The complicated road to recovery for Indian women forced into sex work
The complicated road to recovery for Indian women forced into sex work
- February 5, 2026
- Vibhuti Ramachandran, global and international studies, PBS News, Feb. 5, 2026 (video)
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As many as 3 million women in India are believed to be sex workers, often pushed into the trade by extreme poverty or coercion. One organization has helped more than 32,000 of these women find a path out. While this group has earned international awards and philanthropic support, it’s also raised complex questions about how best to help. Fred de Sam Lazaro, PBS News, reports for his series Agents for Change, featuring Vibhuti Ramachandran, UCI global and international studies associate professor and author of "Immoral Traffic:" An Ethnography of Law, NGOs, and the Governance of Prostitution in India (Cambridge 2025).
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