43,200
In all the research, I have yet to come across information where a survivor or a victim has come out of their situation unscaved or has healed 100%, especially where children were involved in trafficking or abused.
The emotional, physical, and certain experiences become a constant reminder of their trauma for some victims. Reading this particular statement from a victim really hit me at the core requiring me to take a break. Think hard about this, one sex trafficking survivor by the name of Karla Jancinto calculated that she must have served up to 30 men a day for 7 days a week that lasted 4 years between the ages of 12 to 16. She says “I started at 10am and finished at midnight.“ That means she was raped about 43,200 times during her ordeal. In 2017 at the age of 24, she waived her rights to anonymity so she can dedicate her life to saving others from the Human Trafficking industry (Global Citizen, September 20, 2017). How does one survive and recover from that? She found a way, which is why she is giving back and making her life count.
Traffickers also mark what they consider their property, women mostly, with a branding mark such as a tattoo.
The branding of tattoos varies from region to country. For example, in Europe, barcodes were tattooed on the back of women's and girl’s neck. In the US, traffickers use initials or names. Oftentimes the victims are coerced if not forced. If coerced, the trafficker has phycological brainwashed the victims to the extreme. The victim often feels loyalty to their trafficker as ownership or protector. The trafficker has now reinforced his will on the victim and informs other traffickers operating in the same region that the girls or women belong to another trafficker.
If forced, the victims are emotionally distort with constant reminders of shame, fear, and helplessness. Victims may experience profound feelings of alienation and disconnection from their own bodies, as well as a sense of ongoing vulnerability and insecurity. The presence of branding tattoos can exacerbate feelings of stigma and self-blame, making it difficult for victims to seek help or disclose their experiences to others.
Tattoo removal and cover-up services play a crucial role in the healing process for trafficking survivors. These services offer victims the opportunity to reclaim ownership of their bodies and reclaim control over their lives. By removing or covering up branding tattoos, survivors can begin to shed the physical and emotional reminders of their exploitation and take steps towards reclaiming their sense of identity and self-worth (Heidi Chance, brainzmagazine.com).
