How I Got Sex Trafficked-Alia

Quick Overview

Alia recounts her journey into sex trafficking, which began around age 13 after running away from home due to childhood trauma, feeling unwanted, and seeking escape through drugs, leading her to connect with a man via MySpace who groomed and exploited her, ultimately cycling through abusive and trafficking situations until she made a breakthrough decision at age 27 to enter a program after losing custody of her children.

Key Points: Alia started running away around age 12 because she felt unwanted and sought to escape feelings by getting high, stating, "how do I just not feel all of the things that suck to feel?" She met her first trafficker through MySpace at age 13, who told her everything she wanted to hear, like "I love you. Like, I'm choosing you. Like, it's gonna be you and me forever," fulfilling a deep need for male attention and belonging. The initial sexual exploitation began about two months into the relationship when the trafficker asked her to 'hook up with Ace' to pay for a hotel room, which she complied with because she wanted to impress him and felt they were a 'ride or die' partnership. When actively working for her trafficker around age 14, she was servicing approximately 10 men a day, sometimes making $1,000 every couple of days, but he would only give her about $80. Alia eventually called the police at age 19 after having her first child and experiencing extreme violence from a subsequent abusive partner, but the police response was dismissive, leading her to believe, "nobody's going to help you." Her core motive shifted from wanting to be wanted (until age 24) to wanting to survive and be a good mom, which ironically kept her in the life because she believed she needed the money to provide for her kids until she could transition out at age 30. Alia finally exited the life after losing custody of all three children, which removed her prior excuse for staying, leading her to call a mental health crisis line, successfully get taken to a psych ward, and ultimately enter a program where she threw away her trafficking paraphernalia.