WSVN — In the United States, thousands of young women and girls are forced into sex trafficking every single year. For many, the scars of their past live on, even after they are free. But Miami tattoo artists are helping them erase the past. 7's Belkys Nerey has the story.
Sex trafficking is sometimes called modern slavery. Young women and girls, lured into performing sex for profit.
Kim: "It was a normal day. Just went to the gas station to get something to eat, and came out and there he was."
Kim spent years as a sex slave. She was held captive by threats of violence, but finally broke free after a fight with her pimp.
Kim: "He got very angry, and he was going to discipline me, so he beat me and he put me out. I was able to hitchhike and get back to where I was from."
The experience left Kim with many scars, some emotional.
Kim: "My panic attacks and anxiety attacks were so bad that it was almost impossible to live a normal life."
Others physical, like the tattoo on her hip, put there by a pimp to brand her.
Kim: "It was disgusting, and it was a daily reminder for me of all the years of abuse and the piece of garbage that I was."
Many pimps in the sex trafficking trade brand their girls with tattoos.
Telisia Espinosa: "That's a very dark place to be where you still have this reminder of a branding, of that life that someone so called, he thought owned you."
Amor Sierra: "We've seen bar codes. We've seen names, like the name of the particular group leader or whatever."
Trafficking survivor Telisia Espinosa and Miami tattoo artist Amor Sierra are dedicating their lives to helping victims get rid of those horrible marks.
Amor Sierra: "That's why I bought a tattoo shop. I wasn't a tattoo shop owner. I worked in the corporate world for 22 years."
But she decided to leave her job to help others, and since then, has covered up brands on dozens of women. Kim was one of her most memorable.
Amor Sierra: "The moment that she saw it done, it's like these chains just came off of her. That honestly, for me, has definitely been the most memorable one and the one that I just carry deep in my heart."
Telisia Espinosa: "It's more than a tattoo. It comes back with choice."
The new tattoo now covers up the scars of her past.
Kim: "By covering up that branding, it truly allowed me to begin living. It brought freedom. So, there's hope."
Amor is now using Miami Tattoo Company to help other people erase the past, including stamping out gang marks. She does it for free.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Miami Tattoo GoFundMe:
http://www.gofundme.com/7sberk
Miami Tattoo Co.
http://www.miamitattooco.com/
End It Movement
https://secure.enditmovement.com/
Ink 180
http://ink180.com/
Be a Voice: Telisia Espinosa
telisia@beavoice.us