By Tamara Laine
NEW YORK — America is failing the survivors of human trafficking. As the epidemic proliferates, federal funding has systematically been cut to limit aid to victims with little public outrage, and as law enforcement grapples with the illicit black market moving from the dark streets to the dark web, young girls are still stigmatized for being victims of sexual exploitation.
But the largest mistake could be not listening to the voices of the true experts — the survivors of human trafficking who can help prevent and end what Pope Francis has called a scourge on humanity.
Four Survivors
At a safe house in an undisclosed location in New York City, four survivors of human trafficking have gathered for dinner. They are mothers, graduate students and community advocates with a common goal: to end society’s misconceptions about human trafficking survivors.
“People make assumptions,” Adriana explains, saying some “think that they know what you’re going through or they know why you didn’t leave.” Nodding her head in agreement, Yolanda adds, “Or they feel like because you’re older they felt like that was something that you wanted to do.”
She looks down, still affected by the misconceptions. “Just because I’m the age I am now … I mean, back then, I was only 12 and 13,” she says.
Tiffany, Yolanda and Adriana — who all asked that their last names not be disclosed for safety reasons — are graduates of the Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS) program, which is an organization founded by Rachel Lloyd, who herself is a survivor and who was honored just over a month ago by Queen Elizabeth II.
The survivors’ stories are powerful examples of how brave women and men can accomplish anything no matter what they have endured. Breaking bread together over tacos, they explained the trials and tribulations they experienced when they escaped from what they call “the life.”
“Like, I cry. I was homeless. I was raped. I was all these things before I got to where I’m at now,” Tiffany recalls, describing what she went through when she broke free from her exploitation. “I’m not telling you when you leave, everything is peachy bright. Like, you’re going to struggle, but it’s a sober thing.”
That is the personal story she tells women when they start the GEMS program. She uses her story to let new members know that they aren’t alone and that they are more than just their story.
Adriana also sees the power of personal stories, but says that it is time to move on from repeating stories of exploitation to having the survivors themselves take on a bigger roles in combatting human trafficking.
“No one’s going to remember anything that you’re saying besides your story and that’s where the issue is,” she says. “I think we’re way past that, and we should talk about resources and how to develop survivors.”
Adriana would like to see actual survivors lead organizations that are fighting trafficking. “I think that needs to be the conversation now,” she says.
A Mom Remembers
Across the river in Newark, N.J., Ingrid Johnson is preparing to talk to an assembly hall full of high schoolers about the dangers of being lured by predators. As she walks up to the podium, she points to the audience. “I would like to introduce you to a very special guest,” she says as she smiles, “my daughter.”
“In 2005, my daughter was missing for 11 months,” she explains. “I was unaware of human trafficking at the time.”
Tyamba, Johnson’s daughter, was just 13 years old when she was drugged and sold into the world of sexual exploitation. “She was held against her will, she was beaten, she was thrown from moving cars, and our family was threatened,” Johnson says.
After months of waiting, Tyamba finally made one phone call, which — Johnson later found out — Tyamba made when she was hiding from her pimp in the bathroom of a gas station, scared for her safety.
Johnson’s efforts to retrieve her daughter were relentless. She spoke with pimps and johns, and finally, on a dark rainy night in New York City, her daughter was sent back to her.
“I waited in my car with undercover police behind me, and it took hours,” Johnson says, remembering that she sat in her car all day. She said tears came to her eyes when she finally saw her daughter.
“My daughter pulled the handle of the passenger side of my car and [there she was] wearing a wig and fully dressed,” she recalled.
Human trafficking has been described as the business of stealing freedom for profit, but it is also about robbing victims of their self-worth and their voice. As America works to develop policies and initiatives to eradicate this heinous crime, survivors’ voices should be front and center in the fight.
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If you suspect someone to be a victim of human trafficking or may have identified a potential trafficker, use these resources to anonymously report your
findings:
National Human Trafficking Hotline
CALL 1-888-373-7888
TEXT 233733
TTY (Hearing Impaired) 711
CHAT
www.humantraffickinghotline.org/chat
REPORT
www humantraffickinghotline.org/report-trafficking
Laine is a Senior Reporter for Currents News.