Lina* grew up not going to school. Where she is from, this is common—girls are not seen as worthy of education. So she ran away from home, in pursuit of the chance to learn. Alone and vulnerable, she found herself in dangerous situations where she was sexually abused. Over time, the trauma of abuse fractured her sense of self, and she began to believe the message she had run from in the first place: that she didn’t matter. Broken, alone, and manipulated, Lina was a target for traffickers who forced her into a brothel where she endured day after day of exploitation. 

And then, an Atlas Free Network Member came to the brothel on an outreach visit. They showed came with a different message: that Lina mattered, that she was worth fighting for, and that she deserved the future she wanted to create—one free from exploitation. When she needed it most, they offered her a safe place to live, an empowering job, and trauma-informed therapy.

“I feel like a light has come into my life,” Lina said, “and I see hope.”

We see hope for Lina, too. And we see how it’s changing everything for her. Join the monthly giving team helping women just like Lina find freedom from trafficking.
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‍*Name changed to protect the identity of the survivor.