Human trafficking remains a pervasive yet poorly addressed crisis in India, particularly among Indigenous (Adivasi) communities in Jharkhand's Khunti district. This study critically examines why anti-trafficking interventions consistently fail by analyzing how key stakeholders socially and politically construct the "problem" of trafficking. Using a mixed-methods approach, 46 in-depth interviews with NGO workers, police, journalists, healthcare providers, and survivor-activists, alongside a thematic analysis of campaign materials from 2019 to 2024, the study uncovers a fundamental disconnect between awareness campaigns and ground realities. While campaigns frame trafficking as a result of individual deception and lack of awareness, stakeholders on the ground consistently identify collapsed governance structures, extreme poverty, and failed public schemes as the true root causes. Drawing on Bacchi's "What is the Problem Represented to be?" framework and the concept of agnotology, the study of culturally produced ignorance, the research argues that strategic ignorance is embedded within the anti-trafficking ecosystem. Systemic failures are collectively acknowledged but institutionally ignored, creating an agnotogenic cycle where interventions only manage symptoms rather than address causes. The study further reveals that "rescue" is not an endpoint but often triggers a new cycle of stigmatization and re-trafficking, as survivors return to communities with no economic alternatives or psychological rehabilitation. The findings call for a paradigm shift, moving beyond rescue-focused, awareness-raising campaigns toward systemic accountability, governance reform, and genuine empowerment of local democratic institutions to dismantle the vulnerabilities that make trafficking possible in the first place.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Sonali Jha is a PhD Candidate at Ohio University specializing in media and social media inequalities. She researches human trafficking, health communication, framing, and agnotology, particularly the study of ignorance and its social implications, aiming to drive meaningful social change through community-based action research.