Blood gang member traffickers in California took Bryn M. Barton’s daughter, Kristi Merrill. In her interview, Bryn says, “It brought me to my knees, but I became almost insanely dedicated to finding her because nobody else would.”
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In the Booth with Ruth – Servaas Hofmeyr, Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate
Servaas Hofmeyr from South Africa says, “…because I have been given freedom, I feel the need to speak out for those who do not enjoy that privilege.” He shares what drives him to help in the fight against modern day slavery and how he is able to do this with the charity, STOP – Stop Trafficking of People.
How did you become involved in the movement against human trafficking?
While busy studying in 2008, I browsed around the web (as one does) and came across an article discussing the effects criminalisation and, alternatively, legalisation of prostitution has had in various countries. I was quite shocked to learn what conditions most of the prostituted women found themselves in – varying from being drug addicts, to suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, to being victims of regular abuse by both their pimps and clients.
Prostitution, of course, is only one channel through which trafficking occurs but as I browsed further I came across a short video clip produced by the A21 Campaign, in which the organisation’s founder, Christine Caine, explained how she first came to the knowledge of this worldwide injustice of slavery. What she was saying in that video touched something inside of me and led me to educate myself…
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In the Booth with Ruth – Bridget Perrier, Survivor of Child Trafficking and First Nations Educator & Co-Founder of Sextrade101
“In Canada there are so many First Nations girls who get caught up in the cycle of exploitation – we are seeing them enslaved as young as eleven years of age. Also there are an extremely high number of murdered and missing First Nations women; it is estimated in the amount of 3000,” says Bridget Perrier, a survivor of child trafficking and First Nations Educator & Co-Founder of Sextrade101. “I truly believe that human trafficking and prostitution go hand and hand. I believe as a First Nations woman that I need to be a strong voice and role model for my people, especially our girls.”
How did you become involved in the movement against human trafficking?
The reason why I became a part of the movement is because of my past as a child survivor and as a First Nations voice. I saw that for First Nations women there was very little representation in the movement. I also used my experience as a trafficked child. I was exploited at a very young age and felt that all the adults, professional and family, did a lot of nothing to help me, and in some ways, they made it worse. I was tired of being looked down on and blamed by society.
In Canada, there are so many First Nations girls who get caught up in the cycle of exploitation – we are seeing them enslaved as young as eleven years of age. Also there are an extremely high number of murdered and missing First Nations women…
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Soul Destruction 