I had the privilege of visiting the Guatemala City office of International Justice Mission, Dressember’s partner, in July 2022. The focus of IJM’s work in Guatemala is ending sexual violence against women and girls.
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After an unpredictable upbringing, *Mara dreamed of stability in her finances and her family. And when she fell in love with a young man online who connected her with a job opportunity, she thought her dreams were coming true.
But when Mara moved to be with him, he trafficked Mara for sexual exploitation.
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Last Spring, Dressember partnered with Karana Rising to launch the Survivor Justice Initiative and advocate for the freedom of Tiffany Simpson, a survivor of human trafficking who is currently wrongfully incarcerated. We have shared her story and advocated for the reform that is needed in the US criminal justice system to protect the rights of victims and survivors of human trafficking. We’re so inspired by the way the Dressember community has advocated for Tiffany and other wrongfully incarcerated survivors, and we’re sharing this update to invite you to show up loudly for Tiffany again.
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Psychological coercion is an important concept to understand when it comes to the powerful dynamics of human trafficking. Dr. Evan Stark likens psychological coercion to being taken hostage: “The victim becomes captive in an unreal world created by the abuser, entrapped in a world of confusion, contradiction, and fear.” Psychological coercion is an intentional pattern of behavior (often used alongside other forms of abuse) which can include threats, excessive regulation, intimidation, humiliation, and forced isolation. It is designed to punish, dominate, exploit, exhaust, create fear and confusion, and increase dependency. It strips a person of their identity and breaks down the very core of who they are.
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Sean shares his story of exploitation and his journey as a survivor of human trafficking. This story is part of the series, “Things Survivors Wish You Knew,” where we hear directly from survivors in the Dressember community about their experiences and perspectives on human trafficking. *Trigger Warning: The following is a true story of a survivor of human trafficking. This story includes sensitive language surrounding sexual assault. Please consider this before reading further.
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People often wonder about survivors of human trafficking: Why would anyone ever go back after they’ve escaped? It can be difficult to imagine someone returning to an exploitative situation, and yet 80% of trafficking victims are revictimized after finding freedom, according to Kristi Wells of the Safe House Project.
The question we should be asking isn’t why a survivor would go back, but instead, how do we empower survivors to the level that they can achieve real, long-lasting success and live relationally healthy lives? What is necessary for survivors of exploitation to reach sustained liberation?
Citlali shares her story of exploitation and her journey as a survivor of human trafficking. This story is part of the series, “Things Survivors Wish You Knew,” where we hear directly from survivors in the Dressember community about their experiences and perspectives on human trafficking. *Trigger Warning: The following is a true story of a survivor of human trafficking. This story includes sensitive language surrounding sexual assault. Please consider this before reading further.
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Language binds a culture. It determines the way we view and respond to various social justice issues, such as the anti-trafficking movement. We must be thoughtful about the language we use surrounding human trafficking and trafficking survivors because it has the potential to propagate sterotypes, disempower survivors, and prevent survivors from receiving the help they need. By being intentional with our language, we can become better advocates and restructure our cultural narratives surrounding human trafficking.
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Hannah shares her story of exploitation and her journey as a survivor of human trafficking. This story is part of the series, “Things Survivors Wish You Knew,” where we hear directly from survivors in the Dressember community about their experiences and perspectives on human trafficking. *Trigger Warning: The following is a true story of a survivor of human trafficking. This story includes sensitive language surrounding sexual assault. Please consider this before reading further.
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Every young girl dreams of making her mark in the world. For Ruby*, she thought this would begin when she was given the chance to prove her independence. As the youngest of ten siblings, she thought her opportunity came when a recruiter sent her a private message on social media offering her a position in a computer shop. The recruiter won her trust by offering free room and board and paying for the travel fare from her hometown to a place 650 kilometers away. The shop even sent a houseboy to pick her up from the port. Ruby was so pleased by the opportunity to start a new life that she jumped in right away.
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When Sasha’s* mother started noticing a change in her daughter’s behavior, she didn’t know who to turn to. She felt helpless as she watched her daughter withdraw from her to spend more time online and engage in sexual relationships with men she didn’t know. After a simple Google search, she found one of the Dressember Network partners in her local area in Atlanta.
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Earlier this year, the Dressember Foundation launched a survivor scholarship program in partnership with AnnieCannons, an organization with the stated mission of “[t]ransforming survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence into software engineers.” For the first time this year, AnnieCannons expanded their training program to survivors outside the San Francisco Bay Area through a fully-virtual program.
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In many cases, youth have limited resources when aging out of foster care, often no secure housing placement or substantial support. Olive Crest, a member of the Dressember Network, has established a program called Operation Independence through the founders of Dr. Donald and Mrs. Lois Verluer. Sarah and Caroline are two young women that have been a part of this program.
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Justice systems often fail to uphold laws implemented to protect human trafficking survivors. In fact, survivors are often incarcerated and their experiences are overlooked in courthouses. Punitive institutions implement a prison model that exposes human trafficking survivors to false accusations by their abuser. Intrusion, solitary confinement and inmate-officer power dynamics fail to be trauma-informed and this negatively impacts survivors of trafficking.
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Now that you know, let’s act. Here are a few ways you can support survivors experiencing incarceration and arrest. Keep learning (https://freetiffany.org) and join us in showing survivors you believe them. No survivor of trafficking should experience arrest as a result of their trafficking and all survivors who do, deserve and need support!
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I am Tiffany Simpson. I am a survivor of child sex trafficking. I am a mother. I am an advocate. I am also sitting in a southern Georgia jail now for the past 9 years.
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Amy Cage is the mother of Jessica and Jordan Hampton, two teenage siblings who are charged with capital murder in connection with the murder of the man who was intent of buying them from sex. Karana Rising currently provides social support and legal advocacy to Jessica and Jordan and works closely with Amy to help protect her incarcerated children and advocate for their freedom.
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Advocates and survivors like Ashley worked to pass the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act to classify child sex trafficking as a form of child abuse, thus mandating that children who are or suspected of being victimized have their case investigated by child welfare agencies who often receive their referrals from law enforcement.
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Here at Dressember, it is important to share stories about survivors and our programmatic partners fighting against human trafficking. Olive Crest, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping abused and neglected children and a member of the Dressember Network, shared the story of two teenage survivors of human trafficking who have been able to transition their life in a positive way thanks to the organization.
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Jayson is a human trafficking survivor from the Philipines. In 2008, he was given a job offer in the US by a woman his uncle knew. Since Jayson had previously worked for her, he trusted her and took the offer without knowing many details about the job. She then paid a recruiter to arrange his visa and to train him on what to say to come to the US with a P-1 visa for athletes. The recruiter promised it would be easy to get a work visa once he arrived.
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