Survivor Story: Brianna
Names have been changed to protect the victim
When she was 16 years old, Brianna decided to run away from home with an older girl she had become friends with.
Soon after, they both realized that they needed money to survive. Vulnerable and alone, Brianna’s friend convinced her that the only way to make money was to become a prostitute.
If a child (under the age of 18 years old, or some states say under age 19) is in prostitution, by law they are considered a human trafficking victim. There is not a requirement for the use of “force,” “fraud,” or “coercion” to define a human trafficking victim until they are over the age of 18 or 19.
Brianna would wait at truck stops and gas stations along I-95 for potential “customers” to drive up. However, Brianna had no idea how devastating this initial introduction into sex work would be for her life.
Brianna felt ashamed and embarrassed with herself, and tried to cover this up with drugs.
Eventually, Brianna fell into the hands of a trafficker.
“I felt like I had no choice but to listen. I had nowhere to live, and at that point, my family was fed up with my choices and bad behavior,” Brianna said.
She faced constant beatings and and was forced to have sex multiple times a day. If she did not obey her trafficker, her abuse would be worse. “I felt like I had no choice but to listen. I had nowhere to live, and at that point my family was fed up with my choices and bad behavior,” Brianna said.
Being cut off from her family and having no money of her own, Brianna felt trapped with nowhere and no one to turn to.
Brianna’s life changed when she met a woman while she was in jail. This women worked for an organization that helps inmates find rehabilitation programs that meet their specific needs. After hearing Brianna’s story, the woman told her about The WellHouse.
Soon after, Brianna was on a plane bound for Alabama.
Brianna is now safe and living in the residential housing on The WellHouse campus. She is experiencing healing and growth through counseling and trauma-informed therapy as a part of her stay.
“I’ve been restored in so many ways. I am learning how to love myself,” Brianna says. “I know I am safe here.”
“I’ve been restored in so many ways. I am learning how to love myself,” Brianna says. “I know I am safe here.”
Brianna is currently working towards a degree in journalism and wants to pursue her dream of becoming a copy-writer after she graduates.