We Cry in Silence by Smita Sharma

We Cry in Silence is a result or a six year investigation by Sharma to document cross border trafficking of minor girls in India and Bangladesh for sex work and a chapter on the under-reported issue of trafficking of indigenous girls for domestic work.

Photojournalist Smita Sharma started investigating child trafficking in 2015, when she met Meena, a young schoolgirl from West Bengal, India, who was seduced by a man who approached her while walking to school. With gifts and a promise of marriage, he enticed her to run away with him in just a few days. A week later Meena found herself locked in a brothel 1,000 miles from her home.

WE CRY IN SILENCE is a result of a six year investigation by Sharma where she documented cross border trafficking of minor girls in India and Bangladesh for sex work and a chapter on the under-reported issue of trafficking of indigenous girls for domestic servitude.

The book includes photographs from Sharma's investigation, testimonies from sex trafficking survivors and a self-defence educational add in with illustrations and drawings.

A part of this project was commissioned and published globally as Stolen Lives by National Geographic Magazine in October 2020.