“I have to spend all day staring at the walls in my room, and I don’t have a mobile phone. I want to go home,” said Sayana (name changed) on the afternoon of September 26, 2024, as she requested the police at the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau in Babarmahal to send her back to her home from the safe house.

Sayana, a 16-year-old girl who was rescued from Magic Spa in Thamel and placed in a safe house operated by Subha Abasar Gram Nepal, requested to celebrate the upcoming Dashain festival with her family.

However, the then Bureau Chief, SP Gautam Mishra, was hesitant due to safety concerns and advised her to stay in the safe house for a few more days. He explained that the perpetrator might harm her or persuade her to return to the spa. Although the police assured her of providing a mobile phone and allowing her to talk to her family, she was not convinced. After much insistence, the police called Sayana’s grandmother and handed her over after completing the necessary paperwork.

On September 2, 2024, a team deployed from the Bureau rescued her and three others from a spa. Sayana is a minor. 

It has been found that such minors are befriended on social media platforms like Facebook and later involved in the sex trade. Mishra said that they were rescued and placed in a safe house as they were forced into the sex trade under the guise of working as masseuses.

Sayana had come to work at the spa at the behest of a friend she had met on Facebook. After giving her SEE exams, she had come to Kathmandu last year for higher studies. Her mother is in Saudi Arabia for employment, and her father has remarried. After staying with her paternal uncle and aunt in Kathmandu for 4-5 months, her sister also came to Kathmandu, and the two sisters started living in a separate room in Basantapur.

After starting to live separately in a room, it was becoming difficult for the sisters to manage their expenses. That's when she found a job at a spa in Narsingh Chowk, Thamel. After having worked there for two months she had learned to give massages. She started interacting with other people working in other massage centers. She also started talking to another teenage girl working in a different spa through Facebook.

Sayana learned that although her friends were also working in the spa, they were earning more money. One of her friends, Sapana Khawas, who previously worked with her, told Sayana that she had opened her own spa and that she could earn a lot of money there.

Sapana had opened a spa called Himalayan Ayurvedic. Sapana, who was connected with Sayana on Facebook, lured her to her spa by offering an attractive salary.

"Come and meet me, let's work together," she started messaging repeatedly. After that, Sayana started working at Himalayan Ayurvedic Spa with her friend, where she was forced into prostitution.

When there were no customers at her place, Sapana would send Sayana to the nearby Magic Spa. "Most of my other friends used to go there and I too went to Magic Spa three times," Sayana said. "Although I was sent to give massages, I was forced to engage in sexual activities with customers."

Sayana said that the operator of Magic Spa, Asha Tamang, used to take 1,500 rupees from each customer and give her only 500 rupees. "There were already four other people working there, and when there were more customers, they would call us," she said.

According to Sayana, Fulmaya Tamang at Magic Spa would assign which customer would go with whom. She said that Fulmaya also kept a record in a register of how many people had physical contact with customers. "We even had to go to guest houses with customers, but I didn't go to guest houses," said Sayana. "I was scolded many times when I didn't listen to them."

While working, Fulmaya called Sayana and her friend, saying that her house in Phutung was empty and they could come and stay there. "After that, they started sending me to more and more customers, scolding me if I didn't want to go, and threatening to kick me out of the house," said Sayana. "Since my mother was abroad, I had nowhere to go back to, and they started threatening me in various ways, taking advantage of that."

Sayana revealed that the spa operators, Asha and Sapana, forced her to have sexual relations even during her menstrual period. Stating that they kept 75% of the money earned from having physical contact with customers and gave her only 25%, Sayana said, "They would tempt me by saying that the more work I do, the higher the percentage of money I would get."

On September 2, 2024, a team deployed from the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau, Babarmahal, rescued Sayana and three others. During counseling after the rescue, Sayana learned that the spa operators had committed an offense against the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act (2007) and that she should not tolerate such an offense and should seek legal remedies.

"I have filed a complaint against them for luring me to the spa center with the promise of an attractive salary and forcing me into prostitution, taking advantage of my vulnerable situation," she said after filing a complaint at the Bureau demanding the maximum punishment under the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act. Based on her complaint, the police have arrested the spa operators and initiated legal proceedings, Mishra said.

WhatsApp Call Led to India

The 22-year-old Preeti (name changed) was living in Kathmandu with her stepmother. Around the first week of Bhadra (mid-August), she received a call from an unknown number. Initially, she ignored it. But later, when she started receiving frequent calls and messages on WhatsApp from the same number, she gradually started talking to that person. According to Preeti, that person was Arjun Tamang from Nuwakot. During their conversation, Preeti mentioned that she was living with her stepmother and was looking for a job.

After a few days of conversation, Arjun asked Preeti to meet him at Machhapokhari in Kathmandu. Arjun even paid for the Pathao ride from Teku to Machhapokhari. He promised to get her a job as a waiter in a restaurant he knew. He introduced her to another friend, saying that he would get her a job in a guest house. Preeti recalled that during the conversation, Arjun's friend assured her that he had to go to India immediately for a special task and would get her a job only after returning.

Shortly after that friend returned, Arjun received a call from a woman who said he needed to go to India immediately for work. However, Arjun told her that he was not feeling well and did not have any money. The woman on the phone said that she could send someone else and that she would bear all the expenses. Preeti was listening to their conversation. Arjun proposed sending Preeti to that woman.

Arjun told Preeti that the woman who called him was his friend and requested her to go to India with her for two or four days. He also assured her that she would start working as a waiter after returning. On that day, Arjun himself dropped her off at her room.

On the third day, September 4, 2024, Arjun came to Teku and took Preeti to New Bus Park, saying they were going to India. There, he introduced her to another person named Kiran. Kiran told Preeti that he did not have any sister of his own and that from that day onwards, Preeti was his sister. Preeti boarded a local bus with Kiran and came to Swayambhu. From there, they boarded a bus to Delhi via Bhairahawa.

Preeti said that when the Indian police stopped them at the Sunauli border and questioned them, Kiran showed a birth certificate in the name of Ganga Tamang and made her cross the border by saying her name was Ganga Tamang. The next day in the afternoon, Kiran took her to a place in Delhi where some women were staying, saying it was her sisters' room. Even after staying there for three to four days, when there was no talk of work, Preeti informed her friend about reaching India through Imo. She also sent the friend Arjun's number and a photo of the bus on which she had gone from Kathmandu to Delhi.

Kiran took Preeti to Pune, India, saying she had to stay with his aunt's daughters for a few days and took her to a house. On the same day, Kiran went out for some time, asking Preeti to stay in the room. But seeing the makeup and behavior of the women who lived in that house, Preeti realized that she had been trafficked. When she saw one of the women drinking alcohol and eating meat while talking on the phone in Hindi, she became even more scared. Preeti recalls that she took the opportunity when that woman was busy on the phone and the other women were asleep and escaped from there.

She didn't know where to go, so she boarded a bus she found on the road. But since she couldn't speak Hindi very well, the bus passengers handed her over to the nearby police. That day, the police kept her at the Pune police station, and the next day, they called some Nepalis to question Preeti about everything.

After Preeti told them that she had come to India through a person she met on WhatsApp, the police took her to Mundhwa Shelter Home. From there, with the help of Maiti Nepal, she was brought back to Kathmandu. Only after coming to Kathmandu did Preeti realize that she had been trafficked to India for prostitution. Currently under the protection of Maiti Nepal, Preeti has filed a complaint of human trafficking with the police.

Human Trafficking Statistics

The incidents experienced by Sayana and Preeti are just a few representative cases. Such cases of human trafficking using social media have been increasing.

Maiti Nepal, an organization working against human trafficking, has rescued 6,434 girls and women in the last 10 years alone. According to Maiti Nepal's statistics, the number of rescues of those trafficked has been increasing every year.

Last year alone, 101 people were rescued from abroad and 2,287 from within the country, totaling 2,388. Similarly, in 2022, 117 people were rescued from abroad and 2,180 from within the country, totaling 2,297.

In 2021, 142; in 2020, 94; in 2019, 322; in 2018, 250; in 2017, 273; in 2016, 239; in 2015, 144; in 2014, 183; and in 2013, 142 people were rescued, according to Maiti Nepal's data.

In recent years, it has been found that most of the girls and women who have been trafficked were connected with the perpetrators through social media. Bishwo Ram Khadka, Director at Maiti Nepal, says that incidents of girls and women being trafficked after connecting through Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp have been increasing.

Not only Maiti Nepal, but also the details of cases rescued from within and outside the country and reported to Nepal Police show that perpetrators and brokers are increasingly using social media as a primary medium for trafficking. In the last seven years, out of the 1,400 complaints filed against trafficking, 1,350 victims were women. Although the police do not have separate data on how many of them fell into the trap of perpetrators through social media, Mishra says that they have many cases on record where people were trafficked through social media contacts.

What are the ways to prevent trafficking?

Mishra says that incidents of traffickers targeting teenage girls who need jobs, who are outside the direct supervision of their parents, and who are easily persuaded have become challenging recently.

He claims that to discourage such criminal activities, the police are conducting informative programs at the local level to inform people about how trafficking and human trafficking are happening and how to prevent them, distributing pamphlets and leaflets, providing information through digital boards, and also providing information in various public programs.

According to Anil Raghuvanshi, President of ChildSafeNet, if girls, adolescents, and women are informed about violence and trafficking that can happen through social media, they can be protected from trafficking to some extent.

He emphasizes that girls and women should also be educated about the nature of violent incidents and how to escape or avoid them after such incidents have occurred. He says it is important to teach adolescent girls to inform their parents, the police, or the relevant authorities if they are victimized.

Nowadays, children have mobile phones and internet access at their fingertips. However, some parents do not seem to be concerned about what their children are doing on the internet. This puts children and adolescents at risk of being easily trapped. Raghuvanshi suggests that parents should monitor the activities of their children to avoid this.

"It seems that parents need to be constantly vigilant about what kind of conversations or contacts their children are having through social media," he says.

Mishra also suggests that parents should be cautious as the activity of children and adolescents on social media and the increasing contacts they are making are causing problems due to the lack of parental attention.

Low-income, illiterate adolescent girls at risk of trafficking

Bishwo Ram Khadka
Director, Maiti Nepal

With the expansion of social media, its addiction has been increasing among the general public, and children are being affected more. Especially children and adolescents who are using social media outside the direct supervision of their parents are being greatly influenced by the content and contacts they come across. Social media is being used as a medium for various types of online violence, abuse and even trafficking of girls and adolescents by luring them with various temptations.

Social media has become a major medium for sexual violence, trafficking and various types of violence against women and girls. Especially when sharing personal daily activities on social media like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, it is seen that it is easy for perpetrators to reach vulnerable people. Therefore, it is better not to share personal information on social media.

Especially children raised by single parents, those away from their parents, those from low-income families, and uneducated or unaware of criminal activities are being more affected, and recent incidents show that they are at risk of being trafficked.

Incidents of trafficking of not only girls and adolescents but also women through Facebook, Viber and TikTok, both within and across borders, are on the rise.

Due to their age and level of awareness, young girls or adolescents cannot distinguish between what is wrong and what can harm them. They believe everything they see on the mobile screen is true. This makes them vulnerable to being easily lured by anyone.

In addition, activities such as going live on TikTok, engaging in promiscuous behavior to get views, making online friends, and sharing videos are also making them targets of criminals. In some cases, due to lack of awareness about the risks, parents are even encouraging such activities of their children. As girls can easily come into contact with strangers or people with criminal minds even outside of their parents or school, it is time for the government to take an interest in this matter as well.

It is necessary for the government to implement rules and regulations to monitor the use of the internet up to a certain age, as well as for parents to maintain discipline in the family and not allow the use of phones at school except for educational activities. If local governments can implement and monitor such rules, women, and especially girls, can be protected from being trafficked.

(Based on a conversation with Bishwo Ram Khadka, Director of Maiti Nepal)

Personal information should not be shared on social networks

Sampanna Shrestha
Cybersecurity Expert

The tendency to share our daily lives on social media is causing us problems in one way or another. This has been encouraging violence and abuse, especially against women and girls. Not being aware that having our personal information available on the internet can affect our private lives is also causing problems.

The way we use social media is such that we find parents creating accounts for even pre-schoolers and posting their normal daily activities on social media.

Parents are often found sharing personal information such as which school their child attends, their behavior, their likes and dislikes, and their weaknesses. This makes most of the child's lifestyle public, leaving no privacy.

Due to the desire to become a 'social media influencer', some people are putting their own and their relatives' personal lives at risk by making them public. There are a large number of people who post videos and other content with the aim of gaining followers and influencing the lives of many people. This is having an impact on children and adolescents.

Teenagers are increasingly involved in activities like sharing content with personal information, creating or sharing nude photos or videos, all in the hope of getting more likes and followers. Based on the content they share, people with criminal minds are also engaging in blackmailing, demanding money, or other forms of violence.

When children and adolescents face incidents through social media, they often cannot openly talk to their parents, leading to further victimization. Therefore, it is essential to teach children from school level onwards that they should not share photos, videos or other content with personal information on social media.

It is necessary to make everyone understand that if someone is blackmailed or subjected to violence or abuse through social media, they can seek help from their parents, school and the police. Parents need to keep a close eye on their children's activities on social media. It is imperative to create awareness among the general public that once content is posted on the internet, it cannot be removed and that such content becomes publicly accessible.

Apart from the content they share, there is also a risk of personal content being accessed by others due to hacking. To stay safe, one should have strong passwords, not share personal and family information with strangers, not accept job offers or other offers directly, and consult with parents before making any decisions. Similarly, by not making public your location or the places you are going or planning to go, you can largely avoid online violence.

(Based on a conversation with Sampanna Shrestha)

(This investigative report was prepared through the NIMJN fellowship supported by the Australian Aid.  All rights reserved with the author and publisher.)

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