Students, parents hear survivor’s human trafficking story (Child Abuse Prevention Month)
Pope Francis, in his recent video message for the World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking, declared it a scourge that “disfigures dignity.”
Students and parents at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest recently heard a similar message from human trafficking survivor Theresa Flores, who spoke to the school community about her experience with human trafficking and her Catholic faith, during Human Trafficking Awareness month.
For the past 19 years, Flores has used her personal experience to help others learn to protect themselves and others. She now travels the country, speaking to students, parents, and others about her story and the warning signs of human trafficking.
It can happen anywhere to anyone
While more Americans are becoming aware of the world of human trafficking, most still think it is something that happens to foreign women, men, and children and not something that happens in their communities.
At the age of 15, Flores became a victim of human trafficking when her family moved to Detroit. An older boy in her new high school befriended her and lured her back to his house, where he drugged, sexually assaulted, and photographed her. He used the photos to extort her into sexual slavery. At night, under the threat that the photos of her rape would be published, she snuck out of her house and her abuser sold her to high-powered men around Detroit.
Flores said that she went from being an A student to earning Ds, dropped out of sports, and would often fall asleep in class. Although her parents and teachers noticed the changes in Flores’ behavior, they dismissed the warning signs as “teenage angst,” and Flores’ dire situation went unnoticed.
She said that during her experience, she wished for that “one trusted person” she could have confided in about the trafficking. She asked those present to think about who their “one person” might be.
Relying on God
Without anyone to confide in, Flores said she came to rely heavily on God, trusting that He was always with her during the difficult times.
“I leaned on my faith really hard,” she said when asked about processing her experience during a Q&A session with the students.
It wasn’t until the family moved away from Detroit that Flores escaped her trafficker. Out of shame and fear, she said it was years before she shared what her traffickers had done to her. Because of that, her abuser was never prosecuted for his crimes.
“God allowed me to escape from it,” she said. “Most girls don’t escape.”
When sharing her story, she also includes the story of her friend and fellow trafficking victim, Grace, who died at age 17. Flores said that “the world failed Grace” by neglecting to recognize the signs indicating she was being trafficked, and by not inquiring about her well-being.
“If you see something, or know something, say something,” Flores said.
She highlighted red flags that potential victims and parents should be wary of, such as receiving lavish gifts from an older boyfriend, carrying hotel keys, or holding onto a lot of cash. Parents should ask questions when children display noticeable changes in academic performance or attire.
Social media is the most common tool traffickers use to find victims, she said. Libraries, malls, and movie theaters are also locations where traffickers strike. Flores’s ordeal started in her own high school and was perpetrated by someone she thought she knew and trusted.
Speaking for the victims
Flores’s inspiration to become an awareness advocate came after she attended a conference on human trafficking. God intervened when a Christian coworker who couldn’t attend gave her the tickets. The coworker believed that Flores, being a mother of two teenage daughters, would gain value from the conference. When she walked into the conference, Flores said, she immediately knew that God was calling her to become an advocate for human trafficking survivors.
“God helped me find my voice and I started sharing anywhere and everywhere,” she said.
In 2009, she founded the Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution Project (SOAP). The project places bars of soap with the Human Trafficking Hotline (1-800-373-7888) in hotels and motels, and other areas where trafficking victims may pass through. SOAP schedules outreach around high-demand events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and Indy 500.
The idea to leave messages on bars of soap in hotels “was really, truly, divinely inspired,” according to Flores.
She equated her organization’s mission to the Biblical parable of the lost sheep.
“What I love about the SOAP Project is that we are looking for [trafficking victims] like we’re the shepherds looking for that one sheep. And it’s a beautiful moment when we can find them,” she said.
According to Flores, her faith journey is a source of strength, and she feels it’s important to obey God’s voice and to pray often.
“Prayer, prayer, prayer… is really important because we’re fighting evil,” she said. “I know when I do these outreaches, I pray for protection around my team [and] around their families because it is really tough.”
In 2009, the Ohio Attorney General appointed Flores to the state’s Human Trafficking Commission. She has testified before the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate to make human trafficking a felony in the state, where she currently lives with her two teenage daughters.
Flores’ advocacy paid off in 2015 when she successfully advocated for the signing of the “Theresa Flores Law,” which made Michigan the only state without a statute of limitations for prosecuting sex trafficking crimes.
To date, at least 26 U.S. states and Guam have passed legislation creating human trafficking task forces or similar coordination efforts. On Feb. 14, the New Jersey House passed the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act, which authorizes funding to fight trafficking and support victims.
One parent, Jane Smith, said that she found Flores’ presentation empowering. “Theresa has given me the tools to have extremely important conversations with my teenager that I otherwise would not have known to have,” she said. “Since her presentation, I have shared her story and warning signs with other mothers in my community so that they, too, can be empowered with this important information.”
Lilliana Cardamone, a junior at Holy Angels said Flores’ visit motivated her to find ways to get involved and raise awareness about human trafficking and furthered her desire to pursue a career helping victims
“I am in awe of her strength and perseverance to heal herself and help others,” Cardamone said.
Flores has authored five books, including the bestselling book “The Slave Across the Street,” about her story. Flores donated a signed copy of this work to the AHA Learning Commons, the school’s library.
Her inspirational talk concluded with a group prayer to end human trafficking. The full version of the prayer, written by Sister Genevieve Cassani, SSND, reads as follows:
O God, our words cannot express what our minds can barely comprehend and our hearts feel when we hear of children and adults deceived and transported to unknown places for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor because of human greed.
Our hearts are saddened and our spirits angry that their dignity and rights are being transgressed through threats, deception, and force.
We cry out against the degrading practice of trafficking and pray for it to end.
Strengthen the fragile-spirited and broken-hearted.
Make real your promises to fill these our sisters and brothers with a love that is tender and good, and send the exploiters away empty-handed.
Give us the wisdom and courage to stand in solidarity with them, that together we will find ways to the freedom that is your gift to all of us.
Amen.
Featured image: Theresa Flores (center) donated one of her books to the AHA Learning Commons. Joan Connelly, Director of Mission & Ministry, and Danielle Holmes, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, were present during the donation. (Academy of the Holy Angels)
