Social Media Accelerates human Trafficking Crisis in South Asia, nepal Faces Surge in Missing Girls
kathmandu, Nepal – A surge in missing children, particularly girls, in Nepal is being linked to the increasing exploitation of social media platforms by human traffickers, according to aid organizations and government officials. Between 2013 and 2024, over 11,299 boys and 25,613 girls under the age of 18 have gone missing from Nepal, with a significant number believed to be trafficked into India for sexual exploitation.
The crisis highlights a growing trend where traffickers use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to identify, groom, and lure vulnerable individuals with false promises of employment or a better life. While Nepal has ratified international protocols against trafficking,including the Palermo Protocol in June 2020,a lack of specific domestic legislation and challenges in securing testimony from victims are hindering effective prosecution and prevention efforts.
“The onus is on the accuser to present evidence that they were trafficked,” explains Charimaya Tamang, of the Shakti Group, an association working with trafficking survivors. “They’re asked to provide detailed histories, but their memories might be blurred due to psychological distress.”
The case of one 15-year-old girl, rescued in February 2024 after being trafficked to india, illustrates the complexities of the issue. Identified only as Tamang, she was located during a raid on an apartment in India’s red light districts conducted by Maiti Nepal, in collaboration with Indian police and the Nepali consulate. Upon initial release by police, Tamang and other girls returned to the brothel, possessing falsified Aadhaar cards – Indian identification documents - claiming they were adults and had entered voluntarily.
Maiti nepal investigators afterward secured Tamang’s birth certificate and school records, proving her age to Indian authorities. However, she was moved before they could re-intervene. She was eventually found months later in Kolkata, hiding during another raid.
“Sometimes women and girls forced into sex work decline to testify against the perpetrators, fearing reprisals or because they are being paid to stay silent,” notes rabindra Sapkota, from Aafanta Nepal, a local anti-trafficking organization. This fear, coupled with the digital footprint traffickers leave obscured through social media, presents a significant obstacle to justice.
The nepali government aligns its laws with international protocols, but Rabindra Sapkota points out a critical gap: ”Nepal hasn’t enacted specific legislation to address international protocols.”
Tamang, now safe in Kathmandu, expressed a desire to return to her village and resume her education, a future stolen by traffickers exploiting vulnerabilities amplified by the digital age. Her case underscores the urgent need for increased international cooperation, stronger legislation, and proactive measures to combat the evolving tactics of human traffickers leveraging social media in south Asia.
