Women who participate in our Oklahoma City program for victims of human sex trafficking understand freedom.
Coming out of an environment of harsh restriction and control over their every move, these individuals have a strong appreciation for the freedom of movement and choice they find at Beautiful Dream Society’s Dream Home.
During the month of July especially, people in the United States celebrate freedom from oppressive rule. We celebrate the freedom to direct our own path and decide what our future holds. We celebrate the freedom to move and speak as we wish. The women recovered out of human sex trafficking who join Beautiful Dream Society’s program celebrate freedom every day.
One young lady* in particular has thrived in the freedom she experiences at Beautiful Dream Society.
Freedom to Choose Her Meals
To her, freedom means that she can choose what she wants to eat and prepare it for herself without fear of repercussion. Like many other women who have joined our program, this woman survived on the diet that was forced upon her by her trafficker: greasy fast food fare and packaged, processed foods from gas stations. She was stripped of the simple decision of choosing what she ate from day to day.
At the BDS Dream Home, she has enjoyed flexing her cooking skills in the BDS kitchen. She’s found such empowerment in the freedom to plan and prepare exactly what she wants to eat every day!
Freedom to Enjoy Life
To her, freedom means that she can choose to do something she enjoys. There is no fun, no simple enjoyment in a human sex trafficking situation. Individuals under the control of a trafficker don’t get to watch a movie or visit a museum or ride bicycle. They have no power of choice. If they expressed such desires, they would likely face severe punishment for even suggesting that they veer off a trafficker’s agenda.
This particular young lady has discovered that she enjoys watching on Netflix. At the BDS Dream Home, this young lady has found a place of safety where she can simply relax and watch a television show or a movie. She has no fear that she’ll get in trouble for doing so. Now, she has the freedom to choose to participate in an activity she enjoys.
Freedom to Rest
To her, freedom means that she can fall asleep without fearing dangerous consequences. Human sex trafficking affords no sense of security and no sense of rest. Many women are deprived of rest, forced to work inhuman hours. Sleep becomes risky, putting them in a vulnerable position.
In her freedom at the BDS Dream Home, this young woman is able to simply fall asleep on the couch and take a restful nap. Such a normal activity has become extraordinary for her. The security and freedom she finds in our program have helped her permit herself to sleep and rest without fear.
Freedom
Freedom from oppression. Freedom to direct her own path. Freedom to move and speak as she likes. This young woman – like so many of the individuals whom Beautiful Dream Society has helped recover from the tragic environment of human trafficking – experiences freedom deeply and personally.
Here’s to freedom for all.
*image changed to protect privacy
-Melissa Eick, Communications Director