There are issues on which I'm working towards recovery: an integral part of my recovery is speaking out about what happened to me, what I faced as a runaway teen, and what I face even to this day trying to live with the memory of what I survived. I write this story so that maybe someone who hears it will somehow be able to avoid the pain that was forced on me and for others to know that things like I experienced really do happen--and they can happen to anyone's daughter, sister, girlfriend, niece or wife." ~Jill
“The first thing that we need is the understanding that we are not child prostitutes or teen prostitutes, but we are sexually exploited youth. This is not a choice we’ve made, it's something that has been done to us, but we are the victims and we should be treated as such. We don’t need to be judged or stigmatized or made to feel any worse than we already feel about ourselves. We often come into contact with people or professionals and workers in emergency rooms and shelters and programs that should be able to help us, but because either they don’t recognize the signs of what’s going on, or they have their own preconceived notions about the type of people that we are, we don’t receive the services or the intervention that we need. We need support to leave, it’s hard to do it alone, and we need people to understand our fears are real. The people who hurt us are dangerous and we often genuinely are in fear of our lives. We need protection from these people, and sometimes we even need to be protected from our own choices, because we’ve been so dependent and brainwashed by these people, that sometimes we really do believe that this is our only option. We need a safe place to go, a residential facility that’s designed just for us, where we’re treated from our emotional and physical injuries that we’re suffered and where we can begin to heal from our past. We need options, and alternatives, job training, access to education, assistance with basic life skills that often we’ve been denied. We need funding for programs and services that have been designed just for us because our needs are so unique and we can’t be fitted into a lot of traditional programs. Most of all, we need to stop turning a blind eye for what is happening in the streets of our city every night, to recognize this as a growing phenomenon, and to hear our voices from the shadows, and to take action to stop the continued sexual exploitation of New York City’s youth.” Rachel
“Every girl was given a breast number. Mine was 20. In Golden Million, Merry and her people never called anyone by name. If they wanted me, they would just call: 'Hey, twenty…' There were about 300 people working there, all with a breast number. We worked from 9pm till early morning. We were kept in a plain room under the direct supervision of two men we called Daddy, and a Mummy. A guest would first speak with Daddy and Mummy, who would then call us.” ~Dewi
“Who are we and why do we enter prostitution? Statistically, the average age that we enter prostitution is 13 years old, so we’re getting younger and younger. Eighty to ninety percent of us have been sexually abused as children, and therefore, struggling with many issues around sexuality, boundaries, shame and self-worth. Many of us are runaways, throw-aways, and often the street feels safer than home ever did…. We were vulnerable to a smooth-talking recruiter, who promised us the world, or at least a new pair of sneakers and jeans which at the time felt like the whole world to us.” ~Rachel
“As soon as we landed our passports were confiscated. At a Daewoosa shop, I had to work from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. and sometimes to 7 a.m. the next day, and also on Saturdays and Sunday without being paid. We had no money to buy food, amenities or soap. …Working and living conditions at Daewoosa were very suffocating. There was no air ventilation. Workers slept right next to each other. The temperature in the rooms sometime went up to over 100 degrees. We were not allowed to step out for fresh air…. We lived 36 people in one room. Another worker and I share one tiny bed. We can only sleep on our side, we can’t—if we lay on our back, we would pile on top of each other…. Mr. Lee used big American Samoan guards to terrorize us. …Everyone was fearful because two female workers, Nga and Dung, involved in the lawsuits against Mr. Lee had just disappeared…." ~Vi
