24 years old woman says she was sold as sex slave at 16
Telegraphs life style videos recently aired, Shandra Woworuntru who told her story of how she was lured to America in 2001 with the promise of a job in the hotel industry, and the intention of sending money home for her three-year-old daughter.
But the 24-year-old, who had been a financial analyst in Indonesia, was sold for sex and endured months working as a prostitute.
According to her, she was forced to take drugs and suffer extreme violence in a Brooklyn brothel United States, alongside other young women.
She was told that she owed her traffickers $30,000, which she had to repay by having sex with men for $100 a time.
Shandra finally escaped through a window and, after being refused help by the authorities, slept rough in New York – until a stranger heard her story and contacted the FBI on her behalf and saw those responsible arrested. She was reunited with her daughter in 2004, and is now a legal US citizen.
She dedicates her life to telling her story and campaigning – speaking at political rallies, women’s marches and even at the White House – so that “people will believe that trafficking happens and I will make a change on how we see this crime
