When we think of human trafficking and modern slavery practices, our mind tends to go straight to the idea that it only happens in faraway lands or to women being sent to the first world in shipping containers. But in reality approximately 80% of women in the USA who are forced and then traded for prostitution are American-born citizens. The sex trade is an invisible monster that roams across modern society. There are people walking next to us on the street who we do not realize are living through the worst abuse you can imagine. Sometimes the signs are right there in front of us and we don’t see them, or we misinterpret them.
Gangs and pimps who force women into prostitution “claim” them through tattoos that have a particular symbol, barcode, or even the name. Jennifer Kempton had three tattoos leading back to the boyfriend who got her addicted to heroin and the gang that would sell her for sex. No matter how much she tried, it seemed she would never be able to be free from this hell. She endured six years of being sold on the streets of Columbus, Ohio, and once she was able to escape, the tattoos continued to haunt her. One of them was just above her genitals and said “Property of Salem”.
“And after enduring this, being raped and beaten and abused, and after getting clean of my addiction, every time I took a shower or tried to look at my body I was reminded of the violence and exploitation I’d suffered. I was so grateful to be alive, but having to look at those scars, seeing those names on your body every day, just puts you in a state of depression. You begin to wonder whether you’ll ever be anything but the person those tattoos say you are.” Jennifer Kempton
Through one of the people who helped her gain control of her life again and a local tattoo artist, Jennifer was able to cover the tattoos harking back to the sex trade and violence. To her, having those reminders of a horrible past changed into symbols of hope and a new life. This new perspective helped her find closure and be able to put the old life behind her.
She realized that other women who had been rescued from the trafficking and forced prostitution were probably enduring the same difficulties in carrying those reminders on their skin. So, she started an organization called Survivor’s Ink, which through donations is able to provide scholarships for women to cover up tattoos and brandings of the people who had dehumanized and used them as property. To this date at least 100 women have gotten scholarships to be given a fresh start.
Because of their criminal records and substance abuse, many of these women encounter difficulties once out of the trade. Jennifer says that for most people, the best these women can achieve is to stay clean and find some sort of minimum-wage job. But to her that is simply not enough. She is currently an advocate for criminalizing men who pay for sex instead of focusing on simply arresting and incarcerating the sex workers. She hopes that by providing them with a clean slate, survivors can find a way to fulfill the lives that were taken from them.
For more information of Survivor’s Ink and Jennifer Kempton, you can visit their site.
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