Nora’s Story

The following story is an amalgamation of case studies to protect individual identities. This story explains a form of human trafficking called the “boyfriend method” a tactic used by traffickers to entrap women into sexual exploitation whilst isolating from any form of support network.

Nora’s story starts with family exploitation in the form of forced marriage, and is a good example of how when faced with situations where there is no ‘free choice’ women are left open to disadvantage, exploitation and abuse within the sex trade. Under abolitionist legislation, the UK tackles the demand, which entrapped Nora in the sex trade. 

* * *

Nora is originally from a village in north Albania where she lived with her parents and siblings, having never been outside of that village. She finished her compulsory school and could not attend high school because her father did not allow her to travel by herself and he could not accompany her every day. 

Her father told her that it was okay for her not to go to high school, as she would not need it once she had a husband who would work and provide for her. Her lack of education limited her future choices and ability to move out of the family home – she was then subject to forced marriage. She expressed not wanting to enter into an engagement, however had to accept her father as the person making decisions in the family and she did not have anywhere else to go.

After some time she met a man in her village through a mutual friend. He started to invite her to speak to him and as time passed, she told her support worker that she started to develop feelings of love towards him. He told her that he lived abroad and that if she fled with him and left her family he could offer her a life where she could access education, build a career and have a happy marriage and children with him in a marriage of free will. 

The life he offered her was very different from her current situation of forced marriage, with no education or job prospects and very little freewill or choice. Nora knew that by fleeing with another man when she was already engaged, she would never be able to return. Her family would face shame from the community and her father would never accept her back into the family. 

Nora believed she was fleeing a life of oppression and disadvantage for a new world full of choices and opportunities – unfortunately the man she had met had other plans for her future.

At this point in our case study I will start to refer to the man, Nora met as her “trafficker” and as details unfold, you the reader will be able to identify why this is called the “boyfriend method”. However, at this point in the story Nora is unaware of the danger she is in.

On agreeing to flee, Nora’s trafficker arranged all details of her travel into the UK, helping her to enter the country illegally with the promise that he would marry her on arrival and her immigration status would be secured. Once in the UK Nora lived with her trafficker for a couple of days where he continued to reassure her of the reasons she had fled Albania.

However by the end of the first week he became abusive towards Nora both physically and verbally. He told her that he would not marry her and that she was now indebted to the people who arranged her illegal entry into the UK. 

Nora’s trafficker took her to a basement room in another house and told her this would now be her workplace, that she would be staying there until he said otherwise. He threatened her that if she left he would hurt her family in Albania and reminded her that she could not return as her family had disowned her due to fleeing. 

He also told Nora that the police would arrest her if she tried to get help as she had knowingly entered the county illegally. 

Nora was now entrapped in prostitution and later told her named support worked at women@thewell that she would see many sex buyers each day and felt physically and mentally destroyed, expressing that during this time she felt there was no way out, that she had no way of escape and that she would die in the basement.

However, as her health deteriorated, she was taken by her trafficker to a hospital appointment and used this opportunity to escape.

From this point Nora was referred to us at women@thewell and also into the National Refferal Mechanism. Her support worker ensured that she was provided with culturally-sensitive counselling in her native language which she received for two years – this holistic support was crucial to her recovery. At women@thewell she worked with an Albainian support worker, who supported her practically around her basic needs and played the role of cultural mediator.

Nora attended our daily drop-in service regularly and found this useful to practice her English with other service users, volunteers and staff.

Women@thewell continues to support Nora, she described women@thewell as feeling like a “family” a place where she could always come to for support and guidance.

She is now free from the sex trade, and her traffickers. She is building a life, which has free choice, opportunities and positive possibilities.

In her own words…

Life stories directly from women who’ve accessed support from Women@TheWell.
The names in the stories have been changed to protect each woman’s identity.

Cindy:

The first time I found out about this place I was going in to rehab. My life was hectic, with the alcohol, the drugs. I actually fell asleep on a bus with my daughter, when she was a baby, and somebody called the police. I was woken up with the police removing her, me not having a clue. At that time I had no one. Laura’s dad was really abusing me, domestic violence, and I started using alcohol to block out everything. Then I lost my two children to foster care, and that was the biggest wake-up call in my life.

I was searching about for support and I came across this place. Stepping through these doors I was welcomed with open arms. The support I’ve had, even up until now, was amazing. Every meeting I had, every court case; someone came with me. I fought 3 years through the courts and everything to get my kids back, and all with the help and support of here.

Laura was gone 3 years. I had contact but it was like I really was losing her even though I was seeing her every day. When I was leaving her there were no tears, there was nothing there. It’s only just now that she’s started to know that Mum’s coming back to school to get her. She’s making new friends, she’s opening up, coming out of herself.

Where I was 4 years ago to where I am now: I was sticking needles in my arm 4 years ago, I was lying on a bus and waking up on the floor with people just stepping over me. Now it’s like looking over at a different person. I’m this side of the table now, I make my own decisions. A few years ago I couldn’t say no, but now I can. And my confidence is coming back. I didn’t have any confidence a few years ago. It was kicked out of me, knocked out of me through the domestic violence and everything.

I came here when I was low, I was in a horrible place, I’d lost my kids and I’d lost myself. I think if I hadn’t found here I wouldn’t have got them back. If it wasn’t for here I don’t know where I would have been today.

Zynab:

I was homeless, I had glaucoma, was almost blind. I was going to hospital and having treatment for it. For a couple of weeks I slept on the streets and then I got a place in a night shelter. That’s when I came here.

I used to come here during the day. There was no shower in the shelter so I used to take showers here, do my washing here. I ate here. I had lots of counselling. I have mental health problems as well so it was good in coping with my manic depression. I just talked about my life, everything about me. That was very helpful.

Then I was put in temporary accommodation and support workers from women@thewell helped me to find my own flat. Someone always accompanied me for viewing flats and I found that most helpful. When I got a flat women@thwell helped me to furnish it. They contacted a furniture charity and got me a bed, cupboard, chest of drawers, wardrobe, cutlery and plates and cups. They also helped me to apply for the Social Fund to get some money to buy carpets, a cooker, bedding and things like that.

I was very worried that I wouldn’t be able to cope because I couldn’t see. I thought, ‘My god, how am I supposed to manage on my own in this flat?’ Roxanne filled in some forms for me, helped me with Disability Living Allowance. We also went to the council’s Sensory Team together. They got me some daylight lighting for the house, to help me see better. They also recommended me to RNIB and we went there together too. Now I feel good because I have been there for some time and I still have support from women@thewell. I feel much better that I have somewhere. I used to feel so anxious, so insecure. I had lots of mental health problems. Now I feel more secure.

When I was young I used to be an office worker. I went to college and learnt various skills - typing book-keeping, shorthand. I worked as an office worker for a long time. Now I’m doing a computer course – Office 2010. I also started voluntary work after I got the flat. I can touch type, so at another charity I help them type for their newsletter. I also write some articles myself. And I did some work for another support group too. That was all as a result of finding the flat. I felt a lot better about myself. Before that I had a very low opinion of myself. I was really disillusioned. I felt that I had failed somehow. Everything is much better now. I feel positive about myself.