Random Human Trafficking Survivors Tell Their Heartbreaking Stories (13 items)

• (#5) Loreta Was Forced Into Sex Work As A Teenager

  According to Equality Now, social workers removed Loreta and her 13 brothers and sisters from a negligent home environment. At a young age, she and her siblings were shipped off to Lithuanian state homes across the country, and she lost track of her family.

  Soon after she arrived at the state home, a man posing as her godfather visited Loreta. He began visiting her repeatedly. The other kids told her she was fortunate, and she initially agreed, until her “godfather” assaulted her at the age of 13. At 15, the state sent her to live with him.

  A young madam named Dana, posing as Loreta's sister, courted the 16-year-old. The 21-year-old befriended the teen with promises of fun before luring Loreta and her friends into a life of forced prostitution. For two years, Loreta lived with Dana before the madam sold her to a pimp in Ravenna, Italy.

  In Italy, she was forced to have sex with clients in the public restrooms within a 15-minute window. It wasn’t until she happened to have a client that spoke Lithuanian that Loreta dared beg for help. The john took Loreta and some of her friends to the Italian police. They helped get her some documentation and return back home.
   
• (#8) Natalia Wanted An American Education But Ended Up A Slave

  A family living in a remote Ghana village struggled to make the money needed to send their daughter “Natalia” to school. A New Jersey man offered to have Natalia educated in the United States, and her family agreed, happy to send her overseas for the opportunity.

  According to the Polaris Project, Natalia was imprisoned upon her arrival. Over the course of the next six years, she was repeatedly abused, both physically and sexually. She was forced to work 18-hour days cooking and cleaning for her “host” parents and their three children. Not only did the family not enroll Natalia in school, but they refused to even allow her outside.

  Natalia eventually escaped and exposed the goings on to a neighbor, who called the authorities. A month after connecting with Polaris, Natalia was finally able to attend school.
   
• (#12) Life With a Foster Family Led Keisha To Years As A Prostitute, Twice

  For the first 10 years of her life, “Keisha” was raised by her aunt. Then, she was placed in Florida’s foster program. When a member of her foster family began making unwanted advances, 14-year-old Keisha ran away, coming into contact with a man who identified himself as “Mastur D.” 

  According to the Polaris Project, the 26-year-old promised to get Keisha back to her family, but only if she agreed to have sex with other men to raise the money to make it happen. Keisha agreed but was unaware of the abuse he intended to inflict upon her. Mastur D began to beat her and force her to have sex with whomever he wanted.

  A few months later, she was arrested for prostitution. Upon Keisha’s release, she was placed back in the care of her original foster family. That situation led her, once again, to rely on Mastur D to help her return to her family. Then, she was arrested for prostitution a second time. While serving her juvenile sentence, Keisha contacted Polaris to help break the cycle of abuse. 
   
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  (#7) After Being Arrested For Teenage Prostitution, Erica Was Never Once Asked If She Was In Trouble

  Forced into the world of prostitution at age 14, “Erica” says that human trafficking is shockingly common near the border. Erica maintains having had several interactions with police, but that officials never asked her if she was “a victim.” According to KTSM, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 2,000 calls from Texas in just the first three months of 2017.
  Erica adamantly describes trafficking as problem evident across the county, and not just in El Paso:

  You would never know how many guys are out picking up girls. Girls you might just see walking on the sidewalks, a 14-year-old girl can be out prostituting and you would not know that.

  These days, Erica is working to correct that institutional problem. She believes that if police were more sympathetic to certain “offenders,” authorities could shine a light on human trafficking in the Texas area.
   
• (#3) Phalla’s Grandmother Sold Her Into Prostitution

  Until the age of 20, Phalla lived a relatively normal life in Cambodia. After her father died, with no one to support her family, she was forced to move in with her grandmother. According to Equality Now, a global network that advocates for gender equality and human rights, the grandmother sold Phalla to a brothel two months later. 

  The grandmother reportedly drove the girl to a brothel in the nearby city, Kampong Som, but Phalla was unaware of her grandmother's intentions. At the brothel, Phalla was locked in a room and assaulted several times a day. Her reality for the next several months included being sold from one brothel to another. 

  Then, she met a man who helped her back to her native Cambodia. It seemed like a new lease on life, but she was soon put to work in a karaoke bar, and her employers sold her to foreign tourists for days at a time. When she tried to leave, she was beaten. It took several more months before she was able to gain her captor’s confidence, escape, and turn herself over to authorities.
   
• (#2) Mari Had 4 Children Over Her 16 Years Of Forced Prostitution

  Over the course of 16 years, “Mari” was in a relationship with “Darrell,” who fathered her four children. According to the Polaris Project, a non-profit organization that combats trafficking and operates a national hotline, Darrell was abusive in every way: verbally, physically, and sexually. 

  The survivor’s account maintains that Darrell forced Mari to have sex with other men for money. Darrell also recruited an 18-year-old named "Janice" to join his prostitution ring.

  Reportedly, a police officer pulled Darrell’s car over, and the two women were also in the vehicle. The officer noticed that the man had both Mari and Janice’s IDs in his wallet and asked to speak to each of the women privately. The officer realized that they were held against their will and connected the captives to the Polaris Project, leading to their rescue.
   

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