Social media, online ads making sex trafficking easier, report that studied cases in Goa suggests

A “source state”, according to the authors, is the state from where the victim of sex trafficking was trafficked to Goa and does not necessarily mean the place to which she originally belongs.

The study says that a total of 172 women and minor girls were rescued from human and sex trafficking rings between June 2019 and July 2024. Of these, 138 were of Indian origin from over 20 states while 34 hailed from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Nepal, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

Of the rescued, 157 were within the 18 to 35 age group, while only four were minors.

The report says that the modus operandi and patterns of trafficking have become more “organised” and the advancement of social media sites and online platforms for soliciting and communication has made it easier for the traffickers to maintain secrecy.

A significant number of women were trafficked to Goa “under the pretence of jobs in clubs, bars, hotels, and casinos, where they were promised roles as waitresses, dancers, or companions to clients, especially tourists” and then coerced into commercial sex activities, it says.

“The major source areas – Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Nepal and Bangladesh – remain unchanged. The newly emerging areas are Uttar Pradesh for internal trafficking and Kenya and Uganda for cross-border trafficking. Goa is becoming a destination for sex trafficking also because the demand is high and the payment and working conditions are good,” the report says.

It argues that the victims, in most cases, were the primary breadwinners for their families, managing their households on modest incomes, who lost their jobs during the pandemic and were forced to take loans to survive.

According to the study, online advertisements for commercial sexual activities in Goa have contributed to the rise in sex trafficking because they “enable” traffickers and buyers to remain anonymous.

Speaking at the event, Chief Minister Sawant said the government is strengthening border security with the neighbouring states to dismantle the trafficking networks in coordination with all the agencies.