In the Booth with Ruth – Aashika N. Damodar, Anti-Human Trafficking Activist, Advocate and Non-Profit Founder

Aashika Damodar is an anti-human trafficking activist, advocate and non-profit founder. In this in depth interview, she explains what inspired her to devote her life to this cause, what her work involves, and how other people can help. She has kindly supplied her contact email address for anyone who would like to talk through becoming part of the anti-human trafficking movement and personally discuss the ways you can be involved.

Ruth Jacobs

Aashika N. Damodar

What inspired you to support the movement against child sexual slavery and exploitation?

So many events in my life have culminated to this point: a life dedicated to combating sexual violence and trafficking. When I entered university, I learned about a trafficking case that took place right across from my dormitory at UC Berkeley. Lakireddy, a Berkeley landlord and restaurant owner, came under investigation when a young woman died in one of his apartment buildings. He was convicted for both sex and labor trafficking. This made me realize that what makes modern-day slavery so elusive is that its existence lies in the most seemingly normal terrain. By this point, issues of sexual violence and trafficking had crept into so many facets of my life, from my own personal experience, initial exposure to the issue in post-tsunami India, in my backyard at Berkeley, in an Indian restaurant in the same area, and…

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