When she was just 14 years old, Victoria* was forced to become a sex slave for powerful businessmen in Bucharest, Romania. Her mother was an alcoholic, and she had no family support, which left her vulnerable to exploitation.
The situation escalated to the point that her trafficker forced her to receive an important client under threat of killing her mother and her sisters, who were still unaware that Victoria was being exploited and abused.
Finally, after a year of abuse, Victoria was able to receive help from the authorities. She found Not For Sale Romania, and began receiving services as a survivor of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. It has been nearly ten years since Victoria came to Not For Sale Romania.
With Not For Sale Romania’s support, Victoria finished her high school studies, graduated from university, and completed a beauty training program. Now Victoria works in the tourist industry, and volunteers at Not For Sale with new survivors.
The path from being trafficked to regaining empowerment is long, and complex. Victoria’s situation is just one example of the work Not For Sale does together with survivors. What is destroyed in a minute, takes most often years to fix.
We’re proud of Victoria, not only for her groundbreaking recovery, but for being a powerful role model to survivors and women all over the world.
#SheInspiresMe
