Trafficked: The Terrifying True Story of a British Girl forced into the Sex Trade

by Sophie Hayes

Non-fiction/Memoir

Book Description

When Sophie Hayes met Bledi she knew he’d change her life – but she had no idea how much. At first, it was a typical whirlwind romance. But one day Bledi told her that love always comes at a price …

Bledi tricked Sophie into travelling to Italy, where he forced her to sell her body to help him pay off a debt. Terrified and ashamed, Sophie worked the dangerous Italian streets without rest, seeing as many as 30 clients in a night. She was completely at Bledi′s mercy for food, clothes and shelter. And without money, friends or family, she was trapped.

But Sophie found the strength to keep going, clinging to life by a single thread of hope: that somehow she′d find a way to escape.

MY THOUGHTS: 4 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Trafficked: The Terrifying True Story of a British Girl Forced into the Sex Trade by Sophie Hayes

I wouldn’t say this book was hard for me to read, but it definitely deals with some subject matter that is not for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, I read it in one sitting.

The book description and reviews call Sophie’s kidnapper Bledi…but in my book he was named Kas. *shrugs* It’s so heartbreaking to me that someone Sophie knew for years and considered her best friend could turn on her in such a violent and cold fashion.

What gets me, as well as so many others that have read his book, is that Sophie never ever tried to escape, not even once. She was often left alone during her working nights, and even for an entire week while Kas was out of the country. To me, she had so many chances to tell someone, anyone. And when she got to the point where she didn’t care if she lived or died, what did she really have to lose by trying to tell someone of her predicament? I obviously have never been in such a situation, so I can’t say. Sophie even asks this question of herself in the book. Brainwashing is a terrible thing that I just can’t relate to.

Sophie tells her story in a very straightforward manner; there is no flowery language or prose. The things that happened to her don’t need such language to be told. Time moves at a fast clip, and you get these sense, just as Sophie does, that every day is exactly the same as the day before and no time has passed at all. Everything is just so bleak for her, and seeing her in fear of receiving her next beating for no reason as all is gut wrenching.

Obviously, Sophie gets out from under Kas’s thumb, or else she wouldn’t have been able to tell this story. To me, the way this happened was rather anticlimactic, but that’s real life. Although she wasn’t exactly safe after she got back home…I don’t actually know how she’s not still living in fear that Kas will come after her. Maybe she is.

I had to distance myself from the story in order to swallow it, but I’m very glad Sophie was brave enough to put out this book. I hope other girls who are heading in the same direction might be able to see the warning signs and get out before it’s too late.

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