Ruchira Gupta is an Indian journalist, social activist and sex trafficking eliminator who has delivered continuous service exceeding 25 years for the purpose of eradicating the practise of sex trafficking. She is greatly admired by various government leaders and global organizations for her outstanding contribution in this field. The `Apne Aap Women Worldwide` NGO or non-governmental organisation was established by Ruchira Gupta which extensively works for the termination of human sex trafficking in 2002. Her work involves exposing the relationship between prostitution and sex trafficking and also claiming a societal upliftment for prostitutes which agrees that prostitution thrives because of its male demand. AAP has been capable of helping over 15, 000 women and girls who have been trapped or tricked into trafficking or prostitution.
Career of Ruchira Gupta as Journalist
Ruchira Gupta commenced her professional career as a journalist, delivering services for the newspaper, The Telegraph, for its Kolkata edition, Business India Magazine, Delhi, The Sunday Observer, Kolkata and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) South Asia, Delhi. She widely covered minority problems, caste conflicts, armed struggles which frequently perturbed the north-eastern portions of India and also women`s rights. She was awarded the Emmy Award in the year 1996 for her extraordinary documentary called `The Selling of Innocents` which describes the subject of sex trafficking from the local villages of Nepal to Indian brothels. Even presently, she devotes her time for producing content on women`s rights and sex trafficking for The Guardian, The Hindu, Pass Blue, Open Democracy, The Times of India and CNN.
UN Career of Ruchira Gupta
Ruchira Gupta joined the United Nations and thereafter started working with the governments of Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Iran, Cambodia, Kosovo, Nepal and Laos. She assisted a few of these nations to design a National Action Plans and laws against human trafficking. Two of her manuals have been cooperated with, by UNIFEM and UNODC. She also worked in October 2000 as a UNICEF contact for the oldest assembly of Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace. Some of her publications aimed against sex trafficking are `Manual for law-enforcement officers to confront Demand for Human trafficking`, `Trafficking Responses in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia: Needs, Capacity assessment and Recommendations`, `Manual for prosecutors to confront human trafficking`, `Trafficking in the Asia and Near East region: Problem analysis and Proposed framework for response; Kosovo plan of action to counter trafficking in persons` and so on.
Social Activism Career of Ruchira Gupta
Ruchira Gupta was the President of the Apne Aap Women Worldwide NGO since the year 2002, with which she associated herself soon after finishing her documentary movie entitled The Selling of Innocents which went on to win Emmy Award. Ruchira Gupta has enabled survivors from denotified tribes to lead a proper, decent life by organizing them into self-empowerment groups, through Apne Aap. They had been trapped into inter-generational prostitution. Through these teams, the victims of prostitution have been imparted lessons in safe housing, legal safeguarding, livelihood training and proper education. Thanks to her efforts in arranging womenfolk to campaign against sex trafficking, trafficking has been made a grave penal offence, through the Criminal Law Amendment Act. Her effective arrangement of the denotified tribes has led to the deduction of the quantity of brothels from 72 to 15 in the two famous red-light regions in Forbesgunge, Bihar. She has persuaded the UN Human Rights Council, UN General Assembly and UN Security Council to support the victims of human sex trafficking.
Awards received by Ruchira Gupta
| Awards | Awarded By | Year |
| Clinton Global Citizen Award | Clinton Foundation | 2009 |
| Abolitionist Award | House of Lords (Upper House of Parliament, UK) | 2007 |
| Emmy Award | - | |
| Stree Shakti Award | - | 2012 |
| Godfrey Phillips Bravery National Award | - | 2012 |
| Sera Bangali Award | - | 2012 |
| Alumni Achievers Award | Loretto College Alumnae Association | 2012 |
| Healthy Masculinities Award | Men Can Stop Rape | 2012 |
| Karmaveer Puraskaar Civil Society-Trafficking Award | iCONGO | 2011 |
| UNA-NY"s Women Who Care Award | 2011 | |
| Abolitionist Award | Nomi Network | 2010 |
