Latest / Behind The Village Podcast / Surviving a Decade of Human Trafficking | Angel Power

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Surviving a Decade of Human Trafficking | Angel Power · Behind The Village Podcast

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You're listening to the Behind the Village podcast,
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where we invite you to join us on a journey to
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understand how to live a life worth living. Angel's
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a local woman who endured so much darkness and
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struggle due to exploitation and human trafficking.
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She managed to claw her way free and now is passionate
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about sharing her story, educating others, and
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supporting those who have found themselves in
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the midst of similar experiences. This is her
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story. Yeah, so I am a survivor, survivor of
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human trafficking and so much more that came
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with it. I was groomed by my dad and exploited
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by friends of my dad and I was trapped in that
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world for about a decade in just the world of
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darkness. Everything that came with it or that
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you can imagine that came with that. from mental
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health issues to addiction issues, all sorts
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of things that were very tough, where I was just
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stuck in this darkness for so long. But I was
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able to reclaim my life ultimately. My last trafficker
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was charged and convicted. And I am the author
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of two books, The Darkness and the Light, and
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From a Caterpillar to a Butterfly, The Transformation
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from Victim to Victorious. And so I also kind
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of reclaimed my life by now going to where I'm
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called to be of service, to help to expose this
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darkness and some of the injustices. and to also
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try to help to inspire other survivors to see
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that there is hope that we can reclaim our lives.
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And so that's basically been my journey. I was
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already a victim of trauma. I was trying to already
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escape a perpetrator and had already fallen through
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the cracks in the level of the courts and was
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not being protected. even on that level. So there
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was a time when I was seeking protection from
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this dangerous man, perpetrator. And it was actually
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something as innocent as when I was trafficked,
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you know, you picture it is by force or you picture
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like the pimps with guns and that kind of thing.
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I was going to get ice cream that day. And I
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always speak of this how it's like uncharacteristically
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innocent of me. But this one day, I wasn't even
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up to no good kind of thing. This one day I was
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just going to get ice cream. And when I went
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to get ice cream, beside the ice cream shop,
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without naming specifics, these guys came out
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and they kind of like catcalled, did the catcall
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thing, hey girl kind of thing. But then when
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they approached me, I realized, like, small town,
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the one guy was a friend of my dad's. So then
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it was like, oh, hey, are you so -and -so's daughter?
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And I was like, are you so -and -so? And then
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I thought, like, this guy just basically then
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was like, come inside, took me under his wing.
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So I thought, like, because this guy had known
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my dad, he had actually lived with my dad when
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I was a kid, I thought, like, he was going to
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see me differently and not see me in a sexualizing
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way. And when I told him about how I was trying
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to escape this abuser, this dangerous man, and
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how the system had failed me and that kind of
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thing, he just was like, come on in. You're safe
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with me. No one will mess with you if you're
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here. And I was trying to relocate. I was trying
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to establish a life for myself. So that was it
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for me. He offered me protection, safety, that
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I could live there, that he would keep me safe.
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And then it came to a time where I was like,
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you know, I gotta get a job. I need some money.
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I can't just live with you. I need to try to
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establish my own stuff and get my own place."
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And then that's when he was like, I know a place
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where you can work. You don't even need to give
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a resume. You don't need any experience. You'll
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basically be able to party all night and you'll
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be making so much money. And then basically the
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rest is history. It's so much easier even now
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to exploit. I didn't even know that I was being
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trafficked until about 10 years after. I was
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out and safe. So this is something that's very
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challenging that sometimes a victim doesn't even
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know they're a victim. So I had people telling
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me, this guy is, this guy's pimp, you know that,
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right? Like other girls were saying that to me
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and I was like, no, no, no, no. This guy's a
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friend of my dad's. He's known me since I was
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a kid and he's just helping me out. And this
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guy too, he was telling me, you know, So he was
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transporting me there and back, picking me up.
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And it was a different city. And he was like,
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I'll hold on to all your money because it's not
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safe for you to have all this cash. So this guy
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was like, I have a safe where it will literally
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be safe in there. And so he was also keeping
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all my money and holding on to all my money.
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I thought one day I was pretty much like, OK,
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I should have some money accumulated there. I
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should probably have enough to be able to start
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my own life and I'll be taking that, thank you.
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I think I'd like to start looking for apartments
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and that. This was actually on the ride home
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from the club one night and so he was a bit intoxicated
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and he just flat out said, like, you're not getting
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your money and I'm gonna keep every cent you
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made tonight. So that's where it all sort of
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changed. Like up until then. Thought this guy's
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looking out for me. I thought okay. This is kind
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of like uncomfortable like you know I I was not
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able to manage without alcohol and those kinds
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of things But I did just think it was fun and
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games. I did just think it was just a party kind
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of life and also I was getting attention That
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felt fulfilling although was a false sense of
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attention it was negative, but for someone who
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felt a void there. It felt like some level of
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false sense of power. And then also, because
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this lifestyle is glamorized so much in movies,
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in videos, with our top artists and that, so...
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Being seen as sexy and that kind of thing like
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we had bachelor parties coming in that we are
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signing their shirts and stuff You would feel
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like a celebrity sort of I mean, I think I felt
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cool at a time like them before I You know, it
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almost killed me. There were times where it's
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like, oh look at me I feel like I'm on top of
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the world and aren't I so cool or I'm with like
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the the cool people or whatever But anyway when
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it all changed that one day When I was getting
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the ride back to his place and he told me that
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and when he said that You know, you're not getting
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anything and I'll keep everything you made tonight.
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I actually was like, okay, well pop the trunk
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then I'll get my bag and I'll be on my way like
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let me out of this car so they stopped a car
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let me out I grabbed my bag and I start walking
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not even knowing where I'm going and It wasn't
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like, I don't know, minutes before I heard like
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the footsteps behind me and all of a sudden the
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car was in front of me and doors open and I'm
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thrown in the car and then we're driving back
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to the house and I'm being threatened, this guy's
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like swinging from the front seat and at this
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point there's a time for the defiant self and
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there's a time to be quiet and de -escalate if
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you can and I think inherently survival. I knew
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that and so I just got through that car ride
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and I waited until we were back at the house
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and I waited until the one fell asleep the other
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one went to go get his girlfriend and I left
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that house in the middle of the night and the
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messed up thing is is that I my dad lived just
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up the street five minutes away so when I left
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that house in the middle of the night First of
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all, there was money, there was jewelry, there
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was all these valuables, and I didn't take anything.
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Even though my money was there, I didn't take
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anything because I didn't want this guy to have
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a reason to come after me. And I went up the
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street to my dad's house. And I don't even remember
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specifically, like too clearly, I just remember
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that my dad didn't even let me in the door. He
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was not helping me and I was on my own. And he
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didn't even let me inside. And he was like mad
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at me for something. I don't know, maybe it was
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too late or something to knock on the door or
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something. And so from that moment is when basically
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I continued trafficking myself because I didn't
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know what to do. My dad had shut the door on
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me. I felt ashamed to go to my mom and brother.
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So much love there, but I felt ashamed and kept
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my secrets within, which is a huge part of the
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darkness too. This was difficult to hear. You
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can see how quickly things snowball in the wrong
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direction. The most surprising is the fact that
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victims of human trafficking often don't know
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they're being trafficked until they're out. How
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did Angel manage to escape? It seemed like I
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would never get out for a long time. So, yeah,
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and I know of people who don't get out, you know,
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and I can imagine I don't know of other people's
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fates, but like those who maybe didn't as well,
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you know? It seems like a long time to have been
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trapped in the darkness, but really, so many
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others never get out, so... I really fell through
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the cracks with police specifically as well.
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So one part of it is... for so long where I didn't
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understand that I was a victim. I just simply
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that took away my being informed to know to go
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to the police, to know to seek help. So that's
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why education is so important. Awareness is so
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important in that kind of piece because that
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robbed me of my ability to seek help for myself
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for so long. But then When I did realize I need
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some help here, and when I did seek help time
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and time again, I fell through the cracks so,
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so far down the cracks. It seemed like there
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would never be any light in sight or any hope.
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And then you distrust the system. Well, I think
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a big part of this where we fall through the
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cracks with police is the victim blaming, the
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stigmatizing. the dehumanizing. So what do you
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do? Escape, numb, you know, turn to the vicious
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cycles. And that's where things like addiction
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kept me stuck and things like mental health issues
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form because of keeping in this misplaced shame,
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where carrying this shame for so long from these
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people who should have had the blame all along,
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having that blame put on the victim extremely
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detrimental, as you can imagine, very, very harmful.
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It is a process, and that's something else that
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can be a misconception. Statistically, it takes
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a survivor about seven attempts before you can
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actually escape or exit. So often we think, like,
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when people say, why does she go back? It's very
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common, but for me it may have been 17, it may
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have been 70, like it was so many attempts of
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trying to get out. Ultimately, so this time frame
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is kind of unclear to me, understandably, due
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to the trauma or even assaults or whatever. But
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police reports, show that I was found, as they
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say, beaten and unconscious on the side of a
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road in Toronto where police intervened. So that's
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what it took. I'll just emphasize that is what
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it took before I finally had actual police intervention,
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actually had support intervene and take me seriously.
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I finally met one of the good police officers
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on my path. And as much as I will never forget
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the harmful ones, I'll never forget the good.
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And this one officer was really passionate about
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helping me and about convicting my last trafficker.
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And this was also another reason how I was able
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to get out is the laws started to catch up with
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things. We didn't always have laws for human
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trafficking. We didn't not only understand what
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it was or have the terminology, but there was
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no laws to enforce or to help. So when this last
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incident happened, they had laws now and they
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identified it as human trafficking. And so all
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of a sudden, people cared. People stepped in.
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And you also have You know, it can be harmful
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to have police doing nothing and stigmatizing.
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It can also be kind of harmful when they have
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a hero complex though, which can be kind of like
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a newer problem that I experienced. So all of
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a sudden everyone had a hero complex with this
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last incident because it's like drew attention,
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like left for dead on the side of the road, beaten
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and unconscious. All of a sudden, like everyone
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wanted to be like, we're on this case. It's like
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I was trying to seek help for years before it
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got to this, and I've been telling you, but now
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all of a sudden everyone wanted to listen. I
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mean, I haven't stopped telling them since. Since
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they wanted to listen, I am, you know, that's
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been a part of what helped me to heal was being
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able to have a voice to reclaim a voice. I did
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cooperate with the police. and I just took the
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help that they were finally offering and I ran
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with it and look at the difference that can make
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because I've never looked back and just like
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things can snowball in a bad way like they were
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always snowballing out of control things started
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to snowball in a good way where all of a sudden
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there was so much clean time or there was so
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much progress or there was so much accomplished
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or achieved that there was no going back. there
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used to be victim compensation for victims of
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crime. So at the time that was offered to me
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and I took that victim compensation money and
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I used it to publish my first book. So that was
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very kind of therapeutic for me because as I
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say, like I wrote to cope and I couldn't carry
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the story within me. I needed to get it out.
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So I say, like, I just puked out this book, basically,
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vomited it out, and this book was born. My first
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book, it's in memory of the forgotten and born
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for the unborn. And it speaks to those injustices
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and things that I went through and the victim
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blaming and the stigmatizing and so much more.
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So being able to expose that in that way. is
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really what helped me to reclaim and to now be
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valued for my voice instead of my worth determined
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by my body to be able to actually be heard instead
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of silenced. So that's something that also kind
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of gave me new purpose and it just helped me
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to Also deal with survivors guilt because just
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like when you Survive a car accident and someone
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else doesn't make it and there's that survivors
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guilt Going through something like this where
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I know so many others probably didn't make it
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out or who knows what became of their fate It
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could really really be hard to live with or cope
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with so I view it as Take survivors guilt. I
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reframe it to survivors responsibility And for
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me, for my path individually, I feel like I have
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the responsibility to tell the story of what
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I endured, what I went through, expose the darkness,
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and to also help be the light, help people see
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the light, and to just sort of to show people
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that there is life after surviving. So where
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does there need to be change? I'm curious to
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see, in Angel's opinion, what can be done to
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help prevent this from happening to others. And
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what does Angel do now for those who have unfortunately
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endured similar experiences? I think education
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and awareness is huge, so talking about these
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issues that are uncomfortable to talk about,
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basically anyone is at. risk to fall into. When
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you see someone panhandling on the street sometimes
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it's a woman still more vulnerable. Just imagine
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how at risk they are to a trafficker coming by
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and saying you know I've got a job where you
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can make some money or you know I've got I've
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got some a place where you will be safe. Another
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thing if we don't have safe housing for people
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there that's another risk factor for within society
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where um it's so we it makes it easier for the
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perpetrators to target. Because if we have unmet
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needs, then there's... always someone coming
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around the corner, a perpetrator that's like,
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hey, I can meet those needs or tell you a story
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of how they will and mislead you into thinking
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that they will. It really is such a bigger issue,
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such a societal issue when you don't have the
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systemic support or you don't have even like
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the social support or even just the understanding.
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then it really, those trying to protect are helpless
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as well to protect. And that's another thing
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that sometimes people don't understand. We need
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more support for families of victims of crime
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who want to help them because they are really,
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they are on their own in the fight too. And it's
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not until we have kind of collaborating within
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the different organizations and systems that
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we can really see a change when, like I said,
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it takes a village. So when everyone is in it
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together and working together, then I think that
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that's when there's more hope for change. But
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until then, it really keeps us stuck. But we
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need that collaborative partnerships, I think,
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to really be able to get somewhere within having
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support within the system. One of the organizations
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that was helping me on my path, Arise Ministry,
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specifically works with survivors of sexual exploitation,
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human trafficking. They were helping me, what
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was like a 12 -week program, became like a two
20:15
-year. the counseling for me, but it was an inclusive
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space where I felt safe, where I was accepted,
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where they met me, where I was at on my journey.
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And then eventually they created a position for
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me. and I had like a lived experience kind of
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job role there within that organization. So since
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2018, I've done peer support for them. I also
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do like consulting and speaking through them.
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So we've gone to schools and churches, reserves
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and different places to speak and educate. But
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I'll also do peer support if we have a client
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that wants to talk with someone who has been
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through it, then I'm available to support people
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on their journey like that. So there's that piece
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with my books and speaking that also open doors,
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like the books open doors to speaking opportunities.
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Like I kind of said before, I will just go to
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where I'm called to be of service. So that's
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separate from, there's my work with the organization,
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and then there's just wherever I'm guided to
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be to go individually. I will go and speak or
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connect with people to try to help bring awareness
21:32
to this issue or to try to help others to know
21:35
that they're not alone or that there is hope.
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And then... I also started a support group in
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my old community where I lived in like a community
21:47
housing. A lot of us women were at one point
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in a women's shelter together and then we got
21:54
housing. But it was a very corrupt, challenging...
21:59
difficult place to live. So after surviving there,
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I created a group called Thrive and started doing
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just community groups, potlucks and just events
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and stuff for for whoever wanted to join in to
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just have some safe space for just positive experiences.
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And that was That's been active since 2018 as
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well. I also have a Christmas mission that I
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do for people who don't have plans because I
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know that the holidays can be very challenging
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for survivors or people with addictions or people
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who don't have big family supports and that.
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So that's another part of what I do. I also am
22:48
a fire keeper with a traditional grandmother
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for moon ceremonies. And that is also where I
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can just everyone is invited to be part of a
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safe space where it's also inclusive, but it's
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another form of kind of healing and turning to
23:07
our spirituality to cope. So that's a big part
23:11
of my life too. And those are all ways that I'm
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able to kind of give back and be of service and
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kind of feel that I'm making an impact. I think
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that a part of it is just to be able to find
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our voice is huge, to be able to reclaim, to
23:35
realize our worth. These things I hope for survivors,
23:41
but as much as I hope for survivors to find their
23:45
voice, I hope for society to listen. And I think
23:50
that that's really my future hopes, is that we
23:54
begin to actually listen to survivors, honor
23:58
survivors, stop victim blaming, stop stigmatizing,
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stop dehumanizing, put the blame on the people
24:04
that it belongs, even if they are people in positions
24:08
of power or people who you wouldn't, you know,
24:11
that had respect prior. I really hope that we
24:15
can have a societal, systematic, cultural shift
24:20
in this way, and a better understanding for what
24:28
really goes on, and also the hope to end the
24:34
demand, which seems so complex, so impossible.
24:38
But it's all about supply and demand. And if
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we didn't have that demand, we wouldn't need
24:43
that supply. And so if we can really try to make
24:49
a change there where people are, it's not only
24:55
criminalized, but it is completely just, it's
25:03
not so glamorized and normalized to objectify
25:07
or to sexualize. So there's so many things that
25:11
need to happen there, like I said, like culturally,
25:14
socially, even within mainstream media and things,
25:18
but we need to end the demand. I think also to
25:24
have more trauma informed with law enforcement
25:28
for victims' rights within the judicial system,
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because we have criminal rights, but We really
25:37
need to protect victims and for there to be more
25:40
advocacy and clear rights for victims. And there
25:43
is some work being done there. And I am actively
25:47
trying to be a part of that and help with that.
25:49
I've spoken with attorney generals and different
25:52
people in power. And we are sort of looking at
25:54
ways to somewhat rewrite the system where we
25:57
can. But we need more of that. And we need it
26:01
to be survivor informed. So when we create more
26:06
positions for lived experience for survivors,
26:10
then I think that that's also where there's hope
26:14
for the future as well. And I think the last
26:20
thing, too, to just touch on that I think is
26:22
really important is just also that we have long
26:26
-term supports and not just within the immediate
26:28
crisis. Because like I spoke of some people have
26:33
like a hero complex and they want to step in
26:35
when there's this immediate big crisis and they
26:37
want to help in that moment. But if you don't
26:40
have long term sustainable supports for a survivor
26:43
for after they're out, they will just fall back
26:47
in. So it's one thing to get them out, but how
26:50
do we help them to stay out? And that comes back
26:54
to things like housing and just long -term supports
26:56
and all kinds of, again, systemic and societal
27:01
responsibilities. Thank you, Angel, for being
27:09
open to sharing your story. And thank you for
27:12
using your voice to help others and to help educate.
27:18
Thank you for listening to the entire episode.
27:20
All the links and info you heard in this conversation
27:22
will be featured in the show notes on our website.
27:25
If you'd like to know more about anything we
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