Breaking Free

by Abby Sher

  In 2012 in Cambodia, over 1,200 women and girls visited Somaly Mam’s free medical clinic for consultations, counseling, and treatment. Eighteen women and girls who visited were able to get out of their trafficking situation and enroll in an AFESIP recovery center.

  In 2013 in Albany, New York, Equality Now brought three survivors to testify before state legislators. As a result, the Safe Harbor law was extended to cover all prostituted individuals under the age of eighteen in New York. Thanks to these bold survivors, sixteen- and seventeen-year-old victims who are arrested for prostitution will be classified as victims and given treatment services instead of going to jail. Their criminal records will also be sealed.

  NUMBER TO CALL:

  Yourself

  Okay, that’s a little hard to do unless you have two phones. But you can write yourself a note. Thank yourself for being strong, honest, passionate, and alive. Make a promise always to look out for yourself and be true to yourself no matter what tomorrow brings. You can also call your best friend and share this pact.

  NOW

  …is the time for action.

  “Even if you’re just talking about it to a friend, it’s raising awareness. It has to start with us questioning the norm.”

  ~Anita Channapati, former

  special victims and sex crimes

  prosecutor in New York City

  Once you hear these courageous voices, you can’t unhear them. So what can you do right now to join the anti-trafficking movement?

  Start with a deep breath, a conversation. Close your eyes, open them again, and see the world with new eyes. Or start with reading this book. Maybe share it with a friend. It’s that simple and huge at the same time.

  The more this is talked about, the stronger we become. It’s not about living in fear. It’s about being aware and becoming involved when we can.

  Sounds easy, right? But in a lot of ways, it’s easier to send a donation to a charity halfway around the globe because then you don’t have to see whom it’s affecting or the faces that need you.

  So here are just a few ideas for how we can all be part of the anti-trafficking movement, if we choose to be. Most important, please go slowly. Don’t make any promises you can’t keep or feel like you must see immediate change. It’s a revolution that’s been building for centuries. Find a way to support your own freedom and your sisters’ at the same time.

  Read.

  Here are a handful of books by survivors and activists in the anti-trafficking movement that are incredible. The strength of their voices will draw you into each page.

  Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale (a memoir)

  by Rachel Lloyd

  The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine

  by Somaly Mam

  Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

  by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

  Radhika’s Story: Surviving Human Trafficking

  by Sharon Hendry and Joanna Lumley

  Write.

  Do you know any people in politics? Journalists or community leaders? Well, get to know them.

  Write to Craigslist and tell them they have to stop allowing people to be sold on their site. Write to your elected officials. Tell them what you know about trafficking and that you want stronger laws to protect victims. You can get news from Polaris Project, Equality Now, or Don’t Sell Bodies about whom to write and which laws we need to pass for greater protections.

  Write to newspapers, magazines, and television stations to publish stories about modern-day slavery, and how to stop it.

  You can write to the president of the United States if you feel the urge. You’ll never know the power of your words until you try.

  Talk.

  To anyone you think will listen. Talk to friends who you think may be at risk in any way—problems at home, a controlling boyfriend, or maybe she’s just really into showing off her body in a way that scares you. Start a group at your school to talk about how you can motivate people and treat one another with respect. Talk to trusted counselors and mentors about anything suspicious you see or call one of the hotlines listed in the “Numbers” section of this book to talk about these issues with trained professionals.

  Volunteer.

  With any of the organizations (listed in “How”) who are caring for survivors. Help build shelters or teach English. Be part of a skills training group. Maybe you love cooking or kick boxing. Ask if you can lead a workshop. Walk into any organization or call and ask how you can best lend a hand.

  Be cool, man.

  This book is mostly about the girls and women affected by sex trafficking, but of course we need to look at the demand for sex and the way boys are taught that pimping is “hot.” Apne Aap has a great “Cool Men Don’t Buy Sex” campaign. Visit the Apne Aap website to see how you can start a “Cool Men” movement: www.apneaap.org/cmdbs/cool-men-dont-buy-sex-campaign.

  Shop!

  You can buy jewelry and gifts made by survivors. It is incredibly empowering to survivors to learn a new skill like jewelry making or sewing, especially as they are healing from trauma. Each piece of cloth or bead is filled with hope and new light. Whether you wear it yourself or give it to someone else, you’re helping to expand the anti-trafficking momentum. Look at the beautiful gifts being made here:

  International Sanctuary, Purchase with Purpose

  Jewelry, stationery, awesome gifts for kids and adults

  www.isanctuary.org

  Made By Survivors

  Jewelry, bags, the cutest backpacks you’ll ever carry

  www.madebysurvivors.com

  Somaly’s Empowerment Store

  Cards, jewelry, clothing, accessories, inspiring books and CDs

  www.empowermentstore.org

  Oh, and perhaps the most important thing you

  CAN and MUST do NOW:

  “Practice and cultivate self-love…

  Empowering survivors to be who they are is really the same as empowering anyone to be themselves.”

  ~Minh Dang

  Afterword

  The same old street, but with a new door

  This morning, I was riding my bicycle to the local public pool in Brooklyn. It was a little past sunrise and the streets were familiar to me. But I saw something I’d never seen before.

  The flash and glitter of a tall woman wearing a black skin-tight spandex outfit and stilettos caught my eye. She looked like she was about twenty years old—maybe younger. She was walking quickly along the broken sidewalk. Then a thick metal door opened up out of a brick warehouse-looking building. I saw a man’s stocky arm holding the door open. The edge of his T-shirt was a faded red and stained. As the woman rushed in, the stocky arm shut the door swiftly behind her.

  I saw this for the first time today, even though I’ve been down this old street before. It’s not far from my apartment. Not far from the local coffee shop where I often sit for hours and write. Not far from the playground where I bring my kids to swing and splash in the sprinklers.

  I saw this just today, and I wanted to stop my bicycle, sit on that broken sidewalk, and weep.

  But I’m the one making up the rest of this woman’s story. I don’t know who she is or what she was doing. I certainly don’t know if she’s being trafficked. Maybe she was going into an unmarked door just after dawn dressed the way she was dressed for a gazillion reasons. Wouldn’t it be great if she were getting home from a disco party with her closest friends that went all night, or even a masquerade?

  Whatever her story is, I owe it to her to stop and think. Just as I owe it to the extraordinary girls and women in this book who walked into unmarked doors that changed their lives forever. Their voices fill me with tremendous hope, and also a great sense of responsibility.

  So today, right now, I have a choice to make.

  I can look up the address of that building and call any organization I trust to report what I saw, making sure I con
tact people who won’t put that girl in any danger.

  I can volunteer at the teen shelter near my apartment and get to know my neighbors more honestly.

  I can write a letter to our new mayor and ask him exactly how buyers of sex are being prosecuted.

  I can talk to friends about this door and ask if they’ve seen it, too.

  Whatever I decide, I have to do something.

  It’s the same old street I know so well. Only, now I see it with new eyes.

  I see how it’s my chance to help one more person break free.

  Acknowledgments

  There are so many incredible people who helped make this book possible. Thank you to Jen Zeigler who led me to the incredible NoVo Foundation. Thank you to Jody Myrum, Caitlin Ho, and Pamela Shifman at the NoVo Foundation; Megan and Melissa at Gracehaven; Rachel Lloyd and Twanna at GEMS; Ruchira Gupta, Lindsey Swedick, Tinku Khanna, Sahana Dasgupta, and Anupam Das at Apne Aap; Anita Channapati; Vednita Carter of Breaking Free; and Lauren Hersh from Equality Now. Your patience, wisdom, and encouragement have been such gifts to me.

  Thank you to Ben Skinner, Nicholas Kristof, and Sheryl WuDunn for your inspirational writing on human trafficking and for cracking open worlds that were secret for so long.

  Thank you to Amy Klein, Kimmi Berlin, and Judy Batalion for reading and re-reading my words, making sense of my half-baked ideas. To Emma Tsui, Kim Thackeray, Gabra Zackman, Megan Grano, Sara Moss, Alexander London, Joselin Linder, and Alysia Reiner for constantly motivating me and buying me coffee.

  Thank you to Lori Black, Abigail Disney, and Leymah Gbowee, who taught me the importance of standing up to make a difference. Thank you to my dear friend Samantha Mary Karpel, who was the first person to teach me that my voice could matter.

  Thank you to my amazingly kind and supportive agent, Joelle Delbourgo. Thank you to the entire Barron’s team, especially my awesomely inspiring editor, Angela Tartaro.

  Thank you, thank you to my incredibly loving family; Betsy, Jon, Easy, Boppy, and CK; Jason, Sunny, and Zev, who told me all the time that I could do it and reminded me every day to enjoy knock-knock jokes. An extra special thank you to Samson Bird, who grew in my belly as this book was born and is already teaching me so much about seeing the world anew.

  And of course, thank you to the generous, extraordinary survivors who spoke to me about their experiences. J.K. Rowling once said, “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and must therefore be treated with great caution.”

  Thank you so much for entrusting me with your truth.

  BREAKING FREE

  TEACHER’S GUIDE & WEBSITE

  For Educators:

  A Teacher’s Guide is available online with resources and suggestions to help you incorporate Breaking Free into your curriculum. You’ll find:

  • A Guide to Reading and Understanding the Book with lists of questions to help students delve into and more fully explore the lives of Somaly Mam, Minh Dang, and Maria Suarez

  • Questions and Exercises for the Class — Suggested assignments for students, either individually or in groups, that will foster interaction and discussion in the classroom

  • Terms to Define and Discuss

  • Suggestions for Further Reading and Ways to Get Involved — Resources to help students explore the issues in more depth

  For Students:

  The website is dedicated to Breaking Free so you can learn more about the survivors in the book and about trafficking in general. You’ll find:

  • In-depth biographies of Somaly Mam, Minh Dang, Maria Suarez, and the author

  • Statistics that show the pervasiveness of human and sex trafficking in the world today

  • Reader Reviews — a forum that will allow students to voice and share their opinions about the book and the issues with their peers

  • Events — a list of author engagements and book signings

  Visit www.barronsbooks.com/breakingfree