WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
Survivors’ cost
By Reuters Published: Apr 07, 2021 05:03 PM Updated: Apr 07, 2021 05:03 PM After being trafficked for sex as a girl of 16, Malika hoped that government compensation would get her back on her feet - but the young mother is now jobless, living on the streets and 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,727) in debt.
Women members of Child Welfare Committee visit a government-run child shelter home and provide counseling to the rescued girls in Deoria, India on August 7, 2018. Photo: VCG Despite being awarded 150,000 rupees in compensation in 2019, Malika is among thousands of women survivors of trafficking, sexual assault, and acid attacks waiting for payment since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020.