Shamere McKenzie: Sex Trafficking Survivor
*Disclaimer: the following post shares a link to a survivor story that includes references, descriptions, or topics that could be triggering or disturbing to some readers.*
Shamere McKenzie was attending St. John's University on an athletic scholarship when she met the man who would become her trafficker. An injury left her looking for a new way to pay the rest of her tuition, and her trafficker was a charismatic and polite man whom she came to trust. As their relationship grew, she began to share her troubles with him, including her financial concerns. He offered her a solution: dance for some clients and move in with him so she could save money on rent. Feeling like she had no other option, she agreed.
Shamere's trafficker bought her a dress and shoes and brought her to a New Jersey strip club. At the strip club, her trafficker assured her that she would have no physical contact with the customers, only dancing. Pleased with how much money she made that night, she followed her trafficker to a home in Brooklynn, New York. There, she was expected to do something very different. When she tried to refuse, her trafficker physically assaulted her, choking her to the point where she lost consciousness. This was only the beginning of the abuse that Shamere suffered at the hands of her trafficker over several months. When she finally decided to run away for good, she almost didn't make it. Her trafficker told her she could leave but went to retrieve his gun. She bolted and made it safely to a neighbor's house. Her recovery and normal life journey was a long one, including prison time, but ultimately she triumphed! To read Shamere's full story, you can follow the link below.