Jasmine
Survivor of Human Trafficking
My family is growing at the moment, we are expecting another girl, there’ll be 5 kids all together. We are looking to buy a home and just continue moving forward and doing my advocacy work, speaking publically about my story to raise awareness and educate. I didn’t identify as a survivor for a long time. I met this guy, he got me to love and trust him and he would tell me he loved me. And before I knew it, I was working at a massage parlor. The brainwashing and manipulation is so severe it’s like coming out of a cult. I very quickly learned how to shut off emotionally and mentally from my body. Cause it does something to you mentally and emotionally. So to cope I just shut off. That’s why I used drugs, to take away the pain that I had experienced. Once more healing came, through my faith and through therapy, I felt so compelled to be like “Hey, how do I help? How do I give back?” So I started sharing my story and started being empowered because, now, all that pain was being used for someone’s purpose and someone else’s benefit, and that made all the difference, and it takes you out of that victim mentality and to the survivor mode which is empowering and encouraging. I’m running a support group in Lynn, Mass for women who are in a drug recovery program. I help them self identify. So many of them have shared similar stories with prostitution, the commercial sex trade, all linked with their drug addiction. Once I can share my story and help them understand what exploitation is, things really change for them like lights go on. They really start to heal and realize they aren’t alone, they’re not the only ones.
