Sex trafficking can happen to anyone. Jillian Mourning was a straight-A student in high school involved with cheerleading who eventually went onto modeling after she graduated. One night during a photo shoot in Arizona when Jillian was sleeping in her hotel room, three men broke into her room and began to tie down her hands and ankles. One of the men was her agent. They all raped her on film, intending to sell the copies and to use as blackmail against her.
When Jillian returned home, she was too scared to go to the police. Her abuser continued to call her in the following months, threatening to release the videos of her rape online with her name attached. Fearful that her friends and family would see the videos, she was bound to him because of his psychological manipulation. She was fly to him and do whatever she was told when he wanted it. Eventually, her abuser was arrested, but not because Jillian reported him to the police, but because of financial fraud.
Sex trafficking doesn’t only happen to the stereotypical “victim” often portrayed in the media. Sex trafficking doesn’t necessarily mean the victim is kidnapped or lured away from their homes and enslaved in some warehouse fifty miles in the desert. A person can be sex trafficked and leave a seemingly completely “normal life”.
In October 2012, Jillian founded the LOVE foundation, which stands for Liberation of Victims Everywhere. LOVE aims to promote awareness of sex trafficking in the United States and around the world by helping fund existing support and advocacy groups. One of the biggest goals of LOVE is to eliminate the stereotypes about the victims and abusers involved in sex trafficking through encouraging victims to come forward about their experiences.
When Jillian returned home, she was too scared to go to the police. Her abuser continued to call her in the following months, threatening to release the videos of her rape online with her name attached. Fearful that her friends and family would see the videos, she was bound to him because of his psychological manipulation. She was fly to him and do whatever she was told when he wanted it. Eventually, her abuser was arrested, but not because Jillian reported him to the police, but because of financial fraud.
Sex trafficking doesn’t only happen to the stereotypical “victim” often portrayed in the media. Sex trafficking doesn’t necessarily mean the victim is kidnapped or lured away from their homes and enslaved in some warehouse fifty miles in the desert. A person can be sex trafficked and leave a seemingly completely “normal life”.
In October 2012, Jillian founded the LOVE foundation, which stands for Liberation of Victims Everywhere. LOVE aims to promote awareness of sex trafficking in the United States and around the world by helping fund existing support and advocacy groups. One of the biggest goals of LOVE is to eliminate the stereotypes about the victims and abusers involved in sex trafficking through encouraging victims to come forward about their experiences.