Lured by Hope, Trapped by Lies: Healing after Being Trafficked

“I believed in the promise of a better future,” Maria recalled, “but found myself trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t escape.”

Forced into labour and sexual exploitation, she lived in fear, rarely seeing sunlight, with her freedom stripped away.

© IOM/Gema Cortés | Maria has found stability and strength, determined to turn her story into one of resilience and healing.

Held captive for months

After eight months in captivity, Maria managed to escape. It wasn’t the end of her struggles, but the start of a slow, determined journey toward healing. 

Now 29, she lives in Trinidad and Tobago with her partner and their two young children, aged one and five. Though her days are now filled with school runs and shared meals, the trauma still lingers.

She smiles when she speaks of them, but her voice carries the weight of everything she has survived.

“It hasn’t been easy,” she said, her voice shaking. “But, I am building a new life, step by step.”

Back in Venezuela, her family knows nothing of what she endured. Shame and fear have kept her silent. It’s been seven years since she last saw her parents and siblings.

Although she misses them deeply, the weight of what happened still feels too heavy to put into words.

© IOM/Gema Cortés | Maria draws strength from her two young children, now aged one and five, as she rebuilds her life.

Combatting human trafficking

Like many survivors of human trafficking, Maria has had to rebuild more than just her physical safety. The emotional wounds run deep, and the stigma surrounding trafficking makes recovery even harder.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been by her side, offering psychosocial support, helping her find safe housing and providing the tools to rebuild her life. 

“We work tirelessly to combat human trafficking,” says Desery Jordan-Whiskey, reporting project assistant in Trinidad and Tobago.

“Our commitment is to provide critical assistance to survivors while advocating for stronger policies to prevent exploitation and ensure justice.”

Maria is one of many women across the region who have been lured by false promises and found themselves in situations of exploitation.

She knows there’s a long road ahead, but she refuses to be defined by her past.

“I want other women to know they are not alone. There is life after this, there is strength.”

Her story sheds light on the wider human trafficking crisis, where women and girls are disproportionately affected.

According to the 2024 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 52 per cent of victims in Central America and the Caribbean are girls under the age of 18, and 62 per cent are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

Behind every statistic is a human being, a daughter, a sister, a mother, trying to survive and recover.

But, numbers cannot capture the courage it takes to begin again.

“I am living proof that you can rebuild your life,” Maria says, her voice steady now. “It takes time, but it’s possible.”

*The name has been changed to protect their identity.