If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
When we hear the term “human trafficking,” some of us may think of Hollywood and the 2008 thriller “Taken.” Exotic Scenes from abroad flood our minds. We picture European mansions filled with wealthy men smoking cigars while bidding on American girls from behind a two-way mirror. We picture kidnappings, hands and feet bound with zip ties, and duct tape over freshly applied lipstick. We scoff when we think of such horrors ever happening in real life – ever happening to us.
Not here in my small town, we think to ourselves. Our children are safe.
But are they really?
An Oregon Girl’s Survival
Rebecca Bender’s parents probably thought their daughter was safe, too. A southern Oregon resident, she was raised no differently than the majority of her peers – grew up in a small town, had divorced but caring parents, and was a varsity athlete at school. She was even accepted into Oregon State University. She had a life plan with goals and dreams. However, when she got pregnant the summer before her freshman year of college, Rebecca made the bold decision to keep her baby and withdraw from her fall classes at OSU.
After having her daughter, she moved in with friends down in Eugene. Rebecca was not traveling abroad when she encountered the evils of sex trafficking, nor was she dragged into a dark room and tied helplessly to a stained mattress. For Rebecca, her visit to hell began with a simple date in Track Town with a man who seemed like the perfect gentleman.
“He was funny and charming,” Rebecca wrote in a 2018 blog post featured in Thorn. “He got to know my hopes, my dreams, my fears.”
He claimed to be a record producer in Portland, which required frequent out-of-town trips. After only six months together, he invited her and her daughter to move with him to Las Vegas, where he would further pursue his career in entertainment.
When they arrived in Vegas, he wasted no time in forcing Rebecca into the sex trade. For six years, she was bought, sold, and branded by various traffickers.
“I never fully understood the complexity of force, fraud, and coercion that played out in my everyday life,” said Bender. She explained that, although she was never physically kidnapped or forced to do certain things, she certainly did not choose the lifestyle she was thrown into.
“See, trafficking isn’t always abductions,” she said. “It’s a slow, gradual expansion of boundaries and an increase in trust.”
Bender went on to explain that her traffickers used brainwashing as a technique to manipulate her and force her to stay in the industry. When she obeyed them, they would reward her with food for her and her daughter, an apartment, and even a trip to Disneyland. When she broke the rules, they would punish her with starvation and sleep deprivation.
Thankfully, Bender and her daughter were rescued in 2007 after law enforcement raided their home. She founded the Rebecca Bender Initiative, a non-profit organization that combats human trafficking through awareness, recovery, and restoration. Additionally, she wrote a book titled In Pursuit of Love, which shares her incredible story.
The Devil Next Door
Nearly five million adults and children are currently victims of sex trafficking in the United States. Traffickers can trap victims anywhere, any time – and appear perfectly innocent while doing it.
Rebecca’s original trafficker did not fit the description most think of when they imagine a man who sells women for sex. He dressed well, always paid for their dates, and even won over her family. He could have easily shopped at the same grocery store as your sibling, or picked up his coffee from the same campus cafe as your best friend, and you would have never picked him out as the stereotypical “pimp” we have been introduced to on TV.
He would smile and flirt his way through the checkout line, making the cashier blush with flattery. Traffickers are often masters of deception – and they are working every day in the places we least expect to see them.
The View From Corvallis
“A lot of it [trafficking] is already here in our own backyard,” said Diana Janz, founder of Hope Ranch Ministries, an anti-trafficking organization serving the Eugene and Springfield areas.
Janz explained that the Eugene community has an alarming number of trafficking victims, all from various backgrounds. Many are unhoused or in the foster care system, and some are even trafficked by their own parents in exchange for drugs. Janz added that she has even seen several University of Oregon students come to their shelter for help, trafficked by local men who have groomed and manipulated them.
The shelter, whose location remains anonymous for the safety of the victims, houses enough trafficking victims throughout the year to keep the staff constantly busy.
“We have more than enough to take care of, let’s just put it that way,” said Janz.
Here in Corvallis, The House of Engedi was once a safe haven for people escaping trafficking in the city. However, Janz mentioned that the shelter recently closed due to unforeseen circumstances. The need in Corvallis, Janz continued, is still great.
“I guarantee there are definitely traffickers at Oregon State University,” she said.
Victims, or “survivors” as Janz intentionally calls them, stay at the Hope Ranch shelter anywhere from one night to two years, where they receive trauma counseling, education assistance, and friendship.
Unfortunately, many trafficking survivors feel trapped and stay with their traffickers for far too long before seeking help.
“92 percent of women trafficked say they would leave if they had somewhere to go,” Janz said.
Even after leaving, many survivors find it difficult to continue their path toward freedom, and often return to the sex trade several times before finally leaving for good. However, Hope Ministries is committed to never giving up on the survivors who want to be helped.
“We don’t quit,” said Janz. “If they want us to be in their lives, we will be in their lives.”
For more information about Hope Ranch Ministries, visit their website here. For more resources and education regarding human trafficking, or to donate towards Rebecca Bender’s cause, visit rebeccabender.org.
By Rebekah Harcrow
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com