Trailer description Join Leena Kejriwal, founder of the Missing Link Trust, as she dives deeper into issues around child protection, children in conflict with law, adolescent sexuality, cyber safety, poverty, child marriage, and more.
Trigger Warning: Please note, this episode contains themes and depictions of human trafficking that may be disturbing to listeners. Listener discretion is advised.
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Episode 1
Poverty and Sex ExploitationOn this episode, we explore the role of poverty in sexual exploitation and trafficking, through our conversations with Suresh Kumar, the Executive Director of Centre DIRECT, who has been fighting against child trafficking in Bihar for over 20 years, and Hasina Kharbhih, Founder and Chairperson of Impulse NGO Network, who has spent over two decades working in the Northeastern part of India. They share their insights and experiences of the rural-urban divide, stories of familial trafficking, trafficked children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the systemic changes needed to battle poverty and trafficking.
Episode 2
Child MarriageThis week, on MISSING, we delve into the problem of child marriage in India. We are joined by development professional and child rights activist Bharti Ali, the co-founder and currently Executive Director of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, who has been working on issues concerning gender and child rights for over 29 years, and Baitali Ganguly, a founder member of Jabala Action Research Organisation, an NGO based in Kolkata that rescues and rehabilitates survivors of trafficking. They give us an extensive overview and an on-ground look at child marriage, how these weddings actually take place despite being illegal, and how it can enable insidious crimes like trafficking and sexual exploitation. They also discuss the push to raise the legal age of marriage from 18 to 21 and solutions to this deeply entrenched issue.
Episode 3
Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)Today, on MISSING, we examine the subject of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). On this episode, we have Sebastian Edassery, the Director & Chief Security Officer at Deloitte, South Asia, who is also associated with organisations like Interpol, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Dr. Debarati Halder, an advocate, award winning author, speaker, cyber crime victim counsellor and professor of law. They explain what CSAM actually is, share first-hand experiences, discuss legal provisions for CSAM-related crimes, question whether India is the CSAM capital of the world or not, and advise what families, schools, the judiciary, and law enforcement can do to make the internet a safer place for children.
Episode 4
Cyber Sex TraffickingThis episode of the MISSING podcast dives into the dark underbelly of the internet to understand cyber sex trafficking and how its networks operate online. To guide us through, we have Supreme Court of India Advocate Ravi Kant, who is a Founder Member and President of Shakti Vahini, a national-level organization that has been pioneering the fight against human trafficking, and Dr. Karnika Seth, an Indian lawyer, writer, educator and policymaker, who practices in the Supreme Court of India, and acts as legal Advisor to the Ministry of Information Technology, in the fields of cyber law, intellectual property law, media law, and the protection of women and children. They explain how the online world has become an integral part of human trafficking and the different kinds of tech used. They narrate horrific first-hand cases, and tell us the importance of collaboration and awareness in fighting cyber sex trafficking.
Episode 5
Porn and Adolescent SexualityOn today’s episode of the MISSING podcast, we’re exploring the effects of pornography on adolescent sexuality, along with clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, and author Dr. Danielle Knafo, who is a professor at Long Island University’s clinical psychology doctoral program, and an associate clinical professor at New York University’s postdoctoral program in psychoanalysis. Also joining us on the show is human rights activist, researcher, and founder of the NGO HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, Enakshi Ganguly. The experts touch upon the effects of sex being a taboo subject in the Indian culture and especially in adolescent conversations, the negative and longlasting impact of young people’s exposure to pornography, the link between pornography and sexual offences amongst adolescents, and whether laws and punitive measures are actionable substitutes for larger societal changes
Episode 6
Children in Conflict with LawOn the MISSING podcast this week, we’re taking a look at the subject of sexual delinquency and children in conflict with law. Sharing their insights on this episode are Puneeta Roy, Founder Trustee of The Yuva Ekta Foundation, who has been working with young people in conflict with law for over a decade, and cyber psychologist and psychotherapist Nirali Bhatia, who is well known for analysing online behaviour, counselling cybercrime victims and creating awareness on cyber bullying. They tell us more about what goes on in the minds of these young offenders, what is triggering this kind of violent sexual behaviour in adolescents, whether juvenile detention centres and remand homes offer effective rehabilitation solutions, and discuss an important question – are we too quick to cast judgement and blame these children for offences that clearly have its roots embedded deep in our society?
Episode 7
Reintegration of SurvivorsAs we near the end of this season of the MISSING podcast, this episode looks at the process of reintegration and rehabilitation of survivors of human trafficking and the stigma they face in society. Sabina, a trafficking survivor that the Missing Link Trust has worked with, courageously and candidly opens up about her trafficking story, and narrates her experience of being rescued and reintegrated back with her family. Leena also speaks to Priti Patkar, a social worker and human rights activist and the co-founder and director of the NGO Prerana. They tell us more about the reality of escape and rescue operations, the judicial experience, how equipped Child Care Institutions and Government Homes are, what justice means to survivors, the risk of re-trafficking, and how successful reintegration is rooted in dignity and education of society.
Episode 7
Reintegration of SurvivorsAs we near the end of this season of the MISSING podcast, this episode looks at the process of reintegration and rehabilitation of survivors of human trafficking and the stigma they face in society. Sabina, a trafficking survivor that the Missing Link Trust has worked with, courageously and candidly opens up about her trafficking story, and narrates her experience of being rescued and reintegrated back with her family. Leena also speaks to Priti Patkar, a social worker and human rights activist and the co-founder and director of the NGO Prerana. They tell us more about the reality of escape and rescue operations, the judicial experience, how equipped Child Care Institutions and Government Homes are, what justice means to survivors, the risk of re-trafficking, and how successful reintegration is rooted in dignity and education of society.