What Sanlaap India does

Sanlaap India is a Kolkata-headquartered non-governmental organisation founded in 1987 by Indrani Sinha to combat sex trafficking and support the rehabilitation of women and children across India and South Asia. The organisation runs ten program lines from a core staff of 14, including an Observation Home (SNEHA, since 1996), Legal Aid (SALAH, since 1996), Women's Empowerment (SUNDAR, since 2002), a Centre for Young Adults (SAMVAB, since 2004), 87 government-sanctioned Child Protection Units (SANJOJAN, since 1999), Dance Movement Therapy (SANVED, since 1997), a long-running newsletter (JONAKI, since 1997), Drop-in Centres (DIC, since 1992), an income-generation program (SRIJONI, since 1993), and the School for Justice (since 2017), which trains survivor-lawyers. Operations are concentrated in West Bengal, spanning nine trafficking-prone districts, with cross-border work into Bangladesh and the Indo-Nepal border (since 2019); the organisation has also advised missions including UNMIK in Kosovo (2003) and worked with the Government of Maharashtra (2006). There is no proprietary technology platform; core operations rely on trained social workers, legal aid staff, and government-recognised service protocols, with no AI/ML, app, or data-product layer evident from public information.

The business model is non-commercial: all services are delivered free to beneficiaries, and revenue is sourced from a mix of central and state government schemes (notably SWADHAR via the Ministry of Women & Child Development), corporate donor partnerships, a national bank partnership tied to the income-generation program, and international donors. There are no VC/PE investments and no disclosed financials. Go-to-market is via government referral pipelines, NGO networks, and grassroots outreach in trafficking-prone districts. The organisation is a member of the West Bengal Taskforce (since 2008) and has been recognised by the President of India (1997 Bal Kalyan Purashkar), the National Commission for Women (2000 Organisation of the Year), and a 2007 nomination for the 1000 Peace Women Award, indicating established institutional credibility within the Indian anti-trafficking ecosystem.

Name

Sanlaap India

Legal name

Sanlaap

Website

https://sanlaapindia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sanlaap India is a Kolkata-based NGO, founded in 1987, that operates rescue, recovery, legal-aid, and rehabilitation programs for sex-trafficking survivors across West Bengal and South Asia, running 87 government-recognised Child Protection Units from a 14-person core team funded primarily by government schemes and donor grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Anti-Trafficking Humanitarian Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

MHPSS & Trauma-Informed Support for Displaced Populations (BPADAHAJ), Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD), Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

Keywords

• Anti-trafficking services
• Humanitarian social services
• Trafficking survivor rehabilitation
• Child protection programs
• Women empowerment NGO

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sanlaap India provides direct humanitarian services to prevent sex trafficking and rehabilitate survivors across India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Its offerings span crisis intervention and shelter (SNEHA Observation Home, Drop-in Centre, Crisis and Transit Centres), legal aid (SALAH), women's empowerment and income generation (SUNDAR, SRIJONI), psychosocial rehabilitation including dance movement therapy (SANVED), child protection (SANJOJAN), young adult support (SAMVAB), and formal education (School for Justice), delivered free of charge through a network of community-based organizations.

Product overview

Sanlaap India is an NGO offering a coordinated suite of anti-human trafficking services organized across prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership pillars. The core programs include SNEHA (observation home for children), SALAH (legal aid programme), SANJOJAN (child protection units), and SUNDAR (women's empowerment). Support services include SANVED (dance movement therapy), SAMVAB (young adult center), SRIJONI (income generation), and the Drop in Centre. The organization also produces publications like the JONAKI Newsletter and runs the School for Justice educational initiative. These interconnected programs work together to provide comprehensive support from crisis intervention through reintegration and mainstreaming of trafficking survivors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SNEHA Observation Home An Observation Home established under the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, providing shelter, mental health intervention, formal education, and rehabilitative care to children rescued from trafficking situations.
• SALAH Legal Aid Programme Legal aid programme initiated in 1996 that provides legal support and assistance to survivors of trafficking and contributes to prosecution of traffickers, including support toward achieving conviction in cases.
• Drop in Centre (DIC) The first Drop-in Centre for children of Red Light Areas in Kolkata, established in 1992, providing children in red light areas with a safe space, education support, and protective services.
• SUNDAR Women's Empowerment Programme Women's empowerment organisation for residents of Red Light Areas, formed in 2002, designed to help women combat socio-economic challenges through collective action, advocacy, and skill development.
• SANJOJAN Child Protection Unit Community-based Child Protection Unit programme, established in 1999, that has scaled to 87 Child Protection Units across 9 trafficking-prone districts of West Bengal, protecting children in trafficking-prone areas through grassroots structures.
• SAMVAB Centre for Young Adults A centre established in 2004 for young adults, providing skill development, education, and transition support services for young people connected to SANLAAP's programmes.
• SANVED Dance Movement Therapy Dance Movement Therapy programme introduced in 1997 at SNEHA, supporting the psychological rehabilitation and emotional recovery of trafficking survivors through structured movement-based therapy.
• SRIJONI Income Generation Programme Income generation programme initiated in 1993, partnered since 2005 with Corporate Houses and a National Bank, providing survivors and at-risk women with economic empowerment, skill development, and employment pathways.
• School for Justice Educational initiative launched in 2017 providing formal education and justice awareness to children of trafficking survivors, combining schooling with legal literacy and rights education.
• JONAKI Newsletter English-language newsletter publication started in 1997 to spread awareness about SANLAAP's work, anti-trafficking issues, and survivor stories.
• Crisis Centre and Transit Centre Crisis Centre and Transit Centre established in 2016 providing immediate crisis response and short-term transitional care for survivors of trafficking, bridging rescue operations and longer-term rehabilitation services.
• Indo-Nepal Border Cross-Border Operations Cross-border operations commenced in 2019 at the Indo-Nepal border to prevent cross-border trafficking and to coordinate repatriation support for survivors from Nepal and Bangladesh.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87 Child Protection Units facilitated in 9 trafficking-prone districts of West Bengal
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UNMIK (United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNMIK invited Ms Indrani Sinha to address the issue of post-war trafficking in Kosovo (2003), sharing expertise and best practices for anti-trafficking interventions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Free the Slaves: International NGO working to end modern slavery and human trafficking through community-based prevention, survivor aftercare, and policy advocacy, with operational overlap in South Asian trafficking corridors.
• The A21 Campaign: Global anti-human trafficking organization with offices in South Asia, offering prevention, protection, and prosecution services broadly aligned with Sanlaap's model but at much larger international scale.
• International Justice Mission (IJM): Large global anti-trafficking organization operating across multiple countries including India, with overlapping focus on rescue, prosecution, and survivor aftercare, but with significantly greater resources and broader geographic scope than Sanlaap.
• Anti-Slavery International: The world's oldest anti-slavery organization, comparable in its survivor-centered, policy-focused anti-trafficking programming in South Asia, but operating as a broader thematic advocate rather than a direct service provider.

Direct peers

• Prajwala: India-based anti-trafficking NGO providing prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration services for survivors of sex trafficking, with a comparable 4-pillar programmatic model and focus on women and children.
• Shakti Vahini: Indian anti-trafficking organization working on rescue, rehabilitation, and law enforcement training, with similar focus on child protection, cross-border trafficking, and government engagement in India.
• Apne Aap Women Worldwide: India-headquartered NGO focused on ending sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation through community empowerment, education, and survivor-led advocacy, closely aligned to Sanlaap's red light area and survivor rehabilitation work.
• Bachpan Bachao Andolan: India-wide child rights and anti-trafficking movement founded by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, comparable in its community mobilization, child protection, and policy advocacy approach to Sanlaap's grassroots model.
• Guria Swaraj Sansthan: West Bengal-based anti-trafficking NGO operating in red light areas and trafficking-prone districts, directly comparable to Sanlaap's geographic and programmatic focus on sex trafficking survivors in Eastern India.

Emerging players

• HAQ: Centre for Child Rights: India-based child rights organization that intersects with Sanlaap's work on child protection, juvenile justice, and law enforcement training, though with a broader rights-based rather than trafficking-specific focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sanlaap-india

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Sanlaap India