# How I Got Sex Trafficked-Alia Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgwKlncE-28 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/wgwKlncE-28 Generated: 2026-01-27T11:32:55.086+00:00 --- ## 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. **Context:** This transcript is an interview where Alia details her personal history, beginning with her upbringing in Ventura, California, marked by family dysfunction, the revelation that her perceived father was not her biological one (who was wealthy but unknown to her), and significant childhood trauma including sexual abuse from her mother's boyfriends starting around age four. This background of feeling unwanted fueled her teenage behavior of running away, which ultimately led her into the control of a man who trafficked her starting around age 13. ## Detailed Analysis Alia's experience was a continuous cycle driven by profound feelings of being unwanted, stemming from early childhood trauma and dysfunctional family dynamics. She began running away at 12, using MySpace to connect with adults to escape negative feelings through intoxication. At 13, she met a trafficker who manipulated her need for commitment and validation, using phrases like "I'm choosing you" to secure compliance. Her exploitation escalated quickly, involving routine transactional sex, sometimes up to ten times a day. Later relationships involved escalating violence, including one partner who was physically abusive after she had her first child at 19. Her attempts to escape were repeatedly met with systemic failure; when she called the police at 19 out of fear for her life, they essentially ignored her and she subsequently lost custody of her children to CPS. This loss of custody removed her primary justification for staying in the life, which she had rationalized as a means to provide for them until she could get a cosmetology degree. After being abandoned without resources by a subsequent abusive partner, she experienced a moment of clarity, recognizing that returning to the cycle would either lead to suicide or the same outcome. By contacting crisis services and demanding transport to a psychiatric facility, she initiated her exit, culminating in her throwing away her trafficking gear at her grandmother's house before committing to a program in Chicago, marking her final departure from the life she had been in since her early teens. ### Early Life and Trauma - Alia grew up in dysfunctional family environment in Ventura, CA - Her mother was labeled the 'black sheep' - She experienced sexual abuse from her mother's boyfriends starting at age four. ### Onset of Running Away - She started running away at age 12 feeling unwanted and seeking to numb feelings through drugs - She utilized MySpace to connect with people offering escape and highs. ### Entry into Trafficking - Met her first trafficker via MySpace at age 13 who offered false promises of love and permanence - This fulfilled her desire for male attention and feeling chosen. ### Exploitation Details - The exploitation began two months in when she was coerced into sex work to pay for lodging - By age 14, she was seeing around 10 men daily, earning substantial money which her trafficker largely kept. ### Systemic Failures and Consequences - At 19, after experiencing severe violence, her call to police was ignored, leading to CPS removing her son - She believed the system failed her, reinforcing the idea that she had to rely only on herself. ### The Cycle and Motives - For years, she cycled between pimps and men promising rescue, motivated first by wanting to be wanted, then by wanting to be a good mother - She only saw an exit when losing her children removed her main justification for staying. ### Final Exit Strategy - After being abandoned by a violent partner, she chose the option of seeking mental health help over returning to the pimp or suicide - She discarded her 'hoing stuff' at her grandmother's house before entering a program in Chicago, achieving a moment of clarity.