Panaji, Aug 28: Sex continued to thrive in Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Goa as websites offering escort services are increasingly being used to recruit individuals in commercial sex trade.
A study conducted by Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ), the nodal NGO for the integrated anti-human trafficking unit of Goa police, has revealed that perpertrators are now adopting digital platforms for conducting such activities.
The study which was conducted in 50 cities across the country, including Goa, also stated that the use of websites for commercial sex is much higher in Goa as compared to metros like Mumbai and Delhi.
It examined a wide range of websites and other information communication technology (ICT) applications primary designed for disseminating sexually abusive content, soliciting customers for commercial sexual exploitation, and recruitment of sex workers. After scanning thousands of web portals, a list of 16,45 websites has been compiled.
These websites were further examined on aspects that include the apparent purpose of the portal, nature of contents uploaded on the site, modus operandi, involvement of individual or group of people, monetary gains and target population (client/customer).
"If a customer visits Goa, and is looking for escort services, they don't want to hunt for pimps. Instead, they just browse any of these websites and get a girl delivered at their doorstep," Arun Pandey, director, ARZ said.
There have been instances where Goa police have managed to bust online sex rackets, but after arresting pimps and rescuing girls, they face difficulties in blocking the websites. SP (crime branch) Karthik Kashyap said that Goa police have not been successful in blocking such portals, and have even communicated their predicament to central government.
"In the days ahead, it will be a challenging task for law enforcement agencies as the perperators operating such websites cannot be traced," Pandey said.
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