India is a hub for sex trafficking, with an estimated three million females in forced prostitution throughout the country. Kolkata is at once a trafficking destination, a transit area for women being trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal to the rest of India, and a source area.  Girls living in poverty in rural India face significant risk factors for being trafficked for labor or for sex.

When under-aged victims of sex trafficking are rescued, they are placed in the aftercare system. At the age of 18, they age out of the system. Young women aging out of aftercare are left with even greater risk for re-trafficking or are left without a choice but to voluntarily re-enter the trade out of economic necessity.

A fair-wage job in a restorative environment can provide these young women with the means to economic stability, healthy recovery, and dignity-affirming reintegration into society.

Sari Bari is Laying a Foundation for Heroes 

Since 2006, Sari Bari has provided a safe place of employment for women who have been exploited in the commercial sex trade and for women who are vulnerable to being trafficked. In the past ten years, Sari Bari has laid a foundation for more than 120 women to find freedom and economic empowerment through employment.

At Sari Bari, women who have been exploited and marginalized continue to rediscover and reclaim their dignity, identity, and value as women. These courageous women are truly the heroes among us.

In 2015, Sari Bari is deepening its commitment to freedom and prevention by laying a foundation for a new generation of heroes. As Sari Bari opens the doors to a new unit, young women who are aging out of aftercare and vulnerable to re-trafficking will find opportunities for economic security and continued trauma recovery.

We believe that through dignity-affirming employment in a restorative environment, young women who have survived trafficking can:

·     Reduce their vulnerability to being re-trafficked

·     Build financial security


·     Find social empowerment

·     Engage in holistic restoration 


·     Reintegrate themselves into society 


·     Create lasting change in their 
families and communities

At Sari Bari, women who have survived human trafficking become heroes.