I spoke to a friend recently who referred to me as being
involved in prostitution during my years of captivity. A hammer to my jaw would
have hurt less.
It offended and hurt me deeply. He reacted with this
statement: “You sold your body for money. Isn’t that prostitution?”
Firstly, I never “sold” my body. Sex traffickers marketed me.
Prostitutes choose to sell their bodies. Sex slave victims are beaten, drugged,
and forced. His comment sliced right through my heart.
This causes a trafficking survivor to shudder and keep silent.
Guilt, shame, and fear also seal our lips. Therefore, even in our freedom, we
stay imprisoned to our captors in our minds.
Survivors need compassion, gentleness, understanding, and,
above all, not to be judged. Victims suffer for years after all their anguish
and desperation from PTSD, Stockholm syndrome, Learned Behaviors, and Reactive
Responses.
Sadly, many people ignore this ever-growing crime because it
overwhelms them. However, not only does modern-day slavery exist, but it thrives
and growing at lightning speed. Traffickers around the world realize how
profitable and easy it is to sell people.
My hope is that the next time one sees a “hooker”; it causes
them to think twice about her situation. Please don’t turn a blind eye. None of
us can do everything, but each of us can do something, even if it is just
spreading the word.
