There are different scenarios in this. When a girl gets trafficked and she's into prostitution, there's a huge social stigma for the families connected or associated with her, because the family does not know that she's been pushed into prostitution. The trafficker tells the family that he's going to take her daughter or his daughter to a better job opportunity and then brings her to metropolitan cities and pushes her into the sex trade.
When the girl stays there for about a year, two years, or three years and then, when we rescue her and bring her to our shelter home, there is a legal process until that is is done, depending upon her age. If the girl is a minor, then she cannot leave our shelter home until she is 18, and she's allowed to make a decision on her own and of her choice.
Until then she is in our shelter home, but if she is an adult, above 18, then we do the proper home verification. It's important for us to understand under what circumstances that girl left that place, so we will send our people to any corner of the country to find out through the neighbours and through the communities in that area how that girl was sent from that place.
Depending upon that, her repatriation orders are placed because that particular report will be submitted to the court, to the police, and to the child welfare committee in India if she is a minor. Based on that, they will decide whether they want to send her back home or to keep her in our shelter home.
Many times the girls are really embarrassed and feel that something terrible has happened to them, and because of that, they can't go back to their village. Then we try to bring her opportunities within the city.
We have a group home scheme whereby we hire a place, a small place in Mumbai for about two or three girls, and they all stay together and work for themselves. That's how they've been working. But also in India, ultimately, the social rehabilitation is when you get them married.
As a non-profit, we find grooms who are willing to marry our girls, and there are proper steps and procedures for that. They have to give x amount of money that is kept in her name. There are certain laws and regulations that you have to follow once they get married. There are so many things that we do, and we get them married also, if she wants to.
At times girls come to us or our president and ask if we can help get them married, so we find the right people, and while she is living there we ensure, by making surprise visits, that she is fine and safe, and there are no problems for her.
We've been very successful on that front. It totally depends on the girl and what she wants to do.