Trafficked: The Terrifying True Story of a British Girl Forced into the Sex Trade (26 page)

The first time I spoke to Sophie was when she contacted STOP THE TRAFFIK, the charity I work for, and told me, ‘I need help.' I don't think she knew at the time what she was looking for – perhaps she just needed to talk to someone who would understand what had happened to her. But, as it transpired, it was the start of a relationship that I think has proved mutually beneficial. Getting to know Sophie and hearing about her experiences – and now reading her book – have given us a deeper understanding of what it's really like for someone to be trafficked.

I'm glad that Sophie has been able to tell her story, not only because I think people need to hear it, but also because it's her justice.

I know that when people hear a story like Sophie's some of them ask, ‘Why did she stay? If that happened to me, I'd just go to the police.' But the men who groom girls for trafficking are clever. They're good at identifying a particular girl's issues so that they can use these to manipulate and control her. And the reality is that it isn't so easy to take action to protect yourself when you're the victim of someone completely ruthless and violent who makes you believe – as Sophie's trafficker did – that you can't trust anyone else at all.

Sophie has so much going for her in terms of her education, intelligence, a good career, and family and friends who love her. So when you realise that it was impossible for
her
to tell the police – or even her mother, to whom she's very close – what was happening to her, you wonder what hope there is for people who haven't started from such a strong place and who don't have anyone to turn to.

When I'm asked what makes someone vulnerable to trafficking, I talk about poverty, political instability, natural disasters, lack of education and employment opportunities – although none of those issues affected Sophie. Then, when I've listed all these factors, I'll say, ‘And there's love as well.' But Sophie's trafficker was her best friend, which, in a way, made her even more vulnerable, because whereas you can sometimes feel insecure in love, you generally trust your best friend. And he was unusual, too, in terms of the length of time he groomed her. So one of the reasons Sophie's story is so important is because it breaks down all the usual stereotypes.

The focus of our work at STOP THE TRAFFIK – which is largely staffed by volunteers – is communities. Everyone is associated with some kind of community – whether it's a social-networking community, a university community or a business community – and when someone contacts us and asks what they can do to help prevent trafficking we ask them: Who do you know? What networks are you part of and who can you tell about trafficking? Before they can do anything, people need to know that the problem exists, so the first significant action to be taken is to raise awareness. One of the communities we are all part of is our geographical community, our neighbourhood – and, as people are trafficked
from
one community
into
another, if everyone in these two communities understood what trafficking is, maybe we'd be able to prevent it happening, or could at least respond appropriately to people who've been trafficked into our community.

Our aims are therefore to help create communities in which it's more difficult for traffickers to operate and to hide themselves and their victims and, as well as raising awareness of trafficking, there are a myriad ways of doing that. One of the things we're currently working on with other agencies is putting together training for teachers so that they can talk to children about grooming and pimping, and make them aware of the need to protect themselves and their friends.

There are always likely to be signs that someone has been trafficked
from
a community. For example, as was the case
for Sophie, they might have rented a flat but not be living in it and/or have suddenly and uncharacteristically left a job without contacting their work colleagues, friends or members of their family. And in the community they've been trafficked
into,
they might be the unhappy-looking foreign girl who moves into a flat with a man, and who comes and goes at odd times of the day and night.

Of course, as well as being alert to the tell-tale signs of trafficking, anyone who suspects that someone in their community has been trafficked needs to know what to do about it. So something else that concerns us at STOP THE TRAFFIK is
who
might see what's happening and who might be the right person to step in and intervene in a way that's appropriate in a particular case, because what would work for one person might be completely the wrong thing to do for another.

For example, in some countries you wouldn't go to the police, because they don't have the training to deal with the issues involved – perhaps they don't understand trafficking or they haven't established a victim-centred approach. In the UK, however, you can contact your local police station or Human Trafficking Centre, or any of the services listed below. And you don't need to be afraid of getting it wrong: the police won't mind if it turns out that you've made a mistake.

STOP THE TRAFFIK works closely with the police in several countries, as well as with the United Nations and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in the UK. One of the things we need in order to be able to make it harder for
traffickers to function is community information. No one can be truly invisible. Even people who have been trafficked for domestic servitude and who rarely set foot outside the place where they work must sometimes be seen by someone.

People
know
what's going on in their community and there's always someone who knows who's responsible when a serious crime is committed. Which is why, by raising awareness of trafficking, we hope that we'll be able to encourage people to realise that they need to release the information they have and help us to protect those who are vulnerable.

Sophie's life was taken away from her almost overnight, and what she experienced during the next six months could have destroyed her. But although what happened to her will be with her for ever, her recovery has been extraordinary. After an ordeal like Sophie's, many people would want to stay close to home, where they feel safer. But Sophie chose to move to another city and into a house with flatmates she didn't know. It was a choice that had nothing to do with escaping – she has a loving mother, family and friends; it was all about creating something new. And that's exactly what she's managed so successfully to achieve.

It was very hard for Sophie for the first year or two after she came home. But she finally feels safer. Her networks are stronger, the man who trafficked her has been in prison (so she knows he isn't invincible after all), she has a very good job and she's worked hard to develop some great new friendships. And now that she's tasted life again, she won't give it up easily.

If we can all work together, perhaps more men, women and children who've been trafficked will be able to feel the same.

Bex Keer
STOP THE TRAFFIK

Men, women and children are being exploited by force or by trickery all around the world. They are victims of human trafficking, a global crime by means of which criminals earn vast amounts of money from abusing the human rights of vulnerable individuals. Every community in the world is affected, whether people are being trafficked from, through or into that community, or whether the goods and services available in that community are produced using the forced labour of human-trafficking victims.

Due to the nature of this crime, it is very difficult to obtain reliable, up-to-date information about how many people are affected.

The International Labour Organization estimates that there are at least 12.3 million people in forced labour worldwide. Of
these, approximately 2.5 million are victims of human trafficking and half are under the age of eighteen. 43 per cent of victims are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, of which 98 per cent are female. 32 per cent of victims are trafficked for economic exploitation, of which 56 per cent are female. The remaining 25 per cent of victims are exploited in more than one way: for domestic servitude, street crime, drug cultivation, benefit fraud, forced marriage or other forms of abuse.

The nature of trafficking also varies from region to region. For example, 90 per cent of all human trafficking in the Middle East is for economic exploitation, but in Europe only 25 per cent is for this purpose.

People are trafficked for profit. It is estimated that the global profits generated from the work of the world's 2.5 million forced labourers who have been trafficked amount to US$31.6 billion per year. This represents an annual average of US$13,000 per victim. Profits from trafficking are far higher in industrial countries than in non-industrial countries, rivalling those of major global companies. Spending on efforts to tackle human trafficking by governments and charities pales by comparison, however, which is why local communities have such a key role to play.

More information about human trafficking can be found on the website www.stopthetraffik.org.

Simon Chorley
UK Coordinator
STOP THE TRAFFIK

Sophie Hayes Foundation

www.sophiehayesfoundation.org

The Sophie Hayes Foundation works to increase awareness and raise funds to assist the NGOs that work so hard to combat human trafficking and to support survivors of this terrible crime.

 

Police emergency – 999
If you think someone is in imminent danger, you
must
call 999. Do not try to intervene yourself.

CrimeStoppers – 0800 555 111
If you want to report something anonymously.

Salvation Army – 020 7367 4500
If you are a victim in need of support.

UK Human Trafficking Centre

Telephone
: 0114 2523891

For advice and information.

STOP THE TRAFFIK

Telephone
: +44 (0)207 921 4258

Email
: [email protected]

Website
: www.stopthetraffik.org

For information about community action and resources. This is also a good first port of call for anyone who wants information and advice.

William Wilberforce Trust

Telephone
: +44 (0)207 052 0336

Email
: [email protected]

Website
: www.williamwilberforcetrust.org.uk

Provides frontline practical support for women coming out of situations of trafficking. Through the volunteer-led project it equips and empowers these women to choose their futures, free from abuse, and to use their voices to change society and bring hope to other women who have gone through similar experiences.

For the first couple of years after I came home it felt as though I were living in purgatory. One man took away years of my life when I was young and should have been happy. I know I can never reclaim the years I've lost, but I
can
make sure that they become the foundation of a new life – for me and, I hope, for other people too. Everyone deserves freedom and basic human rights, and although he stole my freedom, I am going to do everything in my power to fight back and make a difference.
^*

The hardest part about writing my story has been the fact that, for me, it isn't just a story. It was my life – and something reminds me of it in some way every day so that I see images in my head of what happened, like a film playing over and over again. But instead of making me weaker,
that reinforces the strength other people have helped to give me. I remember that I am strong and that I will not let him beat me, and this gives me the inspiration and motivation I need to be able to do what I can to try to help prevent similar crimes being perpetrated against others.

The amazing people who have protected and guided me since I returned to the UK have saved my life. They are the ones who have made it possible for my book to be written, and I want to thank them with all my heart.

It devastates me knowing what my mum had to endure. I lived through what happened, but she can only imagine it, and I'm not sure which is worse. My family have been my world; they have supported me and have never treated me any differently as a result of what happened. My mum and my stepdad are my guardian angels, not least because they rescued me from a fate that I don't even want to think about.

I was very fortunate to make contact with STOP THE TRAFFIK. Bex, particularly, became my lifeline when I thought I was going to drown; she has become my friend and my inspiration, and I will never be able to thank her properly for what she's done for me. I am also indebted to Ruth, Simon and the rest of the team at STOP THE TRAFFIK, who have become my extended family, and to the friends who have helped me to see things differently by showing me that there are amazing people in the world and by giving me hope that one day I might find someone who loves me for who I am. My friends have helped me to
open my eyes, and for that – and many other things – I thank them.

I am also grateful to Robin – not only for what he's done for me, but for what he does every day for so many other people – and to everyone who works with him in the battle against human trafficking and tries to make a difference.

And I want to thank all the people involved in making my book a reality – my publisher, HarperCollins, Jane, my wonderful writer, and my agent.

Thank you to all the people who have helped and supported me, and thank
you
for reading my story.