NOT ALL MONSTERS ARE STRANGERS
from The Hustler Files Hosted by Lisa Reilly
Alicia and Jenna both grew up in middle-class, 2 parent homes. Alicia was a top student and leader in her school. Jenna went to a private school and had a typical teenage life. But while Alicia and Jenna lived 3000 miles apart their stories became intertwined because they both became victims of human trafficking while still in High School. Even worse, the men that trafficked them, were known to them, and their families. For Alicia, it was her high school soccer coach, and for Jenna, it was her boyfriend. You would think in 2024 that being held captive or forced to have sex for money, or be an indentured servant and live in bondage to another person, went the way of slavery, but it hasn’t. One in three runaways in the U.S. becomes trafficked by another human. There is no cookie-cutter version of a human trafficker or the men who pay to have sex with these women. While there are men who are trafficked, it is a relatively small number, but nonetheless, a violent crime, and for those who have been or still are trafficked, fear, shame, and trust are the biggest factors that keep them tied to their traffickers. It takes a village of love, trust, and therapeutic endeavors to return these victims to their families and communities.
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