By promising her money, a family, and a business he lured Jasmine into trafficking. The business was disguised as a massage parlor in Hartford, Connecticut. Although it looked harmless from the outside, the workers inside were trapped into sex slavery. After spending time in Connecticut, Jasmine was trafficked to another brothel in Maine. Once the brothel in Maine was shut down, Jasmine, still under the control of her boyfriend and now pimp, was sold on Craigslist.
He seemed like the perfect boyfriend, little did she know, that this whirlwind of a relationship would result in her spending seven years of her life in captivity. Luckily, Jasmine eventually escaped for good after many failed attempts.
Because she had become so dependent on her trafficker, escaping seemed impossible.
Not only was Jasmine, like most girls, emotionally dependent, but she also relied on her trafficker for food, money, and shelter. Without him, she had absolutely nowhere to turn. Many trafficked girls experience the same events as Jasmine, they become emotionally dependent on a boyfriend and then have no way of escaping when they are sold to other men for sex.
Jasmine was just a white, middle class, Boston girl. However, due to the torture she endured for over half a decade.
“For the first time in [her] life turned to drugs to cope.”
By starting off on prescription painkillers, Jasmine moved on to heroin. The drug addiction lasted three years before family and friends were finally able to provide the support necessary for Jasmine to end her addiction. When a person leaves the world of human trafficking, they have a great sense of shame attached to them. Everyday they have to relive what they were forced to experience, and drugs are often an outlet with survivors.
A Case Study: Jasmine Marino-Fiandaca
"He seemed like the perfect boyfriend"
Jasmine Marino-Fiandaca, a young woman from Boston, knows far too well what it means to be a victim of trafficking. Like most teenagers, Jasmine longed for attention. Her middle class home often erupted in fights which propelled Jasmine to run away from home for a few days at a time. When she was just 19 Jasmine fell head over heels in love with an older man. Not only did he give her the attention she was not getting at home, but he also provided for her, buying her expensive gifts and jewelry. The new boyfriend seemed perfect for Jasmine, he told her how much he loved her and cared about her, giving her a false sense of security. Through his emotional manipulation, Jasmine became grateful to him, and wanted to do anything she could to pay him back for everything he had given her.
Watch Jasmine's Story
Now, Jasmine works with teens in the same situation. She hopes to help the girls attain their freedom and make a mark on the industry as a whole. However, Jasmine’s story is not an isolated event every day average American girls just like Jasmine are lured into the sex industry. In order to combat the industry, young girls need to recognize and avoid abusive relationships. The Norway model helps prevent horrors like these from occurring. The reason Jasmine, like many other survivors was held in captivity for so long is because of the demand of human trafficking. Prostitution is the world’s oldest profession for a reason, there has been, and will always be a market for it. However, by making prostitution illegal, the market does not go away, it is simply pushed underground. With an open market, willing participants meet supply, instead of young girls coerced into the business. With the right to choose, the right to own your own body to sell as you please the dependence that kept Jasmine in the business for so long disappears.