Mumbai, Maharashtra, India:  In an effort to support child survivors of sex trafficking to voice their demand for justice, celebrities and influential voices worldwide have joined hands with Free a Girl – an international not-for-profit that rescues girls from sexual exploitation - to launch the #VoiceForJustice campaign and create a wide ecosystem of strong supporting voices that will fight for the child survivors of sexual exploitation in their journey to demand justice. The campaign comes after the success of Free a Girl’s School for Justice (SFJ) programme in India – that has been educating rescued girls to become lawyers, police officers, journalists and more to change the system from within – and it’s first graduate Sinaj, a survivor and now a lawyer. Commemorating this, Free a Girl is also officially opening, its first ever SFJ in Kathmandu, Nepal where every year more than 12,000 girls are trafficked.

With the power of social media, eminent personalities across the globe such as Sapna Bhavnani (Indian Celebrity Hairstylist), Padma Shri Anuradha Koirala (Nepali Social Activist), Nadia Murad (Iraqi Nobel Prize laureate, human rights activist), Mariane Pearl (French journalist), Famke Janssen (Hollywood actress) and many more, will be joining the #VoiceForJustice campaign and lending their voice to the cause.

Every year two million child victims are sexually exploited worldwide, the vast majority are girls, and less than 1% of the perpetrators get convicted. The survivors of these horrific acts feel unable to report them due to feelings of shame, fear of reprisals and lack of faith in the legal system. Asia has long been a pivot for sex trafficking, with high concentration of such activities and impunity in the region.

Supporting the launch of School for Justice Nepal and the #VoiceForJustice campaign, Sinaj, a survivor and the first graduate of School for Justice from India says, “As I come closer to achieving my feat of becoming a lawyer, I want to fight for and inspire girls who have suffered at the hands of their perpetrator. I also want to urge everyone to share their voice for justice, to encourage survivors of sexual exploitation to take the first step towards justice.”
 
To commemorate the launch and rally supporters from India and Nepal in the fight to curb child sexual exploitation, Free a Girl hosted a panel discussion, bringing together strong supporting voices including Meenakshi Arora (Senior Counsel, Supreme Court of India), Tara Kaushal (author of the bestselling book ‘Why Men Rape’), Pranaadhika Sinha Devburman (survivor & activist) and Bishwo Khadka (Chairperson, Maiti Nepal).

On the launch of School for Justice Nepal and the #VoiceForJustice campaign, Evelien Hölsken, Free a Girl founder, says: “We all need to speak up for the child survivors of sexual exploitation, so we are asking women all over the world to raise their voice for justice. Together we can fight for a better future and make sure that the perpetrators receive the justice they deserve. The problem is getting bigger by the day - so we need to take action, now.”