Sunitha Krishnan

Sunitha Krishnan is an activist, rape survivor and mental health professional. She was born in Bangalore, India and was involved in social activism from a young age. Krishnan co-founded Prajwala, a group that rescues thousands of women and children from sex slavery and restores dignity to them. The organization extends moral, financial, legal and social support to victims and ensures that perpetrators are brought to justice. To date, Prajwala has reached over 12,000 survivors of sex trafficking, and the scale of its operations makes it the largest anti-trafficking shelter in the world. Krishnan’s efforts are making it possible for India's government and nonprofits to manage jointly a range of protective and rehabilitative services for women and children who have been trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. For her humanitarian efforts she has been recognized world-wide with numerous awards and accolades. In 2016, the Government of India honored her with the fourth highest civilian honor, "Padmashree.”