Neither the first, nor the last victim

On March 29 it was posted, on the blog survivoronamission.blogspot.com, a post about a survivor and her experience after watching "Don't call me Baby!":

Survivor's Journey in Defining Human Trafficking


"My personal ordeal beginning as a financial con, escalating to captivity, extreme physical & sexual abuse, escaping in May 2005, I knew enough about domestic abuse to recognize my experience included the 4 types: physical, sexual, emotional & financial.

Nearly five years later, attending a play by Dr. Ana Nogales "Don't Call me Baby" on human trafficking at the CASA0101 Theatre, I was stunned to learn the defining elements of human trafficking...one or more of these three elements meets the definition: Use of Force, Use of Coersion, or Fraud as a basis of re-locating for purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation. My own ordeal launched in fraud, followed with coersion and continued with force, extracting me from my young adult daughters, our South Bay home, a job and a life that delighted me...to the gloom and doom of Washington State, one of four states that in effect still considers domestic violence "a private matter". What this means is there are no local domestic violence ordinances, no protocols for protection. My assailant/trafficker has been sentenced on the physical violence, aggrevated by coersion, yet prosecution did not address the financial fraud. I was neither the first, nor the last "victim" of my assailant, in terms of domestic violence, or in terms of human trafficking (as I now understand it)."

It is hard to see and understand when we are trapped in the middle of a terrible situation what can be done to reach out for help and to end the pain. The purpose of my new play is to bring awareness about the fact and to reach out to victims and survivors - and their families, for them to look for help and support. They all need to be able to move on and have a rewarding life. There are many resources available but more work has to be done. There are still too many victims, old and young.

- Dr. Ana Nogales