My name is Pavandeep Kaur. I work as a mental health professional and an advocate for human trafficking victims. I am also a survivor of sex trafficking. I was trafficked in the United States, in Orlando, FL, from ages 13-15, by a member of my family of origin and family “friends,” one of whom was involved in law enforcement.
I attended a private Catholic school. I was a 4.0 student. I was involved in extra-curricular activities. My Mother volunteered at my school and with the Girl Scout Troop I was a member of. Despite these outer appearances, I was part of a rather staggering statistic, which today is an estimated 300,000 children who are at-risk of being sold in sex trafficking each year in the United States. Lurking within my family dynamics were dark secrets. Secrets of generations of abuse, secrets of alcoholism, and addiction, and most devastating of all: the secret of keeping these secrets.
The fact is human trafficking is a global epidemic. Figures from organizations such as the Polaris Project and the United Nations state: in 2005 there was a global profit of $31.6 billion generated from the human trafficking trade. The majority of this modern-day slavery, 79%, is sex trafficking. 90% of trafficking victims are women or young girls. 20% of the global average of trafficking victims are children. However, in some places throughout the world 100% of the victims are children. An estimated 50,000 women are trafficked into the United States every year. Although these numbers are staggering, keep in mind that these are conservative figures and out-dated at that. Bottom line is that this isn’t some war being fought in some distant land. This is a war against women and children in our own backyards, no matter what part of the world we live in. It can happen to anyone: runaway teens, children of athletes and celebrities, women interviewing for positions with modeling agencies, individuals seeking refuge from war torn countries. There is no typical trafficking victim. We come from all walks of life.
In recent articles, it has been stated that some communities embrace and encourage a code of silence when it comes to young victims reporting these crimes. Specifically I am referring to the article released in September by BBC news, which stated, “The reason Sikhs rarely reveal incidents of abuse to the authorities has to do with family honour.” Families fear that their daughters will never be married as a result of their virtue being “tarnished.” For these reasons, young girls are silenced, even sent away to protect their dark secrets. I speak from experience when I say being silenced and shamed for what was done to me may have actually been more damaging to my psyche than the crime against humanity itself. When there is no process for a victim, there is no healing. In nearly every case of human trafficking, the victim is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a devastating and debilitating condition, which, when not properly treated, can end in suicide. At the very least, it leads to years of suffering and symptoms that often include alcoholism and addiction as a means to ease the mental anguish.
So I query this: what is more shameful: a daughter who steps forward in courage to ask for the help that she so desperately needs? Or a daughter whose life is wasted away due to a treatable mental health condition? How does being a victim of sexual abuse tarnish the virtue of the victim? It is an inhumane act which is performed by the offenders, in which the victims’ innocence/virtue is robbed, similar to when a bank is robbed of its valuables. In the latter situation, society does not blame the bank, its customers, or its employees for the robbery. After all, aren’t they the victims of the crime? So what sense does it make to blame the victims of sexual abuse? Rather than engaging in a form of victim blaming, it may benefit us as a global community to shift our focus to the Universal business law of “supply and demand.” Who is creating the demand for this market in our communities? If there were no consumers for this market, the market itself would cease to exist. By changing the dialogue and shedding light onto this dark topic, we can work together to increase awareness in our communities.
To the Sikh families of the UK who have experienced this awful crime, I implore you to encourage your daughters to speak out, to get the help they need, and to help others with their story of courage, recovery, and hope. The Sikh people have known cultural genocide for centuries and throughout history our enemies and their weapons of war have evolved. Do not let your own sense of Honour be used as a weapon against you and your family. Let Truth and Awareness be the weapons with which you defend your Honour.
Pavandeep Kaur Khalsa teaches Kundalini Yoga at Yoga Santa Fe, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 2012 she founded The Isis Project. The Isis Project is devoted to helping women heal from the abuse of rape, domestic violence, incest and human trafficking. Pavandeep is in the process of writing her story, a book titled My Body, My Soul. This memoir, My Body, My Soul is about betrayal, sex slavery and her own path to personal healing. It is her passion and her life’s work to help women in New Mexico and all over the globe heal and become empowered. For more information, visit www.isisindustries.com.