Sophie Hayes journey through the shocking underworld of human trafficking.

1. Sophie Hayes journey through the shocking underworld of human trafficking. PowerPoint created by - Jay Ivana Rivera

2. Human trafficking is the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual abuse for the trafficker, or others; or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy and ova removal. Human trafficking can occur within a country or between nations. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim's rights of movement through pressure and because they are basically taking advantage of someone to make a profit off of them. Human trafficking is the trade in people, and does not necessarily involve the movement of the person to another location. Human trafficking is convicted as a violation of human rights by international agreements. In addition, human trafficking is subject to a directive in the European Union. Unfortunately human trafficking is practiced world wide and effects millions… it can happen to anyone. What is Human trafficking?

3. The Incident The incident I researched involved a woman who used a pseudonym (fake name) and an image of another woman’s face to protect herself. She called herself Sophie Hayes. When Sophie was 24, she went to visit a male friend in Italy. She had been friends with him for years, they met in a club in the British city of Leeds, where she lived and worked in human resources. Sophie eventually caught feelings for the guy, and saw potential for romance. But instead, he seized her passport, abused her and threatened her life and the lives of her twin teen brothers. He terrorized Sophie from then on, forcing her to help him pay a debt by selling her body on the streets. Sophie said the man was so unpredictable, she never knew what would spark his range. Even if she cooked his spaghetti wrong, she could get a beating. After 6 months, Sophie was so sick and exhausted, she felt like she physically couldn’t have sex anymore. She said “It felt like someone was putting a burning hot poker inside of me.” One night she collapsed and woke up in a hospital bed. Not sure of how she got there, Sophie immediately called her parents and they came and got her.

4. The Results . . . Sophie was afraid that if she gave evidence against the man, he’ll send someone to kill her. Also what I learned, due to global laws, if a crime occurs in a different country it’s often difficult to prosecute. However, the male was eventually imprisoned for drugs in Italy, and attempted shooting in England. Sophie has started the Sophie Hayes Foundation to raise awareness about human trafficking. People think it can only happen to someone who is poor or someone who had a bad upbringing, but they’re wrong. It can happen to anyone. And sometimes the perpetrator is often someone you love and trust, not a stranger.

5. Why’d you choose that topic ? I chose human trafficking because I use to watch a lot of life time movies relating to that particular social injustice, human trafficking had interest me for a while and I wanted to learn more about and see what someone’s terrifying experience was like.