Mara's Courageous Pursuit of Justice
By Caitlin Kinder
Content warning for human trafficking and abuse.
After an unpredictable upbringing, *Mara dreamed of stability in her finances and family. And when she fell in love with a young man online who connected her with a job opportunity, she thought her dreams were coming true.
But when Mara moved to be with him, he trafficked Mara for sexual exploitation.
With his family’s complicity, Mara’s “boyfriend” took Mara to cities all across the UK, making a profit from Mara’s abuse. Mara saw none of the money she made; it went straight to her traffickers, who spent it on their interests and pleasures.
After nearly a year of horrific abuse, Mara managed to escape her traffickers and report them to the police. Her traffickers tried to flee the country, but fortunately, they were apprehended by law enforcement.
At the beginning of this year, their trial began, and thanks to Mara’s testimony and the support of Dressember’s partner, International Justice Mission, three traffickers were found guilty this year.
With the support of people like you, more women will now be protected from experiencing the same brutal abuse as Mara.
“One of the things that makes us feel hopeful is the willingness of the UK authorities to engage and to improve cross-border cooperation. They show a lot of trust in IJM, and they are willing to work more on cases with Romania.”
- IJM Social Services and Criminal Justice Liaison Officer
Most of the survivors IJM works with in UK-related cases are young women, predominantly from rural areas. The most encountered recruitment method used by traffickers in these cases is the “lover boy” method, in which human traffickers groom women over a lengthy period, manipulating them into believing they are in a loving, committed relationship to exploit them.
Nearly 2 million people are experiencing human trafficking in Europe, and Romania consistently ranks in the top three European countries for the highest number of identified victims of trafficking each year. According to IJM, Romania is the source country for 44% of all sex trafficking-related prosecutions in Europe, and according to Europol, less than 50% of victims receive any assistance from the government.
When you support Dressember, you help support programs in Eastern Europe that help protect vulnerable children, women, and men in Romania and beyond. Your dollars create exit pathways for victims of trafficking, prosecute criminals, and provide training to a network of collaborators who unify around a shared set of best practices to prevent and combat human trafficking.
Mara is a survivor, and we celebrate her freedom. Together, we can fight to end human trafficking for women like her in Europe.
Join our prevention, intervention, and survivor empowerment efforts by becoming an advocate for the Dressember 2023 campaign and giving a gift to Dressember today.
About the Author
Caitlin Kinder is a third-year advocate for Dressember because she believes that all people have inherent dignity and value. She recently graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s degree in English Creative Writing and is now an editorial intern for Dressember while she remains in Lubbock, Texas, investing in her local community. Caitlin enjoys dancing, hiking, painting, and sitting around a dinner table with her friends. You can find her at @caitkind on Instagram.