A female sex trafficking victim has been brought to safety after our U.S. team were asked to support her to leave exploitation.
The woman contacted an advocate at another organization who referred the case to our investigative team in Iowa. The victim was trapped in a perilous situation and wanted to escape from her trafficker.
Kayla*, who is in her early 40s, had been trafficked in Iowa and an adjacent mid-west state. When she contacted the advocate, she desperately wanted to get out of her situation in the neighboring state but needed assistance.
Our team worked with multiple law enforcement offices to arrange and facilitate Kayla’s travel to a safe location in Iowa. Our investigators then transported her to an aftercare program.
Ahead of this, our team of investigators had worked with Kayla to apply for and secure a place at a residential aftercare program. There, she will receive trauma-informed care, treatment and counseling. She will also be supported to work on gaining trust, relationship building, self-empowerment, autonomy and other personal skills, and will have access to training for future employment or education.
Mark Herbst, Hope for Justice’s Senior Investigator in Iowa, said: “The ability to have incredible impact and seeing firsthand the transformation – from fear to hope – of a person who has been subjected to such horrible treatment is why we are on this mission. And we don’t do it alone. We’re deeply grateful to our law enforcement partners and to our donors, whose support makes it possible for us to investigate and assist people to move away from exploitation.”
Hope for Justice’s investigators work tirelessly around the clock to ensure men, women and children are safe from traffickers and situations where they are being exploited. They also maintain strong working relationships with law enforcement, providing survivors of human trafficking with the responsiveness, care and compassion they deserve. You can find out more about our global work here: What we do | Hope for Justice
*Name and image changed to protect identity of the survivor
