Victim Shaming: As a Victim of Human Trafficking My Voice Was Silenced
Excerpt from Robin Zee’s tell-all memoir, Borderline Me: Beyond the Edge
Images Courtesy of Robin Zee
Blame the victim. It never occured to anyone to look beyond the surface. My acting out and suicide attempts never seemed to cause anyone much concern. I was a source of aggravation.
Actually, I found out years later that my stepmother suspected that something had happened or was happening to me in my childhood but she, nor my Dad certainly didn’t do anything about it. They just continued along their way blaming me for not being “normal.”
I was normal. Very normal considering what I was surviving.
I stayed in Niagara Falls for about three years. That was as much as I could handle. After the death of my friend Molly and being in a place I didn’t feel wanted and knew I didn’t belong, I left.
I overheard many discussions between my father and stepmother about how they wished I wasn’t there and some real nasty stuff about my mother. They said they couldn’t put me in foster care. That wasn’t an option they could consider. Maybe it was because of what people would think. Honestly, I don’t know.
I was in pain in their ass just by my presence. I just couldn’t fit in anywhere and I couldn’t pretend that what happened to me never happened. The problem was I couldn’t voice any of it.
If you are or believe you have identified someone in a trafficking situation, you can take action. Call 911 immediately to notify local law enforcement. You may also call the human trafficking hotlines in Canada and the United States by dialling the numbers below. Both hotlines are open 24/7/365 days of the year and provide services in over 200 languages.
Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline
1-833-900-1010
United States Trafficking Hotline
1-888-373-7888