We Cry In Silence

Beginning in 2015, photojournalist Smita Sharma embarked on an investigation into the trafficking of minor girls across South Asia, after meeting Meena, a schoolgirl from West Bengal who was lured away from home with promises of marriage, only to find herself trapped in a brothel hundreds of miles away. Her story became the starting point for We Cry In Silence, an in depth photographic investigation into the realities of child trafficking. Through photographs, testimonies from survivors of sex trafficking, and an illustrated self-defence educational insert, Sharma examines the vulnerabilities that traffickers exploit and the circumstances that allow such abuse to persist. The book also brings attention to the under-reported trafficking of Indigenous girls into domestic servitude, broadening the conversation beyond the more visible forms of exploitation. Combining visual documentation with first-hand accounts, We Cry In Silence is both a record of lives affected by trafficking and an invitation to confront a deeply entrenched social issue. Sharma’s investigation asks readers to look beyond individual stories and consider the structures that enable exploitation, while creating space for greater awareness, dialogue and meaningful change. A part of this project was commissioned and published internationally as Stolen Lives by National Geographic in October 2020. The work received recognition at the 2021 Amnesty International Media Awards in the photojournalism category. Photographer: Smita Sharma (born in Shillong, based in Delhi) Photo Editor: Sarah Leen +++ Language: English, Hindi, Bengali Format: Hardcover | 136 pages Dimensions: 170 x 225mm | 716g Publication Year: First Edition | June 2022 ISBN: 978-1-7324711-9-1 Edition of 200 copies