A 20-year-old woman has rediscovered freedom after being groomed, held captive and sexually exploited by men who lured her to them through a fake job advert.

Sandra* left home for another city after responding to the online job advert for models, which made false promises of well-paid, glamorous and fun work. Upon arrival, the three men then began to groom her. They took her to parties, plied her with alcohol and introduced her to drugs.

After several weeks, the men began using drugs as a way of controlling Sandra, and began sexually abusing her. They told her she could not leave.

After around a month of terror, confusion and pain, Sandra bravely called her parents and told them she needed help but was unsure where she was. She then discovered that her parents had just heard about Hope for Justice, from a friend who had recently taken part in one of our human trafficking awareness sessions.

Sandra’s mother contacted us as soon as she received her daughter’s call, and our US team began tracking Sandra’s location through her phone straightaway.

We were able to locate Sandra within around a week. We collected her on the same day she courageously took her chance to escape by climbing out of a window of the house where she was being held, and running away. We then took Sandra to a safe aftercare facility, where she is in regular contact with her parents, and is now beginning to recover.

We also worked closely with local law enforcement to identify and locate the three perpetrators, who have now been arrested.

We will continue to offer Sandra our ongoing support as she takes her next steps in her life of freedom.

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of the survivor 

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