Dr Sunitha Krishnan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dr Sunitha Krishnan 

• Sunitha Krishnan is a well known Indian social activists working against human trafficking.

• She was born into a Palakkad Malayali family in Bangalore.

• She was born disabled, her legs were turned behind, but after regular sessions of physiotherapy, she was able to walk.

• At the age of eight, she started giving dance lessons to the mentally challenged children. When she was 12 years old, she started a school in the slum area for needy children. Her life changed miserably at the age of 15 when she was gang-raped by eight men, while she was working on a neo-literacy campaign for the Dalits. They did not like the fact that a woman is interfering in the so-called ‘male-dominated society.’ She was even beaten by them so badly that she became partially deaf in one ear.

• She was depressed after this incident, but she took it as a motivation and started working against human trafficking, helping rape victims, and providing help to women in India.

• In 1996, she was arrested with other activists for protesting against the staging of Miss World competition in Bangalore.

• Later, she associated with Brother Varghese Theckanath, who was a social activist too. He was also a member of Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel and founded People’s Initiative Network (PIN) in Hyderabad; working for the benefit of people living in the slum area.

  

• Krishnan’s parents were not happy with her lifestyle, so, she decided to move to Hyderabad and joined the People’s Initiative Network (PIN).

• In 1996, she helped in evacuating the prostitutes from the red light area named- Mehboob ki Mehandi, and to provide a better future to these women, she started a school at the vacated brothel, which was later named as ‘Prajwala.’

• Prajwala is based on five pillars- Prevention, Protection, Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration. This organisation has helped more than 12,000 survivors of human trafficking and provides them training in carpentry, welding, printing, masonry, and housekeeping.

  

• In 2003, the Andhra Pradesh Government passed the recommendations drafted by Sunitha for the rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking. They drafted it as a Policy for Rescue & Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation vide GO MS 1.

• In 2009, she gave a speech on human trafficking at the Infosys Campus of Mysore in the conference of TED India, which went viral on YouTube.

• In 2011, she was appointed as the advisor for the Government of Kerala’s Nirbhaya Policy for Women and Children, but she resigned on 4 August 2014; as she was not satisfied with their working and policies. In 2015, she was reappointed by giving her more authority to make decisions.

• Thereafter, she went to hold various campaigns and seminars nationally and internationally to educate people more about human trafficking.

• In 2012, she appeared on Aamir Khan’s television show Satyamev Jayate, which was aired on Star Plus.

  

• In 2012, a document named ‘The Shattered Innocence’ was published by Krishnan and Brother Jose Vetticatil. She has published various books on human trafficking.

• In 2013, she was elected as a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Women’s Commission for contributing in drafting India’s new bill on rape.

• She has also worked for the first-ever Crises Counseling Centre in Afzalgunj Police Station, Hyderabad–a pilot project for Police-NGO collaboration to stop human trafficking.

• She conceptualised and co-produced a few documentaries based on human trafficking, HIV AIDS, Sheikh Marriages, incest, and prostitution which includes- ‘Mein Aur Meri Sanchaien,’ ‘The Man, His Mission,’ and ‘Astha – An Ode to Life Naa Bangaru Talli.’

• She said in an interview that her journey was not easy; as she faced threat messages and life-threatening attacks.

• In 2019, Sunitha, along with her husband, Rajesh Touchriver, appeared in the ‘Karmaveer’ episode (18 October 2019) of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 (2019).