Monique was at a bus station when a man struck up a conversation – he complimented her and she told him she was running away. Next thing she knew, Monique was thrown into a car, taken to a house, raped and trafficked by a trucker. Though she was able to contact her family and returned home, she ran away again and ended up in juvenile detention. There, though, she worked with enforcement to convict her trafficker and get back on her feet.

Courtesy of Traffick911

First recruited while staying with her family at a hotel in Miami, Katariina fell into the hands of a woman who feigned friendship, but slowly lured her into a child prostitution ring. For years, a cycle of false friendship, threats, drugs and violence kept her trapped until she was able to get out. Katariina now has a PhD in conflict analysis and resolution, and directs There Is Hope for Me, a nonprofit organization dedicated to freeing other victims of trafficking.

Courtesy of There is Hope for Me

“I met someone who I thought I could trust to help me earn money. Slowly, his control over me became dangerous and one that I could not leave. The house that once held me was destroyed, and I could only break free because I knew I had more for my life. There are some days when I can’t get out of bed, and that the reality of this life. People need to know that even though a girl is rescued, it doesn’t mean her life becomes normal again. And here I am, ten years later, still fighting the after effects.”

Courtesy of Rejuvenating Women

Jessica was promised the world by a man she thought was her boyfriend when she was first recruited from a small town in Central Mexico. After convincing her to leave home, the man brought Jessica to the United States, where he soon became physically and emotionally abusive – then forced her to work in brothels seven days a week. Alone and afraid, Jessica was trapped in her situation for nearly a decade, until she was freed by a law enforcement operation.

Courtesy of Sanar Wellness Institute

Nishi was a teenager when she left India for a job as a housekeeper in the United States. As soon as she arrived, she was forced to work 16 to 18 hours a day cooking, cleaning, and caring for the family’s three young children. Paid less than $200 a month, Nishi was never allowed time off and slept on the floor. The family was abusive, sexually harassing Nishi and threatening to kill her if she spoke to anyone or disobeyed. Nishi often begged to be sent back to her home in India. One day, a family member threatened her with a gun and Nishi fled the house. With the help of a neighbor, she was able to find services to aid in her recovery.

Courtesy of Children at Risk

Roshan grew up in slavery in stone breaking in Northern India. Through a local nonprofit, he was able to join a self-help group, refused to work in bonded labor and became a community organizer. He went on to graduate law school and now runs a legal aid center in an area with high levels of bonded labor. He faces many risks and threats doing this work, but he is trusted by locals to take up their cases and serve as their advocate with local authorities.

Courtesy of Freedom Fund

James was the youngest of twelve children born to illiterate parents. At age six he was trafficked to Lake Volta to work in fishing. While working on the lake, he was subjected to the worst forms of child labour and had his life put at risk. After escaping at age 13, James worked through school and university. He became manager at Barclays Bank of Ghana, but left in 2007 to work full time towards his goal of freeing and educating children in Ghana. James founded anti-trafficking organisation Challenging Heights, which supports thousands of at risk and previously enslaved children.  

Courtesy of Challenging Heights

The only member of her family to survive the genocide in Rwanda, Sabine accepted an offer to move with a wealthy family to America. Shortly after arrival, however, she was imprisoned in their home, forced to work around the clock and made to sleep on the kitchen floor. Finally, after six months of servitude, Sabine was allowed to go to church for an hour each Sunday. On one visit, she was approached by a kind Rwandan man who learned of her situation and helped her escape.

Courtesy of Polaris

"At 18 years old, addicted to heroin from an early age, I became a dancer. In the grip of my disease, I met a man who promised he would "take care of me" — that I would never be hungry or sick. After I lost my job, and against my better judgment, I called him. He took me to Allentown, Pennsylvania, a place I had never been. My first night there, he told me I was his property and that I had to do everything he said. Fearing for my life, when he told me I had to sleep with his friends and family, I did. I was with him for almost a year, being trafficked through strip clubs and controlled by him out of fear and my addiction. I ran from him to another man who had other women; this new man started bringing me to different states, forcing me to sell my body online. He grabbed me by my throat once because I miscounted money. Then I ran. I thought he loved me, but after getting clean, I had to revisit that part of my life, and now I know that isn’t love. He is currently serving life in prison for sex trafficking and human trafficking."