Human Security at Stake: Perspectives of Women Trafficking from Nepal to India

Int. Jr. of Contemp. Res. in Multi. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [SepOct] Year 2025 583 © 2025 Mr. Tarique Anwar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Review Article Human Security at Stake: Perspectives of Women Trafficking from Nepal to India Tarique Anwar 1*, Dr. Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi 2 1 Research Scholar, Department of Gandhian and Peace Studies, Mahatma Gandhi Central University Motihari, Bihar, India 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Gandhian and Peace Studies, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, India Corresponding Author: * Tarique Anwar DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17836452 Abstract Manuscript Information This article addresses human trafficking, which is a grave violation of human rights and one of the fastest-growing criminal industries in the world, endangering the security of people globally. The study focuses on the cross-border trafficking of women and girls between India and Nepal, emphasising how persistent this issue is despite both nations' adherence to national anti-trafficking legislation and international agreements. The article dives into the underlying reasons for the prevalence of trafficking and looks at several definitions of the crime. Human trafficking has grown into a lucrative business in South Asia, especially in the BBIN subregion, where forced labour, sexual exploitation, the organ trade, and domestic slavery fuel it. This illegal industry has expanded dramatically over the past decade, which has increased the need for a deeper comprehension of the elements sustaining its continued existence. ▪ ISSN No: 2583-7397 ▪ Received: 14-08-2025 ▪ Accepted: 29-09-2025 ▪ Published: 31-10-2025 ▪ IJCRM:4(5); 2025: 583-590 ▪ ©2025, All Rights Reserved ▪ Plagiarism Checked: Yes ▪ Peer Review Process: Yes How to Cite this Article Anwar T, Tripathi AK. Human security at stake: Perspectives of women trafficking from Nepal to India. Int J Contemp Res Multidiscip. 2025;4(5):583-590. Access this Article Online www.multiarticlesjournal.com KEYWORDS: Sex Trafficking, Gender, Human Rights, Nepali Women, Prostitution Int. Jr. of Contemp. Res. in Multi. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [SepOct] Year 2025 584 © 2025 Mr. Tarique Anwar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ INTRODUCTION The India-Nepal border region, characterised by diverse cultures, complex histories and shared economic activities, is a backdrop to the geographical proximity of India and Nepal, the region’s socio-economic disparities, historical complexity, and the complex problem of cross-border human trafficking. This article seeks to open up and develop a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the India-Nepal border community, creating an environment where vulnerable populations are at high risk of exploitation. In the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal) subregion, India plays a multifaceted role in human trafficking as a source, transit, and destination country because of its relatively prosperous economy and political stability. Despite having a controlled and regularly patrolled border with Bangladesh, India serves as a destination for smuggled persons from there. Similarly, it shares open borders in the BBIN subregion with Bhutan and Nepal and serves as a source, transit point, and destination for trafficked individuals. The unique challenges faced by first responders on both sides, including border guards, civilian police, and NGOs working at the border, arise from the difficulty of distinguishing between migrants and victims of trafficking due to these complex border dynamics. The high rates of morbidity and mortality in Nepal are a result of the pervasiveness of violence against women. Concerning women's rights, Nepal is falling behind the rest of the globe and is facing a severe problem in the form of illicit sex trafficking. In Nepal, women's rights have been neglected, primarily because of issues including political unrest, corruption, unemployment, poverty, and illiteracy. These difficulties push Nepali women to look for work in India and other Gulf nations, but they are nonetheless held in the grip of modern slavery. The deplorable conditions in which these vulnerable victims are trafficked, as well as the conditions for their escape and survival, put them at significant health risks. ‘Victims of this horrific act often have to work long hours and endure unsafe sex, putting them at risk of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and genital infections’ (Gurung & Kachchhap, 2020). Additionally, inadequate nutrition, poor hygiene, and physical and psychological complications prevalent in Indian brothels contribute to the living conditions. These victims are confined to rooms and cannot even take a breath in the open-air world; only the customers can have access from outside. In such a scenario, escaping the brothels is an exceptionally challenging endeavour. Defining Human Trafficking Human trafficking, a grave violation of human rights, is defined differently by various global agencies, nations, and NGOs, reflecting the complexity of the issue. The ‘U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act’ (TVPA) emphasises the use of force, fraud, or coercion, but also highlights the trafficking of minors for sex as a distinct form of crime, regardless of the presence of coercion. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines trafficking as forced labour and states ‘work or service extracted from any person under the threat of penalty for which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily’. Meanwhile, NGOs like the Polaris Project provide broader definitions, emphasising the exploitation of vulnerabilities, including economic hardships, and the often-invisible nature of trafficking in sectors like domestic work and agriculture. Despite these varying definitions, the core elements of exploitation, coercion, and the violation of human dignity remain central, underscoring the global consensus on the need to combat this pervasive crime. United Nations Definition The 'United Nations Palermo Protocol' defines human trafficking as the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring, or receiving individuals through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, with the intent to exploit them. This exploitation can take various forms, including forced labour, sexual exploitation, and the removal of organs. In the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Article 3 defines ‘Trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of individuals through threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, or exploitation of a position of vulnerability’ (UNOHCHR, 2000). Additionally, it includes the ‘act of giving or receiving payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control over another individual’, all with the intent of exploitation. As defined in the protocol, exploitation encompasses, at a minimum, the exploitation of others through ‘prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery, practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs. (UNODC, 2017). Indian Government’s Definition Section 370 of the ‘Indian Penal Code’ (old version) defines human trafficking as follows: ‘Whoever, with the intent of exploitation, (a) recruits, (b) transports, (c) harbours, (d) transfers, or (e) receives a person or persons, by using threats, force, or any other form of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, or inducement, including giving or receiving payments or benefits, to secure the consent of any person having control over the person recruited, transported, harboured, transferred, or received, commits the offence of trafficking’. (UNODC, 2017). The term 'exploitation' encompasses any act of physical exploitation, sexual exploitation, slavery or slavery-like practices, servitude, or the forced removal of organs. Nepal Government’s Definition The Mulika Ain (General Code of Nepal), outlined in Chapter 11, Numbers 1 to 3, provides a comprehensive definition of trafficking, encompassing various actions. According to this legal framework, trafficking includes: • ‘The act of selling with intent to entice another person out of Nepal or the territory of Nepal or to sell to another person outside the territorial limits of Nepal. Int. Jr. of Contemp. Res. in Multi. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [SepOct] Year 2025 585 © 2025 Mr. Tarique Anwar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ • Removing or inducing a minor under sixteen years of age or of unsound mind from the custody of his legal guardian without the consent of his legal guardian. • Wages of an enslaved person, servant, maid (servant), slave or servant of another person. Furthermore, the Republic of Nepal has a dedicated law, the Trafficking in Persons and Trafficking in Persons Control Act, 2007, which defines the offence of trafficking in Section 4. According to this Act, sale or purchase for any purpose includes a) sale or purchase by any person, using it for prostitution, with or without any profit, or b) human organs (unless otherwise prescribed by law), c) engaging in prostitution.’ Clause 2 of the same section further elaborates on acts falling under the offence of transportation, which include: a. International trafficking: ‘This involves the act of taking a person out of the country for buying and selling.’ b. Illegal Recruitment: ‘It involves the unauthorised removal of any person from his home, residence, or other person using various methods like allurement, misinformation, lies, deceit, coercion, kidnapping, hostage-taking, allurement, influence, threat, etc. are included. Or abuse of power. This involves taking persons to any place in Nepal or abroad or handing them over to someone else for prostitution and exploitation’ (UNODC, 2017). Women Trafficking in the Indo-Nepal Border Region The issue of trafficking is ‘particularly acute in Nepal, where 42% of the population lives below the poverty line’ (Daly et al., 2001). Human trafficking is not only a violation of human rights but also a globally fastest-growing crime industry. Transborder human trafficking is on the rise; hundreds of thousands of women and girls are being vulnerable every year and forced to indulge in prostitution. Preventing such trafficking is becoming a significant challenge for the nations (Deane, 2010). In the South Asian continent, Nepal bears the more significant burden of transnational child and women trafficking because of the open border with India. With an estimated annual influx of 10,000–15,000 Nepalese women and girls, India serves as the main foreign target for victims (India Becoming a Hub of Child Sex Abuse: SC, 2010). Over time, India has evolved into a ‘source, destination, and transit country for human trafficking. In recent years, ‘incidents of crossborder trafficking, especially of women and children, have increased between Nepal and India’ (Sharma, 2016). In Nepal, women and children face international trafficking, including in India and the Middle East. ‘Research reveals that more than 200,000 Nepali girls and women are trapped in the sex trafficking industry and that approximately 50% of them are victims of sex trafficking in India alone’ (Joshi, 2010). They are subject to commercial and sexual exploitation or forced marriage. Additionally, trafficking occurs in India and Nepal, where victims fall into ‘involuntary servitude as child soldiers, domestic servants, or factory workers. Contemporary forms of slavery include the trafficking of Nepalese women primarily for commercial purposes in India and the Middle East, used for sexual exploitation (Gaon et al., 2006). Young girls, typically between the ages of 9 and 16, are trafficked across the border and sold into brothels in India, where prostitution is not prohibited. These girls usually work hard, 14 to 18 hours a day, and perform commercial sex without any pay. The trafficking of girls from Nepal to India primarily for prostitution is considered one of the most widespread forms of ‘slave trafficking’ globally (McGirk, 1997). Several studies have shown that conflict-induced migration of women and girls from remote areas of Nepal leads to commercial sexual exploitation, resulting in an increasing incidence of trafficking. Factors behind Women Trafficking The Indo-Nepal border is a critical hotspot for human trafficking, driven by a complex interplay of socio-economic, cultural, and geopolitical factors. One of the primary influences is poverty, particularly in rural Nepal, where limited economic opportunities push individuals, especially women and children, to seek work across the border, often falling prey to traffickers who lure them with false promises of employment. The porous and largely unregulated border facilitates easy movement, making it challenging to monitor and prevent trafficking activities. Cultural factors, such as gender discrimination and the preference for male children, further exacerbate the vulnerability of women and girls, who are often seen as economic burdens and thus more susceptible to being trafficked. The lack of education and awareness in border communities also contributes to the problem, as many victims are unaware of the dangers and legal protections available to them. Additionally, political instability and weak law enforcement in both countries hinder effective cross-border collaboration to combat trafficking. Lack of Education A notable factor contributing to sex trafficking in Nepal is the historical lack of proper education. Before 1951, education was limited, and only the upper class had access to education, with members of the ruling class privileged (Sharma G.N., 1990). The Rana kings, who ruled Nepal for more than a century until the early 1950s, feared an educated society. Education was deliberately kept as a privilege for the ruling class, leaving the majority of the population illiterate. In the early 1950s, the average literacy rate was only 5%, with male literacy at 10% and female literacy at less than 1% (Bhatta & Mehendale, 2021). Until the 1970s, girls and women in Nepal were not allowed to receive education (Zmarzly L., 2019). However, Nepal has since made progress in the education sector, with the establishment of many schools and universities, but more numbers are needed to translate into an effective education system. Many girls in Nepal are still deprived of their right to education, as social pressures often force them to drop out of school and engage in domestic work. Additionally, job opportunities are limited due to inadequate education, forcing Int. Jr. of Contemp. Res. in Multi. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [SepOct] Year 2025 586 © 2025 Mr. Tarique Anwar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ these young girls and women to settle for low-paying jobs and become victims of exploitation by human traffickers. Poverty The widespread prevalence of low-wage jobs and limited opportunities in Nepal contributes to widespread poverty in the country, leading to the trafficking of Nepali women and girls. Nepal is the poorest country in South Asia and the 17th poorest country globally, with about 25 per cent of its population living below the poverty line. The significant unemployment rate of 42 per cent has created a sense of insecurity and despair in many rural areas of Nepal. These populations find themselves in unwarranted situations due to a lack of human security indicators such as shelter, food, good health, quality education, and safety in the community and workplace. In such situations, individuals are often forced to seek improved opportunities in areas beyond extreme poverty. Increased unemployment rates have led to situations in which individuals, especially from rural areas, are vulnerable to sexual exploitation as they migrate to urban centres in search of employment. Taking advantage of this situation, traffickers take advantage of the desperation and actions of potential victims trying to get out of trouble. Innocent Nepalese girls and women, primarily from rural areas, are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation as they migrate to towns and cities for job opportunities. Traffickers take advantage of victims’ aspirations for a better life, assuring them of a bright future, promising careers, and a prosperous lifestyle. As a result, victims are forced to fall into the clutches of traffickers in their search for an improved quality of life. Gender Inequality The country’s long-standing gender division of labour has forced women to take on many household responsibilities, including collecting firewood and water. Significantly more time is spent by women than men on household work, which limits their participation in professional and social activities, as well as girls' school attendance. Women often engage in semiskilled and unskilled occupations outside the home, closely tied to domestic duties. (Asian Development Bank, 1999). However, their participation in better opportunities is restricted by time constraints, limited access to financial resources, inadequate education and vocational skills, and social discrimination. Gender-based discrimination and inequality contribute to the risk of sex trafficking. Limited opportunities for economic advancement make women and girls vulnerable to exploitation. Factors such as unpaid work, low income, gender violence and child marriage hinder their full participation in society. Disadvantaged groups from various sectors of Nepali society, gender discrimination, and prolonged political instability and internal conflict over the past decade and a half contribute to increased vulnerability to trafficking. Traffickers are believed to control the routes and destinations to continue their inhumane trafficking activities targeting innocent Nepalese women and girls. India and Nepal Open Border In addition to the challenges of inadequate educational facilities and widespread poverty in Nepal, the open border between the two nations has emerged as a significant factor contributing to the illegal sex trade. Affected by the limited access to education and acute poverty, Nepali girls and women are targeted for migration, creating an opportunity for human traffickers to exploit these vulnerable individuals along the open borders of the Indo-Nepal border. The ‘India-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty’ of 1950 established an open border between the two nations covering 1751 kilometres (Banerjee & Ashraf, 2021). As a result, an extensive history of unrestricted cross-border migration has developed, involving various threats along the India-Nepal open border, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, counterfeit money and illegal arms trades. Weak border controls and the absence of visa requirements or other documentation for travel between nations result from the peace agreement. Additionally, due to low surveillance and the presence of corrupt government officials in border areas, illegal smuggling of goods and people occurs on a large scale (Sharma G., 2018). Taking advantage of this situation, smugglers use these routes to transport Nepali girls and women to different countries. Porous borders, lax laws and regulations, and the use of false records and documents make the border an easily navigable route for smugglers. Supply and Demand Factor As one of the fastest-developing countries globally, India faces several factors that make it particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. India’s growing sex industry has been identified as a significant factor that makes young Nepali women vulnerable to trafficking (U.S. Department of State, 2009). Conflictinduced poverty and displacement in Nepal have forced millions of Nepalese citizens to seek employment abroad. This has increased the number of individuals wishing to leave the country, resulting in an increased opportunity for traffickers (Deane, 2010). While individuals living below the poverty line with limited employment opportunities have traditionally been the most vulnerable to human trafficking, a recent trend has emerged where young, educated girls from the Northeast seeking jobs outside their region are being targeted for trafficking. ‘These girls are often tricked by unscrupulous employers or forced into the commercial sex trade’ (Bagchi & Sinha, 2016). Demand factors identified by UNODC include changes in countries’ informal economies, increased involvement of criminal syndicates, illicit activities, globalisation, migration, development, improved transportation and communications, and increased demand for cheap labour and sex with children. The supply of trafficked victims is exceptionally high due to the high demand in the sex industry. The causes and incidence of trafficking are deeply rooted in poverty, limited opportunities, gender discrimination, social and political violence, and the demand for services that compels trafficking victims to be exploited in other countries. The Int. Jr. of Contemp. Res. in Multi. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [SepOct] Year 2025 587 © 2025 Mr. Tarique Anwar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ trafficking problem that Nepal faces is aggravated by factors such as the lack of women's empowerment. Overall, there is a lack of awareness, resulting in huge numbers of women trafficked from Nepal to India every year, drawing severe scrutiny from the measures being taken by both countries to combat this widespread problem of trafficking. Corruption among officials and the involvement of organised crime networks further complicate efforts to address the issue. Collectively, these factors create a breeding ground for human trafficking in general and women trafficking in particular at the Indo-Nepal border, necessitating targeted interventions and stronger bilateral cooperation to mitigate the problem. Laws against Human Trafficking Nepal and India have several laws to combat human trafficking. The Constitutions of both India and Nepal strongly affirm fundamental human rights, including the right to equality and freedom from exploitation. The Constitution and laws of both nations explicitly prohibit trafficking in persons under the right against exploitation. In addition, Nepal has enacted three domestic laws to address the trafficking of girls and child labour specifically; these rules are ‘the Labour Act of 1992’, ‘the Human Trafficking Control Act of Nepal of 1986’, and ‘the National Human Rights Commission Act of 1993’. More recently, the ‘Children’s Act of 1992’ has included several provisions to combat child labour and has recently been amended to focus on the prevention of abuse, particularly sexual abuse (ILO, 2009). As a result, the law prohibits any form of labour involving immoral conduct of the child (Section 16) to ensure the child's physical, mental, and intellectual development (Aggarwal, 2007). Similarly, the ‘Child Labour (Prohibition and Control) Act 2000’ clearly prohibits work by children below 14. ‘Section 4 of the Act’ prohibits the employment of child labour ‘against his/her will in the way of persuasion, misrepresentation, false promise, or fear of undue influence’. Furthermore, the growing concern of the Nepal government and civil societies over women trafficking had become increasingly prevalent in the 1980s, resulting in the ‘Human Trafficking Control Act of Nepal 1986’ with the primary purpose of addressing the increasing problem of trafficking of women and girls for prostitution. This act was introduced and enacted as a special law that contains various legal protections, including rehabilitation and integration of trafficked victims, protection of victims and witnesses, compensation, and other related measures. The Act supplements the ‘Muluki Ain (Code of Law) of 1964’, which clearly ‘prohibits the taking of persons out of the country, by fraud or incitement, to sell them, and imposes penalties of 10–20 years’ (Asian Development Bank, 2003). According to Section 4 of the ‘Trafficking Control Act of Nepal’ 1986, ‘human trafficking means taking a person to a foreign territory for any purpose, inducing or selling a woman into prostitution by inducement, enticement, fraud, threat, or coercion etc., so described, or by any other means, and aiding, abetting, conspiring, or attempting to commit any of these acts’. Although the Government of Nepal has taken steps to combat human trafficking, the definition of trafficking in existing laws and policies varies considerably. The Trafficking Act of Nepal 1986 protects humans from ‘trafficking for any purpose’ but does not include fraudulent recruitment for non-prostitution and bonded labour. Subsequently, the ‘Human Trafficking Control Act’ 2007 (Trafficking Control Act of 2007) was enacted to enhance the effective implementation of the provisions under the ‘Trafficking Control Act of Nepal’ 1986. This newly introduced law establishes additional territorial jurisdiction and imposes similar penalties for crimes inside and outside Nepal. Although the ‘Trafficking Control Act of 2007’ designates the crime as ‘extra-territorial, particularly in cross-border offences, this aspect is not explicitly covered in the temporarily signed extradition treaties between the parties (Deane, 2010). Consequently, the provision for extraterritorial jurisdiction remains inactive mainly during the implementation phase. Also, there are inadequate regulations to control the migration of Nepalese women in India. ‘In case complaints are filed against traffickers, it is almost impossible to catch the accused due to stereotypical and biased investigation methods against women’ (Deane, 2010; Chudar, 2009). However, the 2007 Trafficking Act is considered more comprehensive, as it contains provisions for the protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims (U.S. Department of State, 2009). However, additional and more effective legislative measures are required to combat human trafficking issues effectively, which may include ‘establishing witness and victim protection programs to ensure the safety of witnesses, victims, their relatives, and human rights defenders’ (Deane, 2010). Security is also necessary to protect individuals investigating or advocating for human rights from reprisals or intimidation by criminals or others. Furthermore, existing rape laws discriminate against women, as the perpetrator can avoid significant punishment by showing that the victim is engaged in prostitution (Nair & Sen, 2005). While prostitution is banned in Nepal, it is not considered illegal to a certain extent in India. This discrepancy prompts traffickers to take girls from Nepal to India. Recognising this challenge, the Government of Nepal has introduced various preventive constitutional measures. One such measure is ‘Article 20(1) of the Constitution of Nepal, which guarantees the right against exploitation and expressly prohibits human trafficking, slavery, servitude or forced labour in any form’. Any act violating this article is considered a ‘heinous crime’ and ‘is punishable under existing laws’ (Khatri, 1999). ‘Article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits smuggling and forced labour’. The primary law in India is the ‘Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860’, which addresses matters such as the trafficking of minors and the importation of girls. For example, ‘Section 363 A deals with the abduction or mutilation of a minor to beg; Section 366 A deals with the procurement of minor girls for sexual exploitation; and Section 366 B deals with the importation of girls from abroad for sexual exploitation’. Int. Jr. of Contemp. Res. in Multi. PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL Volume 4 Issue 5 [SepOct] Year 2025 588 © 2025 Mr. Tarique Anwar, Dr Ambikesh Kumar Tripathi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Women Trafficking: Human Security Perspective The concept of human security was first introduced by the UNDP Human Development Report in 1994. The report defines human security in two main dimensions: ‘safety from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, and repression’ and ‘protection from sudden and harmful disruption in the patterns of daily life’. Its twin goals reflect these dimensions: ‘freedom from fear’ and ‘freedom from want’ (UNDP, 1994). Human trafficking is conceptually linked to migration. Throughout history, people have crossed borders in search of a better livelihood. Migration often provides economic opportunities and a better lifestyle for many individuals. However, this leaves some people vulnerable to fraud or coercion, making them vulnerable to exploitation and becoming victims of trafficking. It has been argued that ‘India faces the world’s most enormous labour trafficking problem, with millions of victims of sex trafficking and millions of bonded labourers, including forced child labour’ (Ghosh, 2009). According to a 2007 estimate by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), approximately 2.8 million persons are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation in India (Hameed et al., 2010). According to a study by Nair and Sen, ‘out of 10 per cent of cross-border smuggling, about 2.17 per cent comes from Bangladesh and 2.6 per cent from Nepal’ (Nair & Sen, 2005). A study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed that ‘10,000–15,000 and 5,000–11,000 people are trafficked annually from Bangladesh and Nepal, respectively’ (Asian Development Bank, 2003). The primary and pervasive root cause for trafficking from Nepal to India is economic insecurity or poverty. States experiencing poverty are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, with lower-caste individuals having limited access to education and employment. Lower-caste women often face limited options. In India and Nepal, unique Devadasi and Deuki practices (culturally sanctioned prostitution) contribute to the commercial sexual exploitation of young women, which acts as a particular vulnerability factor for trafficking. Trafficking of any kind represents a significant threat to the dignity and safety of trafficked persons. The human rights of these individuals are violated at every stage of trafficking. Although the constitutions of India and Nepal affirm equal rights for men and women, practical implementation falls short, making these rights more rhetorical. Gender-based violence, deeply rooted in the societies of India and Nepal, is a major driving force behind the risk factors for trafficking in these countries. In the patriarchal social conditions of these nations, women are more likely to be victims of violence than men. CONCLUSION Asha-Rose Migiro, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, emphasised, ‘Human trafficking affects us all, whether we live in countries of origin, transit, or destination. Preventing and combating it requires a comprehensive international approach. We must act together to stop a crime in our midst that deprives countless victims of their liberty, dignity, and human rights’ (UNODC, 2007). Every year, the number of victims of sex trafficking in Nepal is increasing, and Nepal remains a favourite transit point for traffickers. Multiple factors and multi-layered inequality shape the sex trafficking and sex trade industry. ‘These factors include globalisation, internal and international migration, international practices, family structure, patriarchal domestic relations, the role and status of women in the private and public spheres, the culture of sexual violence, and the allure of modern urban life’ (Harmal, 2014). Gender, ethnicity, and the dynamics of social and transnational networks play a significant role in mediating, facilitating, and accelerating the process of sex trafficking. A recurring theme in every narrative is the gendered culture of oppression, discrimination, and inequality. The treatment of women as commodities and their subordinate status in both family and society render certain groups of women particularly vulnerable to labour and sexual exploitation. These women are often already marginalised in various areas, including socioeconomic status. In Nepal, the majority of women, particularly those who are rural, poor, and uneducated, continue to experience significant social, economic, and political dependence on men. This dependence is deeply ingrained and perpetuated by a combination of religious beliefs, cultural norms, and societal expectations that reinforce traditional gender roles. Additionally, the legal system and existing laws and regulations often contribute to the discrimination and oppression of women, further limiting their access to opportunities and reinforcing their subordinate status in society. As a result, many women in Nepal remain marginalised, facing systemic barriers that hinder their empowerment and participation in various aspects of life. A gender-sensitive human security approach is essential to challenge and transform patriarchal mindsets while amplifying the voices of those who have traditionally been marginalised and silenced in society. This approach provides a framework for analysing how structural and cultural violence perpetuates the root causes of trafficking in these countries, including the deeply embedded inequalities and discriminatory practices that target vulnerable populations. By focusing on gender sensitivity, we can more effectively address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of trafficked persons, not only by understanding the factors that lead to their exploitation but also by recognising their heightened risks at their destinations. Additionally, this approach highlights the critical importance of ensuring the protection and empowerment of trafficked individuals, advocating for their rights, and creating pathways for their recovery and reintegration into society. Declaration of Interest Statement: No potential conflict of interest. REFERENCES 1. Aggarwal N. 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