Awakening From a Nightmare
“El Refugio de la Niñez gave me my rights back”
The following story is a true account of human trafficking in Guatemala. Our survivor’s story is unique and should not be exploited. To preserve their safety and well-being we won’t release real names, identifying details or specifics that could put them in danger.
As she holds her one-year-old son in her arms, the fifteen-year-old Eva can finally breathe a sigh of relief. This wasn’t always her reality. As a toddler, Eva was forced by her father to work the streets for money doing a variety of jobs. Her ordeal was just beginning. Unregistered and sold into sex slavery by the age of five. This would be Eva's nightmare for the next nine years.
Born in Antigua, Guatemala, Eva frequently moved around the country due to her unstable family life. She found it strange at first but eventually normalized her on-the-run lifestyle. After a few years of working the streets for her father, she went to live with her mother in the hopes she could go to school and have a normal childhood. But Eva quickly found herself being physically abused by her mother and forced into prostitution in order to pay for her mother’s addiction to alcohol.
One day a foreign woman befriended the child, showing her a type of kindness that she didn’t know existed. The older woman preyed on Eva’s abusive and unregistered situation and cultivated a trusting relationship. Eva was manipulated and convinced to run away with the foreign national to start a new, safe life together. Eva believed that she had finally found a mother figure who truly cared for her.
The adolescent was under the impression she would be going to school, but Eva soon found herself held captive in a bar, forced to consume alcohol and passed around to be raped by the male patrons. This torture of being sexually exploited continued for several years, until Eva could no longer take it and decided she would rather die trying to escape than live in terror.
Eva’s coworker promised to help her escape even though she knew doing so would be life-threatening. On December 31st the young girls escaped before dawn’s break and found themselves anxiously waiting at Escuintla station but there were no buses. Suddenly, Eva recognized her captors’ car approaching and began screaming for help, but no help came. Before she could run away, they shoved the young girls into the car and threatened to kill them for escaping. As they dragged her coworker back into the bar, Eva fought back refusing to get out of the car and pleaded to allow her to see her family for one night. The abductors dropped her off at her father’s home for the day. They threatened to kill her if she didn't return.
Upon arriving at her family home, Eva realized she was pregnant and knew her father would kill her if he found out. Once again, the lone young girl ran away to her mother’s home to seek refuge and hide from her captors. When her mother discovered her daughter’s pregnancy, she told Eva that she had shamed the family. Unbeknownst to Eva, her mother once again betrayed her daughter and the pregnant teenager was forced back into prostitution by her mother.
The truth is that I felt sadder and more disappointed in my family.”
The future mother realized it was up to her to break this abusive family cycle, and vanished in order to save hers and her baby's life.
... I thought that I was going to get out and be in a peaceful environment, I realized that my own family were my aggressors,” said Eva.
Eva was homeless and decided to seek help from the Policía Nacional Civil. Under the pressure of the moment she fainted, so she was taken to the Pedro de Bethancourt National Hospital in Antigua Guatemala. The agents transferred the scared teenager to the Procuraduría General de la Nación -PGN- (Attorney General's Office) for the respective protection procedure.
On March 18, 2021 she was transferred to a court (Juzgado de Paz) in which protection measures were determined and the pregnant teenager was immediately admitted to the Centro de Protección Amor sin Fronteras of El Refugio de la Niñez. Eva received specialized care and support in her road to recovery. Eva was terrified to be taken to a shelter because she had heard stories of violence within their walls but she said to herself,
I'd rather be beaten than be prostituted by my family”.
She soon came to realize that El Refugio de la Niñez was her safe haven and Eva could finally let her guard down. Eva's baby boy was born at the shelter, and both have received the necessary medical care for their physical recovery. Her son Luis is the joy in her life, and his bubbly personality fills her with laughter.
El Refugio de la Niñez immediately registered Eva with the National Registry of Persons and secured her personal identification documents. The legal team of El Refugio de la Niñez also filed a formal complaint for the crime of trafficking in persons against the perpetrators before the Special Prosecutor's Office against Trafficking in Persons of the Public Ministry. With the support of the shelter’s psychologist, Eva was able to begin her emotional recovery, and was eventually able to present her own statement against her captors, helping to ultimately secure a conviction. The two traffickers received sentences of 11 and 8 years in prison, respectively, and a Q.300,000.00 ($38,000.00) fine each.
Derived from the fact that the adolescent did not have a personal identification document, she had never entered the educational system and it was not until she entered El Refugio de la Niñez that she was enrolled and is currently studying three grades at the same time (first, second and third primary) through flexible modalities of education. Eva is motivated and shares that she wants to prepare to be a nurse.
The adolescent continues to be cared for at the shelter, as a result of which she is working on her life project and preparing for a reunification with her extended family (grandmother and uncle) and community reintegration. When asked if Eva identifies as a victim or survivor, she quietly thought and confidently replied
I am a survivor.”
USAID and El Refugio de la Niñez aim to help youth who have been victims of violence or trafficking networks by providing reintegration and protection services, improving prevention and protection against trafficking, and strengthening the capacity of the Government of Guatemala.
Human Trafficking is a global crime of enslaving and dehumanizing a person. According to the 2022 Trafficking in Persons report, often the family members are involved in the exploitation of child victims. Eva’s story is an exceptional case, in terms of access to justice for the teenage mother. Many victims don’t have access to the justice system and are therefore unable to prosecute their abusers. In a short period of time, a conviction was obtained against Eva’s perpetrators, thanks to the coordinated work of the lawyers from El Refugio de la Niñez with the Prosecutors of the Section Prosecutor's Office against Trafficking in Persons.
It is critical that victims know there are ways to escape and seek the help they need to restart their lives. As Eva says,
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, there are many alternatives, speak up.”
Anyone needing help or to report cases of sexual violence, exploitation and child abuse please contact; Procuraduría General de la Nación. Tel. 1546, Ministerio Público. Tel. 1572, Secretaría contra la Violencia Sexual, Explotación y Trata de Personas -SVET-. Tel. 2504-8888, El Refugio de la Niñez. Tel. 2294-6200
About this Story
Written by: Zeina Dubray, Creative Director for USAID/Guatemala
The project strengthens national capacities to provide protection services for victims of trafficking in persons and unaccompanied migrant children, while preventing human trafficking and irregular migration in Guatemala. The project implements a comprehensive protection model for trafficking in persons victims at a specialized protection center: Amor sin Fronteras (Love without Boundaries). At the center, underage girls receive holistic protection services, including medical, psychosocial, educational, lodging, recreation, and legal assistance. The model is based on a victim-centered approach designed to address trauma and restore victims’ human rights.
To learn more about USAID’s partnership with El Refugio de la Ninez, check out this article published by Georgetown University.