Guwahati, May 6: Human trafficking is no longer confined to women from poor sections. Even educated women from middle class families in the northeastern states are falling into traps laid by certain companies that are luring them with job offers in India and abroad.

This was said by social activists here today at an workshop organised by Impulse NGO Network and Utsah.

Initially, it was mostly young girls and women from impoverished rural families who were trafficked. They were also lured by job offers or that of marriage and sold off either as labourers or to brothels.

“Earlier, poor women fell into the trap of middlemen who lured them with promises of jobs or marriages and then forcibly sold them off to others for labour or flesh trade. These women too were duped into believing that marriage or a job would provide them a good life. But in the last decade, the trend of human trafficking has changed,” said Hasina Kharbhih, a social activist who leads Impulse NGO Network.

“Now, we have come across several instances where young graduates from the Northeast were offered jobs by certain companies at call centres, spas and beauty clinics with good salaries. These women move out of the region to work in other cities or abroad with the hope of making a good career. But later they are either forced into the flesh trade or asked for sexual favours by their bosses in exchange for a raise or promotion,” said Kharbhih.

There have also been instances where young women from the Northeast have been rescued from different countries in Southeast Asia.

It was advised that while relocating to different places to work is good, a woman or her family should verify the credentials of a company before accepting a job.

“Numerous small companies have mushroomed all over the country and not all are credible. So it is always better to verify their credentials than regret later,” Kharbhih pointed out.

An exact data on numbers of women or children trafficked out of the northeastern states is also not available. Social activists also point out that though cases are registered here, many incidents remain unrecorded.

Cases are also registered at destination points or places from where these women are rescued. So these cases are not registered here even though a victim may hail from the region.