Stacey* had a great home life growing up. She had a two-parent home, enjoyed holidays, and family vacations. At the age of eighteen, Stacey was tricked into taking drugs by her boyfriend. She thought she was taking a “simple” ecstasy pill. After she swallowed the pill, he told her it was heroin. From that day, she became hooked.
In order to feed her new drug habit, Stacey began dancing for money. It was there that she met Tim.* Tim had a bad reputation with other girls and people in the club, but Stacey always found him very nice, considerate, and charming. He would come in and have chats with her after she danced. One night, when they were talking, he asked why a beautiful, smart girl like herself would be dancing. He told Stacey he wanted to help her and would pay for her to go to rehab and get clean. So she accepted his offer to help. Once Stacey was free from her drug addiction, she continued dancing as a job to simply live. That’s when Tim asked her to move out of state with him. He said he would take care of her, and she wouldn’t have to dance ever again.
After the move, Tim was nice and provided her with what she needed to live. Shortly thereafter, Stacey’s grandmother passed away unexpectedly and to that point, Stacey had a mobile phone. Tim arranged for her to go home for the funeral. When she returned, that’s when Tim changed. He showed her pictures of her family’s home, of her father going to the mailbox, etc. and told her that he “owned her” and if she ever tried to leave, he would “have a bullet in their heads” before she even left the house. He took away her phone and access to freely come and go as she pleased. Tim forced Stacey into prostitution that day.
After three years of servicing men, Stacey found the courage to escape, fleeing one morning after “work” whilst doing the laundry with everyone asleep. She ran until she found a phone booth and called her mother, telling her what had happened to her. Her mother told her to go to the police station. Stacey then jumped into a parked truck and asked the man to please help her and take her to the police. The local law enforcement in Stacey’s home state contacted The A21 Campaign for assistance. We were able to provide Stacey with medical care, a new wardrobe, legal services, and basic necessities of life. Now, after a year of freedom, Stacey has completed her counselling and is now ready to share her story and bring awareness to others that trafficking does exist and can happen to anyone. She hopes to attend university and study law.
*Name changed for her protection.
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