Seven teenage girls have been freed in Thailand and the three adults who trafficked them for sex on Twitter, now known as X, have been arrested.
The advertisements posted on Twitter specifically flaunted the girls’ youth. The Exodus Road’s team in Thailand has developed cutting-edge expertise in finding and building cases from digital evidence like this in order to help law enforcement intervene.
For three of the girls, there was evidence that their exploitation had been compounded by the trafficker using drugs to control and manipulate them — a common tactic of traffickers. Their recuperation will include healing not just from trauma, but also from substance dependence. The Exodus Road’s social workers followed up on their cases, working to ensure that they were connected to the resources they’d need in order to fully heal.
Two of the girls being trafficked had been trafficked before, and our team had helped remove them from the abuse. Because of that experience, the girls’ parents knew the warning signs when the trafficker began manipulating the teenagers into providing sexual services again — trafficking them in their community while they lived at home.
The parents went to the authorities and reported what was happening to their 16-year-old daughters. Law enforcement knew that The Exodus Road had evidence from the previous situation, so they contacted our team for support. That collaboration ultimately led to the traffickers’ arrest.
It’s tragically common for the cycle of trafficking to ensnare survivors for a second time. But this time, that cycle was interrupted because of what parents had learned from the prior intervention.
What these girls have been through is sobering, but because of your support, they are able to take their first steps out of exploitation and addiction and into recovery. Thank you!
