made of brothel owners, government officials and police who are found to be engaged in child sex-trafficking, or cooperating with such traffickers. Especially long sentences must be handed down.
Additionally, there must be measures which ensure that minors are not able to travel alone between countries.
In the end, the US State Department, along with its EU counterpart, must work with the new Nepalese Prime Minister and the Indian Government, to see that this kind of brutal trade is eliminated. If necessary, political and economic pressure, including sanctions, must be applied.
Thank you for your consideration on this important matter.
