This leaves women and children 'vulnerable to kidnapping, sexual exploitation and trafficking', the report said.

'Many girls are sent to work in brothels or sold as brides in regions such as Punjab and Haryana where sex ratios are skewed in favour of men due to the practice of female foeticide and infanticide,' the report said.

Children, mostly aged between seven and 14, are brought to India's urban centres and they end up as domestic workers or bricklayers or are employed in roadside eateries or small textile units embroidering expensive fabrics, the report said.

ECPAT - End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes - says it is working to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights, free and secure from all forms of sexual exploitation.