This article discusses information about sexual assault. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call RAINN's national sexual assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for confidential support.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In 2021 alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline handled 10,000 cases of human trafficking in the U.S. involving nearly 17,000 victims and survivors, but one survivor is sharing her story in the hopes of helping others like her.
What You Need To Know
- Theresa Flores shared her story of being trafficked as a teenager
- Flores founded SOAP 13 years ago to fight human trafficking and help other survivors like herself
- If you or someone you know is being trafficked, call the hotline: 1(888) 373-7888
"I just knew I was living something horrible,” said Theresa Flores, a human trafficking survivor.
Theresa Flores was living in Michigan at the time. She was 15-years-old and the new girl at school, but caught the eye of the wrong person—not of a stranger, but a boy she knew from school.
"He offered me a ride home from school one day,” said Flores. “It seemed so innocent, and I accepted because I liked him.”
But she later regretted it.
"He didn't take me home,” said Flores “He ended up taking me to his house and ended up drugging me and raping me, and that was crushing," she said.
But the nightmare wasn't over. The abuse dragged on for a couple more years, and she said she was forced on strangers.
"He said, 'We have pictures of this, and you're gonna do whatever we say to earn them back or else’,” said Flores. “So, that led into the blackmail and the coercion and to actually just be their sex slave for a couple years."
Two years later, her family relocated to a different state, and she escaped.
But no one had a clue what was happening—not even her family, until she came forward many years later.
"I went to a conference in Columbus, Ohio, when I was 40 on human trafficking. I never knew that it was called human trafficking. That's how little awareness is," she said.
Then the concept of starting the nonprofit, Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution (SOAP), came to her.
Now she advocates for victims at conferences, retreats, and she also leaves bars of soap with a sex trafficking hotline in hotels in the hopes of rescuing other survivors.
"It's so hard when you've lived that life to think you're worth anything,” said Flores. “But survivors are priceless. They're resilient. They're strong women and men. I just want them to know there's hope and to work on their healing. So, get the help that's out there."
If you or someone you know is being trafficked, call the hotline at 1(888) 373-7888.
You can also help donate to the soap retreats and outreach by going to www.SoapProject.org.