The Hidden Trauma: Why Justice Systems Fail Trafficking Survivors in India

By Nisha Mehroon, Programme Director Access to Justice, Sanjog, India  

Human trafficking is not a single criminal act but an accumulation of gendered harms rooted

in inequality and institutional neglect. Sanjog India’s engagement with survivors shows that justice systems often prioritise rescue and prosecution while overlooking the long-term realities of recovery and restitution.

Gendered Vulnerabilities

Most trafficking survivors—predominantly women and girls—come from communities already burdened by poverty, caste-based exclusion, domestic violence, and income insecurity. Gender norms that restrict mobility, undervalue women’s labour, and deny property rights deepen dependence and exposure to exploitation. Trafficking thus thrives at the intersection of gender discrimination and economic marginalisation.

Failures of the Custodial Model

Post-rescue rehabilitation frequently confines survivors to institutional shelter homes, often against their will. This custodial model erodes autonomy and reproduces the control survivors once endured. Many face stigma upon returning home, and without sustained support, some are re-trafficked.

Sanjog’s Community-Based Approach

Sanjog’s Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) model offers a rights-based alternative to institutional care for survivors of human trafficking. Rooted in principles of freedom and participation, it enables survivors to rebuild their lives within their own communities rather than in custodial shelter homes. The model combines livelihood support, mental health care, access to justice, and leadership development to ensure that recovery is survivor-led and sustainable. By strengthening survivor collectives and local networks, CBR reframes rehabilitation as a process of empowerment rather than protection.. The approach fosters survivor leadership, economic independence, mental health care, and institutional accountability—enabling survivors to rebuild their lives with dignity and agency. 

Through its Shakti project, grounded in the CBR model, Sanjog works with community-based organisations (CBOs) in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh to enable holistic recovery for survivors of human trafficking. The project supports survivors to return home safely, overcome stigma within their families and communities, and claim rehabilitation services from government duty-bearers. It facilitates access to legal aid for compensation and defence, promotes financial independence through livelihood support, and uses technology to track service delivery and strengthen institutional accountability. The Shakti project demonstrates how survivor-centred, community-anchored rehabilitation can restore autonomy and dignity while driving systemic change.

Justice Beyond Rescue

For most survivors, rescue is not the end of their ordeal. Many live with physical injuries, trauma, and stigma, compounded by the loss of education and livelihood. The harm of trafficking is not only what happens during exploitation—it’s the years of neglect and exclusion that follow. Yet despite this profound damage, fewer than 1% of trafficking survivors in India have accessed victim compensation. Complex procedures, limited awareness, and indifference within state systems keep justice out of reach. 

For Sanjog, compensation is not charity but a legal right and recognition of harm. True justice must move beyond rescue and prosecution—towards restitution and rebuilding lives with dignity. As part of its Access to Justice programs, Sanjog implements initiatives such as Rahaat and AHTU WATCH to strengthen accountability within the justice system. Rahaat supports survivors in accessing victim compensation and legal aid, while AHTU WATCH—a national research initiative based on Right to Information data and field interviews—monitors the functioning of Anti-Human Trafficking Units across states. Together, these efforts advocate for survivor-centred systems that uphold justice in all its forms: fair convictions, timely compensation, and institutional accountability.

A gender-responsive justice framework must recognise trafficking as structural violence—and shift from custodial protection to empowerment, restitution, and survivor-led change.