The InterDependent

They are worlds apart – a determined Indian woman working in some of the world’s seamiest and most dangerous slums and members of Junior Leagues across the United States – but their goals are the same: to end human trafficking and, in particular, the sexual exploitation of women and children.

On May 11, the United Nations Association's New York chapter honored Ruchira Gupta, the founder and president of Apne Aap – "self help" in Hindi – for nearly two decades of aiding and fighting for the rights of South Asian women and girls lured or sold into prostitution. Gupta, who in 1994 encountered on a trek in Nepal the extent of sex trafficking of poor women from Nepali villages to Indian brothels, single-handedly began a campaign to publicize the trade, which often had criminal or political protectors. She plunged into the slums of Mumbai and other Indian cities where prostitutes lived to assist them to form self-help groups and give their children a chance to live better than their virtually enslaved mothers.

Over the years, as Gupta’s work achieved international recognition, including a 2009 Clinton Global Citizen award and the British House of Lords Abolitionist award a year earlier. In 1997, she won an Emmy for her documentary, "The Selling of Innocents," made with a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation team. Apne Aap, which publishes a newspaper by and for prostitutes, called Red Light Dispatch, has helped more than 10,000 women and girls in brothels, placing more than 800 children in schools and supporting small business cooperatives formed by women.

Ruchira Gupta, the founder of Apne Aap, which fights for the rights of females in South Asia lured or sold into prostitution, is to be honored by UNA of New York on May 11. Her work has been recognized with a Clinton Global Citizen award as well.

The Association of Junior Leagues International, which has grown from a small organization founded in New York in 1901 known for many years as a volunteer charity for well-bred young ladies, has become through its public affairs committees in the US, Canada, Mexico and Britain an advocacy force for women and children in health, education and the environment. There are now 155,000 women in 292 Junior Leagues.

Among the American efforts on behalf of people trafficked in and into the U.S. is the work of the Junior Leagues of New Jersey, which has been holding conferences on the issue in the state, which they found to be a port of entry for human traffickers. The state leagues have proposed legislation and provided hot lines and other services to vulnerable women and children.

In Atlanta, the Junior League sponsored a one-hour public television production, "How to Stop the Candy Shop," which began a citywide campaign against the sexual exploitation of children. The league has also created billboards, held workshops for adolescent girls and conducted community training and awareness programs. In Michigan, the State Council of Junior Leagues campaigned for a package of five antitrafficking bills being considered by the state legislature. All were adopted and signed by the governor at the end of 2010.

Junior Leagues in New York campaigned for legislation that passed in 2007 and successfully advocated for the opening of state-supported shelters for victims of trafficking and domestic violence. Junior Leagues in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Tampa and Owensboro, Ky., have also taken action.

Delly Beekman, president of the Association of Junior Leagues International, will accept the award at the lunch on May 11. The keynote speaker will be Vishakha Desai, the president and chief executive of the Asia Society. The lunch will be held in the UN Delegates’ Dining Room and is open to the public, though seating is limited. Tickets are $150. For more information, visit www.unanyc.org.