Pravin Patkar is an Indian academic and human rights activist. He co-founded Prerana, an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

working for child protection & anti- human trafficking. In 1999, he founded Asia's first Anti-Human Trafficking Resource Centre supported by the US Government. He has served as an expert on several national and international agencies working in the

anti-human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extract ...

sector. He has been in the teaching profession for over 40 years in both formal and non-formal education sectors. He has written books, published articles and created PSAs to prevent organized violence against women & children.

Personal life

Pravin Patkar was born in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. He completed his PhD in Social Provisioning in Prostitution from Mumbai University. He is married to social activist

Priti Patkar Priti Patkar is an Indian social worker and human rights activist. She is the co-founder and director of the organisation Prerana that has done pioneering work in the red-light districts of Mumbai, India to protect children vulnerable to commerc ...

Teaching

Pravin Patkar has been in the teaching profession for the past 40 years. He was part of the teaching faculty at TISS Mumbai for 20 years teaching social work and guiding research. He took voluntary retirement in 1995 as associate professor. He is currently adjunct teaching as a professor at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in

Ettimadai Ettimadai is a suburb of Coimbatore in the state of Tamilnadu, India. Ettimadai is located between Palakkad and Coimbatore along the Salem - Kochi Highway (NH544) (old NH 47) close to Tamil Nadu - Kerala border. Ettimadai Town panjayat is one ...

, Coimbatore. Patkar began a migrating education system and managed a residential school for children of tribes in bonded labor for 25 years.

Activism

*He fought against tribal bondage and environmental destruction in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats through a platform named Pariwartan-84. He closed down illegal activity and rehabilitated 70,000 families of seasonally migrant tribes. *Under Prerana, he initiated comprehensive 24–7 field action to protect children born in red light districts from second generation trafficking into the sex trade. *He coordinated relief work in

1977 Andhra Pradesh Cyclone The 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that hit Andhra Pradesh in November 1977, killing at least 10,000 people.The storm in Orissa. Economist, 00130613, 11/6/1999, Vol. 353, Issue 8144 The worst affected areas were i ...

Bhopal Gas Tragedy The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's w ...

1985, Morbi Flood Gujarat, The Worli Riots 1986, and the Jambhulpada Flood 1988. *He fought for drought-affected paddy cultivators of the backwater zones of Coastal Maharashtra, initiating a Kharland Development programme with the help of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. *He has filed the highest number of

Public Interest Litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...

cases on

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

and commercial sexual exploitation in India, and obtained the most landmark rulings and directives. *He made the first case to close brothels in India. *He started Fight Trafficking a resource portal on anti-trafficking.

Positions held

*Co-founder and chairman of Prerana. *Founder & Managing Trustee of Pariwartan-84. *Elected as vice-chairperson on the global governing board of

ECPAT International ECPAT International is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the se ...

. *Director of Anti-Trafficking Center supported by

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is an agency that reports to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights within the Department of State. Under the umbrella of its general mis ...

, State Department, US, and

UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International ...

South Asian Regional Office. *First project director of the 'Children Affected by AIDS' program, sponsored by

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

& FHI 360 *Member of the advisory board of

Aarambh India Aarambh India is a non-profit initiative working in Mumbai, India. It focuses on child protection and issues related to child sexual abuse and exploitation. The organization was established in 2012. It partners with other organizations and stakeho ...

, an initiative against

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

and exploitation in India

Research and recognition

* Planning Commission (India)- Development Impact of Irrigation Schemes under the Employment Guarantee Scheme: Irrigation Systems, A Cost Benefit Analysis *

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

- Labour Market Analysis & Monitoring. *

International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its wor ...

, Manila – Technological Infusion and Employment of Women in Rice Cultivation: A Study in Agro-Economics. *Board of Research Studies, TISS- Tribal Bondage, Migration, and Environmental Destruction. *Planning Department Government of Maharashtra– Study of Bonded Labor System in the State of Maharashtra.(1976–77) *

UNESCAP The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic ...

and Association of Schools of Social Work in India (ASSWI) Working with the Poor: Social Intervention in Disadvantaged Groups (1978–79) *Grouppe Development France, South Asia Office- Case Study on Indo-Bangladesh Cross Border Trafficking of Children (2008–2009) *

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

Maharashtra- Six District Study of The Situation of Trafficking of Children and Children of Victims of

Trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

. (1999–2000) *

New Delhi- Nine Case Studies of Organizations Working Against Child Trafficking in the State of Maharashtra. (2002–2003) *

National Commission for Women The National Commission for Women (NCW) is the statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the I ...

India- A Legal Study of Anti Trafficking Legislation in India (2000 –2001–2002). *

Commonwealth Foundation The Commonwealth Foundation (CF) is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1966, a year after its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Foundation is located at Mar ...

, U.K.- Water Conservation & Management: A Case Study on Sustainable Development (1988) *

Terre des Hommes Terre des hommes, also Terre des Hommes (''Land of People'' or ''Land of Men''), is an international children's rights charitable humanitarian umbrella organization under the aegis of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes (TDHIF), wit ...

, Germany- (India programme)- Project Evaluation. *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

- Agricultural Wages Disaggregation of Regional Level Data. A Quantitative Analysis (1985–86) Recognition In August 2018 Power Brands awarded Patkar the Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar (Indian Humanism Development Award) for his nation-building initiatives through “ Prerana” and fighting the good fight against human trafficking, protecting thousands of women and children and rehabilitating several hundred of them and for being a guardian angel and change-maker for women of all ages, who are victims of sex trade and trafficking.

Published work (selected non-fiction)

*In Search of New Legislation Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking *Trafficking & Commercial Sexual Exploitation: International Conventions, Laws, & Policy *Frequently Asked Questions on Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking. *ARMOUR: A Resource Directory for Police, judges and State Agencies & Voluntary Agencies engaged in Anti Trafficking Work *Report of Research on Incidence of Trafficking of Children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Situation of Children of Victims of CSE&T *Home Investigation Report – An Effective Guide in Post Rescue Operation of Minor Girls. *Report on Sex Tourism on West Coast of India *Post Rescue Operation *Manual on Positive Intervention in Trafficking & Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children *Children Affected by AIDS: Lessons Learnt

Published work (selected fiction)

*Fieldwork (1990), winner of the Maharashtra State Award (1992) and the Shree Da Panwalkar Award (1991) for the Best Collection of Short Stories. *Sati (1996). *Kunachya Khandyavar (2010)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patkar, Pravin Social workers from Maharashtra Living people Writers from Mumbai Year of birth missing (living people)