Trafficked
My Story of Surviving, Escaping, and Transcending Abduction into Prostitution
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4.4 • 143 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The haunting, unforgettable memoir that took the UK by storm, Trafficked is a gripping first-hand account of a young woman who survived the horrors of human trafficking.
Sophie Hayes, a young, educated English woman, was spending an idyllic weekend in Italy with her seemingly charming boyfriend. But the day of her return home, he made it clear she wasn't going anywhere. Punching and shouting at her, he threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't cooperate to help him pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars he'd racked up in debts.
Over the next six months, Sophie is forced to work as a prostitute in a country where she didn't speak the language, nobody knows her whereabouts, and escape seems impossible. She struggles to survive, constantly at the mercy of her boyfriend's violent moods and living in fear of being killed by any of her customers. When a life-threatening illness lands her in the hospital, Sophie has a chance to phone her mother and escape—if her boyfriend doesn't get to her first.
Chilling and captivating, Trafficked is one of the first memoirs to present a stunning personal look at the criminal human sex trafficking trade and bring this disturbingly widespread abuse to light.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At age 18, British national Hayes was lured from her family by a 19-year-old Albanian illegal immigrant named Kas, abducted into Italy, and forced into prostitution at gunpoint to pay off his enormous debts. Her harrowing story reads like a real life version of the Liam Neeson film Taken, except for that story's quick resolution. Hayes describes in detail the six months she spent as a sex slave working seven nights a week, servicing "on average, about twenty-five customers every night." The book is a gripping if grim look at the psychology behind the pimp-whore relationship: Kas plays upon Hayes's emotional vulnerability and lack of self-worth: "Kas's anger with me was justified and he was right: I was far too stupid to be loved by anyone... gradually, as the minutes and the hours ticked by, my mind shut down and the numbness almost obliterated the fear and revulsion." She finally gathered the courage to contact her family for help and returned to England, where she is now the founder of her own antitrafficking charity, the Sophie Hayes Foundation. Her disturbing look at sex slavery starkly raises awareness and should achieve her stated goal that the story "might help to keep other girls safe."
Customer Reviews
A Remarkable Read
What a remarkable story! Sophie’s boldness to detail her story in great depth is outstanding. It’s worth reading and exposing yourself to the awareness and grave reality of many men, women, and children.
Love!
One of my favorites so far!
Trafficked
Riveting. Couldn't put it down. Disturbing, yet well written and honest. Heart wrenching. Don't hesitate. Opens your eyes.