I give workshops on entrepreneurship to women who have suffered from a psychological trauma. I motivate them to develop their skills, so they can be more productive and pursue their own dreams.
I became a true survivor when those negative experiences were no longer ruling my emotions and decisions, and when I was strong enough to turn it all into something positive and use my story to educate others.
I was 21 at the time. I realized I had been deceived the moment I was forced out onto the streets on the first night I was in Tokyo. My rights were all taken away, and I was treated as property. I knew it was the worst mistake of my life, and that’s when the psychological abuse started. I was told that if I managed to escape, I wouldn’t make it to my daughter’s funeral in time. I was sexually exploited for 18 consecutive months in Japan without a break. I was not rescued, I managed to escape after a client helped me.
As soon as I returned from Japan, I was able to see my daughter and family. After I returned to my country, I was very paranoid and suffered from PTSD. I pressed charges, but nothing was ever done. I never received any support from the state and the case did not hold up in court. This all happened before the law against human trafficking was put in place in Colombia.
At first, I did not see myself as a victim. I felt very guilty for many years for trusting my traffickers, so because of this I just kept silent. The judge I pleaded my case to also made me feel guilty for having left Colombia with my traffickers willingly, and he told me he did not believe my story was true.
It wasn’t until I received psychological help that I realized I was a victim. Even after publishing books about my experiences, there are still a lot of people who believe I am responsible for what happened to me. They don’t see me as a victim and try to make me feel responsible. Being a victim of human trafficking changes your life forever. The recovery process is long and painful, and I would say it’s always ongoing.
Finishing my psychological therapy was the first step to recovery, publishing my books was the second step. This process of recovery led me to reintegrate back into society, move on with my life and even be happy. However, the scar is always there. It might not be a physical one, but it is a small reminder of what I have endured. The emotional trauma never really goes away, and I strive to not let it affect my life or define me.
Every victim is different and not many can get to a point where they help others through their experiences. Everyone goes through different coping mechanisms. The crime might be the same, but the experiences are different, and the healing process is unique to each person. Victims should focus on healing themselves before they can even consider helping others.
I do feel that having survivor testimonies are incredibly important and these stories should be respected accordingly. It’s not easy to stand in front of an auditorium and relive your trauma. The people that do so are doing it for the sole purpose of bringing awareness and not because it’s easy for them. This job should be compensated with scholarships, trainings, workshops, and have those survivors become human rights ambassadors for the United Nations.
I think having celebrities as ambassadors is fine, but the amazing testimonies of a lot of survivors could have an even bigger impact because of their example of resilience. I think we need to give more value to these stories that serve as examples to society.
My message to victims would be to not give up. They should not wait around for support from the government but rather take their own rehabilitation into their own hands. They need to learn to love themselves, to believe in themselves, and to better themselves. Knowledge is the best tool anyone can have because it brings about new opportunities that would not have come otherwise.