Karuna* (22) is the eldest daughter in a family of six. When she was younger, she was forced to drop out of school to work and support her parents and younger siblings—a truly unfortunate yet common fate for eldest daughters in poor households in Nepal.
When she was 16, she sought employment and crossed the border to India. She does not have an employment contract then, but hopes to find one when she migrates. And as if guided by good fate, she met a young man who offered her a hotel job with a high salary, accommodation, and food covered. At that time, she felt like all of her ambitions were coming together, but in these stories, nothing ever ends with a good outcome. The man turns out to be a pimp. He sexually assaulted her and told her how much money they could make together if she allowed him to sell her.
Karuna refused, and the man resorted to more drastic measures. He contacted people to sell her, while Karuna managed to escape and return to her family. But even in her home village, the conditions were not very favorable. Even with the sexual assault and the traumatic incidents she endured in India, she still had to seek employment in her hometown.
As she looked for jobs, her mother secretly observed her emotional decline, so she sought help from our organization. When we learned about the details, our staff spoke to her, and we learned that she is at very high risk of human trafficking and further sexual abuse. She was then sent to our Women’s Safe Haven so she could truly process what had happened to her while she was away from home.
Currently, Karuna receives skill-based training to equip her with more employable skills as she frequently attends counseling sessions to process her trauma.
*Name is changed for privacy.
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