When Mara fell in love with a young man online, it seemed her dreams were coming true – especially when he invited Mara to move from Romania to be with him in the UK.
But when Mara arrived, he trafficked her for sexual exploitation.
Night after night, Mara was taken from one city to another across the UK and abused. Meanwhile, the traffickers spent the money she made on parties, cars and designer clothes.
After almost a year of horrific abuse, Mara managed to escape. The perpetrators tried to flee the country but thankfully the police caught them.
Thanks to Mara’s testimony and our support, three traffickers were found guilty this year.
With the support of people like you, more women will now be protected from experiencing the same brutal abuse as Mara.
“One of the things that makes us feel hopeful is the willingness of the UK authorities to engage and to improve cross border cooperation. They show a lot of trust in IJM, and they are willing to work more on cases with Romania.”
- IJM Social Services and Criminal Justice Liaison Officer.
Since launching our European Anti-Trafficking Programme, IJM has supported 54 Romanian survivors who were exploited in the UK. Most of the survivors IJM works with in UK-related cases are young women, predominantly from rural areas.
The most encountered recruitment method used by traffickers in these cases is the “lover boy” method, in which human traffickers groom women over a lengthy period of time, manipulating them into believing they are in a loving, committed relationship in order to exploit them.
Together, we can end trafficking in Europe.
*Pseudonym. To protect IJM survivors we included photos that do not depict actual victims.