This month, IJM client Mae* is scheduled to hear the verdict in her case after she and her mother bravely testified against her traffickers in August.

Mae grew up in poverty, despite the fact that father worked as a laborer in another country and her mother farmed to earn money for the family. In Mae’s community in Northern Thailand, daughters traditionally support their families financially, and her parents’ hardships weighed heavily on her.

When Mae was 22, a leader in her village offered to help her get a job at a luxury hotel in Singapore. Though Mae and her father had misgivings about the distance the job would entail, the man stopped by the family’s home regularly for two months, asking her to consider the position. Finally, she determined that the opportunity to help raise her family out of poverty was too good to pass up and accepted the job.

The man introduced Mae to a married couple from a nearby village, who assisted her with applying for a passport and made her travel arrangements to get to Singapore. The wife accompanied Mae all the way to Bangkok, but once she left, a stranger approached Mae and told her that she had paid over $3,000 USD for her and that Mae owed her this astronomical sum. Mae was told that her “choice” was to reimburse the woman the enormous fee or to work as a prostitute to pay off this spurious debt. With no possible means of obtaining the money, Mae had no choice.

Mae was raped the first night she was in Singapore and suffered repeated rapes the following two nights. After a third night passed, Mae determined that she would rather risk death by running away than to remain in this captivity. And so, despite the threats on her life if she left, Mae fled – an opportunity many trafficking victims never have, due to the violently coercive tactics of their traffickers. She made the dangerous journey back to her home in Thailand alone and, thankfully, arrived safely.

Physically safe, Mae promptly reported her abduction and rape to the police. In spite of repeated threats and coercive action from those involved in her trafficking, Mae and her mother were determined to pursue her case and see that all who were involved in her trafficking were prosecuted.

Though Mae had managed to escape her perpetrators, she still had many serious needs to be met. The police referred her case to IJM Thailand, and staff began working to ensure that she was able to pursue court action and had access to the aftercare services she needed. IJM staff coordinated with a local social welfare office to find Mae a place to live where she would be safe from the threats her traffickers continued to make against her.

Once she had been provided with a safe place to live, IJM staff worked with Mae to help her rebuild her life. When she visited a vocational training center, Mae determined that she wanted to learn to sew. She took a three-month sewing course, and IJM assisted her with the purchase of a sewing machine to start this new career. She has since been able to return to her family’s home, and lives in safety there.

IJM legal staff continue to work with local authorities to ensure that Mae’s perpetrators are convicted. The individuals have been charged in connection with Mae’s trafficking and their trials are ongoing.