(WOMENSENEWS)—When I was 18 years old, I fell in love. I had met a man near the University of Oregon campus who seemed to love me as much as I loved him.
Even though I was a promising high school student, varsity athlete and on the honor role, I had a vulnerability. I found myself, between high school and college, pregnant, unwed and now suddenly trying to figure out my future. He seemed to have all the answers, promises and security. He hooked me in with ideals of white picket fences and a home where my child and I could thrive.
This is how countless girls and women are defrauded and forced into prostitution, and it’s the story of the vast majority of those whose bodies are bought and sold into prostitution. Many people envision human trafficking as kidnapped children in developing countries, but the reality of modern slavery exists among us in our very own communities.