ABSTRACT
Children born in brothels would either be sold into the sex trade or its allied activities. In this chapter, Prti Patkar shares her experiences of working with the children of prostituted women through a non-government organisation Prerana, to break the cycle of intergenerational commercial sexual exploitation. She looks back at her journey of working in the red-light areas of Mumbai, equipped with the knowledge of social work, child rights, and gender equality, and pioneering anti-trafficking initiatives for over three decades. Prerana also started the first-night care centre, and thus initiated the creation of safe spaces for children in the red-light areas. They faced many hurdles, took legal recourse, and advocated for policy changes to ensure the rights and dignity of children and women in the red-light areas. This reflective chapter will help the readers understand the complexities of the life of women and children in the red-light area, the need for intervention, the child-centric rights-based approach in the intervention, the challenges in the journey, and the process of mitigating the same.
