Case Studies
The following narratives are true stories of trafficked and exploited children. They are taken from different sources as cited below each story.
Tanya was walking home from middle school one day when she met her first pimp. He drove up beside her in a fancy car and told her she was pretty – she was 12 years old. Tanya was a smart kid; at the time she was taking classes for gifted and talented children. Every day for six months he met her after school and they talked. He bought her small gifts and she said that she felt special to have someone care about her.
He was making an investment – an investment of time and a crafted illusion of trust and loyalty that bound her emotionally to him. After six months she finally agreed to get in his car. When the car door shut Tanya’s life changed forever – her “boyfriend” was actually a pimp. Tanya had never left her community before, but she suddenly found herself far away from home. Her “boyfriend” revealed his true motive with regular beatings to establish absolute control over her – he took away her identity and made her his slave. For the next five years he prostituted her to over 100 men per month. She knew she couldn’t run; she has already seen proof of his terrifying promise: “You’re mine. I know where I got you and I can get you again.” She was arrested for prostitution over 17 times in nearly as many states. There was no safe place for her to run, and with each arrest she spent more time in jail – labeled a “child prostitute” and charged with the crime committed against her, Tanya was without hope for rescue.
Thankfully, a diligent law enforcement officer recognized Tanya as a victim and she was finally rescued; she is now free from a life of prostitution and her pimp is serving 40 years in prison.
Story via Shared Hope International
Qujen was taken by her mother to a brothel fronting as a small café when she was 13 years old. Here she was expected to provide services for up to nine men a day. She says “I felt like a wilted flower or a dead butterfly.”
She was rescued by IJM (International Justice Mission) staff and taken to a place of safety and after assessment, transferred to Hagar Aftercare. Here she feels safe and accepted amongst her new friends and caring staff. Qujen has not let her terrible experience affect her compassionate nature. While Qujen stood in court only a few meters from the two traffickers on trial, her main concern at the time was for the traffickers young son (5 years old) who was also in court. Qujen tells her counselor, “I feel so sorry for him, now he has no one to care for him!”
Qujen is eager to learn and is a diligent student. Due to frequent power cuts Qujen is often seen studying by candlelight. She learns English, Vietnamese and computer skills along with the Khmer national curriculum. Her teacher comments, “Qujen is the top student in Grade 3. I feel she could cope with Grade 4. This is amazing progress for someone who has had no schooling up until she came to Aftercare.”
Her most recent drawing for her counselor depicts perfectly her healing and hope. “This is me,” she says, “a lotus flower growing in the muddy dirty waters of the pond and here is my dream … I want to work in an NGO.”
Story provided by our partner organization Hagar Cambodia.
Nora grew up in a middle-class family in Albania. She dreamed of going to university and becoming a nurse. But when a member of her family got ill and there were lots of medical bills to pay, Nora started work in a factory to help out. Life was still good until she got involved with a man who was part of a sex-trafficking network.
Nora was taken to Italy, France, Germany and then Sweden where she worked in the sex trade against her will. Aged 17, she ended up in Norway where her captors expected to earn over £30,000 a year by exploiting her. In spite of threats against her family, Nora courageously decided to tell the truth to the Norwegian authorities and testified against the traffickers. She is now taking refuge in an Albanian counseling centre.
Story provided by ecpat.org/uk.
Yusuf is from the Horn of Africa. When he was seven, he was adopted and for a while enjoyed living with his new family. But he couldn’t keep up with all the chores that his new mother wanted him to do. She accused Yusuf of stealing from her and they told Yusuf to leave.
Yusuf became a street child and earned money running errands. When he was 13, he met a man who promised to help him get an education. The man said that Yusuf would have to live abroad for a short time, but would be able to come back. The man took Yusuf to London where he introduced Yusuf to a white man and said that this man would be Yusuf’s new father.
Yusuf stayed with the white man for more than a month, but the man started to abuse him. Yusuf managed to run away. Someone found him and took him to an organisation that could help him.
Story proved by ecpat.org/uk.