Bronx Documentary Center : Smita Sharma : We Cry In Silence

Girls walk home from school in South 24 Parganas. For many girls in rural India, education ends before high school, which often costs money. Poor families are more likely to put money toward education for boys and wedding expenses for girls. Although child marriage is illegal, it’s still widely practiced. In this region, with high rates of child sex trafficking, families also worry that girls are at risk on long commutes to school. © Smita Sharma

C.’s diary offers a glimpse into the teenager’s infatuation, which the man who trafficked her exploited. Her words in Bengali say: “If I don’t get you in my life, I will die. If I am not yours, I can’t be anyone else’s.” C., was trafficked as a teenager from South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. From passages in her diary, the family realized she’d eloped with a man she’d met. Months later, police found her in a brothel in Pune, a city in the western region of India. "I never thought I would be able to get out of that place," C. said. After going through the traumatic experience of sexual slavery, most girls find it difficult to adapt to the life they once had. Girls during this transition period experience high rates of depression, anxiety, PTSD, self-harm, and even suicidal tendencies. © Smita Sharma

"I fell in love and trusted him. He said he loved me and wanted to marry me. How would I know that he would trick me and sell me for money". M., 18, fell in love with a man from her community and eloped with him from Gangasagar Island, near Kolkata. The man took her to Delhi and then sold her to a brothel. M. had to entertain around 15-20 clients everyday and would be severely beaten in the legs if she refused. She was rescued eight months later during a police raid and was reunited with her family in June 2017. © Smita Sharma

© Smita Sharma

M., who is now 18, waits for a train with her cousin in South 24 Parganas, a largely poor district in West Bengal with a high incidence of trafficking. A man M. met in a class sold her to a brothel in Delhi. She managed to call her father and was rescued by police with help from a nonprofit called Shakti Vahini. “This incident is a dark episode in my life,” M. said. “When I came home, I was scared and ashamed. But I am not afraid anymore.” © Smita Sharma

Shiuli, a 27-year-old sex worker, arranges to meet a client in the Kalighat red-light district of Kolkata, India. “A girl born to a poor family,” she said, “has to go through hell throughout her entire life.” Married at 13, Shiuli eventually left her abusive husband, taking their son with her, but her parents wouldn’t let her return home. She narrowly averted being trafficked. Unable to make enough as a maid, she became a sex worker. She has two other sons, fathered by clients. © Smita Sharma

A., who is now 19, eloped with a man several years ago. After she overheard him making plans to sell her to a brothel in Kolkata, she managed to escape. She was found at the railway station in Canning, West Bengal, India by representatives of Childline, an organization that helps children in distress. She was then taken to a shelter where she was counseled by mental health experts. A few months later she was reunited with her family. © Smita Sharma

After a fight with her mother, R. left her home near Kolkata, one of India’s largest cities. At a train station, she met some men who tricked her and took her to a red-light district in the city. “They were laying a trap for me,” she said. Many girls who are trafficked in their teens spend the rest of their lives in brothels. R. was rescued before she was sold to one. “I just got lucky,” she said. She was sent to a shelter called Sneha run by Sanlaap, a nonprofit that prepares victims to rebuild their lives. © Smita Sharma