Here’s another amazing and super informative episode! I was excited to chat with Rebecca, a Social Worker, who specializes in Trafficking and Exploitation. Rebecca shares an experience of her own, as well as ways people are recruited and trafficked and what to look out for.

Rebecca grew up in a small town in Utah with an older brother and a younger sister. She now lives in Arizona where she is a Social Worker. Going into College, she knew she didn’t want to study people’s problems. However, one of her professors had an office where she specialized in sex trafficking and asked Rebecca if she’d work there. Rebecca was unsure because she knew nothing about it. She even told her professor, “I’m from a really small LDS town. That doesn’t happen there.” The professor literally laughed in her face and pulled up a website showing her that, yes, in fact, it does.

In College, Rebecca learned of an opportunity for paid international research on sex trafficking. Rebecca and a classmate were all in! They proposed to go to India. Before they knew it, they were on their way. While on that trip, Rebecca was, unfortunately, sexually assaulted. “Me, professionally, should have seen the signs of it.”

Rebecca talks about victim blaming and how she experienced it after her assault. This is all too common in our society. People often think, “I would never wear that. I would never drink that much. I would never be at that place. I would never do/see/say/go XYZ, so that would never happen to me.”

When it comes to trafficking, there are two different kinds: sex trafficking and human trafficking. Human trafficking is basically labor, which is using someone to perform a labor that you are not adequately compensating them for. Sex trafficking is having someone 18 or under perform any kind of sex act in exchange for something of value. If the person is an adult, in order for it to be considered sex trafficking, it has to have an element of force, fraud or coercion.

Rebecca and I talked about how people get into this type of situation – both male and female. The males often come from the LGBTQ community. In most instances, the victim is in a vulnerable situation – they’ve just run away from home, children in foster care, struggles with school, people addicted to drugs, etc. The traffickers and/or pimps know what to look out for. They know the signs a person will show that make them seem vulnerable. The person then talks to the victim, makes them feel safe and special, promises them a lavish life and then it begins. Recruiting even happens on social media. Of course it does, we are in 2019. “Modeling accounts” are creating on Facebook and Instagram, which lure young people in.

Listen to the full episode to hear all the details.

*Please note: this is the guest’s story. Their story is how they perceive it. It is not my judgement or responsibility to determine whether or not this story and the things said are true. Please be open minded when listening to/reading these stories.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
-Even if a person doesn’t fight back, doesn’t mean they want it.
-If someone you know has been exploited/assaulted, tell them “I’m really sorry about what happened to you. What can I do for you? What would you like to tell me about it? How can I support you?” It is so important to talk about, no matter how uncomfortable the situation is, but do let the person take it at their own pace.
-1 in 4 women have experienced sexual violence.
-The things people need in order to really thrive is to feel loved, heard, valued and seen.

LINKS TO THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
-If you’ve been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for help.
–The Body Keeps the Score book
–Adverse childhood experiences test
–Brene Brown books
-Rebecca’s favorite product: Yonanas
-Rebecca’s favorite book: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
-Rebecca’s song recommendation: Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson (listen on the Hard Knocks guest list on Spotify)
-My ending song recommendation: Something I Said by SafetySuit (listen on the Hard Knocks playlist on Spotify)

Sometimes you work so hard in life and then just end up getting emotionally, mentally and physically torn apart by certain people and unforgiving circumstances, but you owe it to yourself to piece yourself back together and come back stronger than before.

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