Triveni Acharya is an Indian journalist and activist living in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, best known for her work with the anti-sex-trafficking group the ''Rescue Foundation''. The group was founded by her husband, Balkrishna Acharya, but Triveni Acharya assumed its presidency following his death in a car accident in 2005. The organization is devoted to the "rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims for human trafficking from different parts of India, Nepal & Bangladesh and sold for forced prostitution", and has been conducting "brothel raids" since 1993. The organization frees roughly 300 girls a year, and also provides counseling, job training, and

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ing. Because these raids often result in serious financial loss or imprisonment for sex traffickers, Acharya has received several death threats as the result of her work. The Rescue Foundation has received several national and international awards for its work under Acharya's presidency. In 2004, the acharya received Jhansi Ki Rani Lakshmi Bai (for courage).

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

ese president

Ma Ying-Jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...

presented the Acharya the

Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award Since 2006, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD; ) is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Taipei. Originally initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, the foundation's ...

of the

Taiwan Foundation for Democracy The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD; ) is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Taipei. Originally initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, the foundation's purpose is to promote democracy around the world. ...

, along with a cash grant of US$100,000; the organization had been nominated for the award by a former trafficking victim saved by the Foundation. In 2011, Acharya herself won the

Civil Courage Prize The Civil Courage Prize is a human rights award which recognizes "steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk—rather than military valor." The prize was founded in 2000 by the Northcote Parkinson Fund. The goal of the prize is not to cr ...

The Train Foundation John Pell Coster Train (May 25, 1928 – August 13, 2022) was an American investment advisor and writer. He was a founding editor of ''The Paris Review''. Early life Train was born on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Helen Coster Gerard and A ...

, awarded annually to those "who resolutely combat evil". She shared the prize with

Lydia Cacho Ribeiro Lydia María Cacho Ribeiro (born 12 April 1963) is a Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist. Described by Amnesty International as "perhaps Mexico's most famous investigative journalist and women's rights advocate", Cacho's repor ...

, a

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journalist also awarded for her efforts against "sex trafficking, domestic violence and child pornography". In 2013, Triveni became the 2013 Humanitarian Honoree of World of Children Award in conjunction with her work with The Rescue Foundation. Along with the recognition the award came with a $75,000 cash grant.

References

External links

Rescue Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acharya, Triveni Living people Activists from Maharashtra Indian women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Journalists from Maharashtra Women writers from Maharashtra Writers from Mumbai 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian journalists