Priti Patkar

Priti Patkar is an esteemed social worker and human rights activist from India. She holds the position of co-founder and director at Prerana, an organization that has been a trailblazer in addressing issues within the red-light districts of Mumbai, India. Priti Patkar's efforts primarily focus on safeguarding children who are at risk of falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Personal life
Priti Patkar was born in Mumbai. Her father was a government servant and her mother ran a daycare program. She is a Gold Medalist from The Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai where she completed a Masters in Social Work. She is married to social activist Pravin Patkar.

Activism
Priti Patkar has been working for the protection and rescue of children and women victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation for over 30 years. She founded Prerana in 1986, after a research visit for her Masters in Social Work to the Kamathipura Red Light Area – where she witnessed three generations of women soliciting customers on the same street.

She is accredited with several path-breaking social interventions for the protection and dignity of children and women victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

Patkar has to her credit the largest number of legal interventions and writ petitions in India to protect the rights and dignity of child and female victims of child sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Selected awards

 * Hirakani Puraskar, 2013 (Doordarshan – Sahyadri)
 * An award from the Government of Maharashtra where she was felicitated by the Chief Minister – Shri Prithviraj Chawan in March 2013.
 * Human Rights Award at the 2014 Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards
 * Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2015. This award is given by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to institutions and individuals who have made exceptional contributions towards the empowerment of women specifically belonging to vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society.
 * Sofy India Women Award 2016

Research
Patkar has 7 books and several research reports to her name – published or released by The National Commission for Women, UNICEF, UNDP, USAID/FHI. Others have been sponsored by Groupe Development (France), Concern India Foundation, USAID, and more. Through Prerana, she has also been systematically mapping the decline of the Kamathipura Red Light Area since 2010.