I was sex-trafficked & forced to have boob job so pimp could sell me as ‘curvy’ then made to have sex with 20 men a day

COMING circular from surgery, Marie* felt woozy, her bosom bushed racing arsenic she looked down astatine her thorax and her caller DD cupful breasts.

She'd conscionable undergone a boob job, but this wasn't an cognition she'd ever wanted - sickeningly it was country done against her will, ordered by the affluent antheral who had trafficked her to the UK to merchantability her for sex.

His twisted reason? He could present advertise mum-of-three Marie arsenic ‘curvaceous’’ to punters, to rake successful much cash.

Over the years she'd endured endless, hellish maltreatment - drugged, forced to person enactment with 20 men a day, burned with cigarettes and threatened with being forcefully injected with heroin.

And, erstwhile she wasn’t having sex, Marie was forced to tally for hours connected an exercise instrumentality by her exploiter - an upper-class affluent businessman who was, and inactive is, well-respected wrong the section assemblage - to guarantee she kept her petite figure. 

Speaking exclusively to Fabulous from the Salvation Army harmless location she present lives successful westbound England, Marie says: "What I went done is shocking - but for me, nary of that compared to the unbearable symptom I felt erstwhile I thought astir my 3 children backmost home, who had nary thought what had happened to me.

"I became numb to the carnal symptom and violence, but I thought I mightiness dice of a breached bosom erstwhile I thought astir my children."  

'I was raped was my 5th birthday'

Sadly, portion modern slavery and enactment trafficking stay a precise hidden crime many aren’t alert of, it’s a increasing problem. 

The fig of imaginable victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) has accrued substantially implicit the years, and it’s estimated determination are implicit 100,000 modern slavery victims successful the UK.

Marie, present 58, is primitively from an state successful Southern Africa, and has lived successful a Salvation Army harmless location since 2021. 

Before she was trafficked and sexually exploited successful the UK, Marie had a traumatic childhood, which made her peculiarly susceptible to exploitation.

Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, brave Marie says: “The archetypal clip my stepfather raped maine was connected my 5th birthday.

“I would walk nighttime aft nighttime wandering the streets and would slumber successful bins conscionable to debar him. 

“He would besides invitation different men implicit to maltreatment maine excessively astir the property of 11. 

“Two of them fathered 2 of my children, and I fell large the archetypal clip aged 15. 

“Then I began to combat backmost and my mum divorced him, but helium would inactive travel to the location each different night.

“One clip helium bushed maine and enactment a weapon to my caput and raped me, and I fell large with my third. I lived successful fear.” 

‘Anyone tin go a victim’

While galore victims, similar Marie, person been trafficked into the state from overseas -  often eastbound Europe, southbound eastbound Asia and Africa - determination is nary ‘typical victim’ of slavery. 

Sadly, radical similar Marie, who person suffered erstwhile abuse, are much vulnerable, nevertheless victims tin beryllium men, women and children of each ages, ethnicities and nationalities.

Scarily you could person encountered victims without adjacent knowing. 

Unseen caput of argumentation and probe Lauren Saunders has 8 years acquisition moving straight with survivors of trafficking and exploitation. 

Speaking to Fabulous, Lauren says: “There is an accrued consciousness of the issue, but it’s inactive a precise hidden crime. 

“A batch of radical inactive don’t cognize what modern time slavery is, and it’s not wide acknowledged truthful if radical are interacting with victims oregon survivors of modern slavery they’re not needfully aware. 

“A large misconception is enactment trafficking lone happens to radical from overseas, erstwhile really a large proportionality are really UK nationals, exploited successful the UK and pack engagement is simply a large portion of that. 

“Anyone tin beryllium a unfortunate of it if that idiosyncratic is susceptible - accidental they’ve mislaid their house, are struggling financially, oregon person had a narration breakdown. Anything that makes idiosyncratic susceptible could beryllium manipulated by a pack member.”

‘I was truthful grateful initially’ 

To flight her troubled upbringing, Christian Marie spent a batch of clip astatine the section church, and that’s wherever she met the mates that would spell connected to exploit her, erstwhile she was 20. 

She says: “The household who bought maine present were precise well-respected. The antheral was British, had a bully occupation successful tech and was portion of an upper-class family. 

“He would question to processing countries for work, moving with governments to acceptable up caller projects, and that was however helium ended up successful my country.”

After gaining her trust, Marie confided successful his woman 1 time astir the abuse. 

Marie says: “She said they were returning to England soon, and said I could travel with them and spell to university. 

“It seemed similar the cleanable accidental to get a qualification and my mum was excited and agreed to look aft my children. 

“I thought I could past instrumentality location and get a bully occupation to supply for my family.”

The mates paid for Marie’s flight, and erstwhile she arrived successful the UK, she was truthful excited. 

She says: “I was truthful grateful to them initially I voluntarily tidied and cleaned their location and looked aft their children to accidental convey you. 

“They showed maine the university, and I adjacent returned location concisely aft a fewer months and told everyone however large it was.” 

Drugged and surviving successful fear 

However the mates past paid for Marie to instrumentality - and that’s erstwhile everything changed.

Marie says: “They took my passport disconnected maine arsenic soon arsenic I landed. 

“I was past told I had to cleanable the location and bash the gardening.” 

Marie was isolated successful the family's home, chopped disconnected from the extracurricular world.

Her lone transportation to the satellite beyond was done the books they allowed her to read, oregon the occasions she could salvage paper scraps erstwhile cleaning their children’s hamster cage.

She says: “I’m not a rocket scientist, but I’m not anserine either. 

“I was precise acrophobic and lived successful fear. I believed everything they told me, and they said if the constabulary recovered retired astir maine I’d beryllium sent to situation truthful each clip I walked down the thoroughfare I’d debar the police.

“Then they told maine I had to repay them for bringing maine present and they began inviting men astir their household location to maltreatment me.

“Sometimes ‘clients’ were men successful suits, and they would transport maine astir the state truthful men could person enactment with me.

“They gave maine pills which made maine precise groggy, and I’d fume 60 cigarettes a day.”

Forced to person enactment 20 times a day

Marie was yet taken to enactment successful a brothel masquerading arsenic a massage parlour, situated straight other a constabulary station. 

She says: “It was £30 for oral sex, £40 for enactment and £45 for both. Sometimes they would marque maine spot 20 men successful 1 day.

“I had a minder and they would marque definite I didn’t support immoderate of the money.”

Shockingly, Marie was adjacent forced to person bosom surgery, to marque her thorax bigger.

She says: “They wanted maine to person large breasts truthful they could marque much wealth and complaint much arsenic I was rather flat-chested, truthful they took maine to spot a surgeon. 

“I went from a B cupful to astir a DD I think, and they were capable to complaint much due to the fact that I was much curvaceous.

“I lived disconnected McDonalds and astatine 1 constituent my exploiter besides said I was gaining value truthful erstwhile I wasn't having enactment I would beryllium told to tally connected a jogging machine.”

‘Pop-up brothels tin look anywhere’ 

While astir victims, similar Marie, are ‘recruited’ successful idiosyncratic earlier being enactment to enactment successful brothels, immoderate who find themselves trapped successful the enactment manufacture person been ensnared done online occupation adverts and societal media.

In cases of intersexual exploitation, big services websites often unwittingly play a cardinal role. Lauren says: “A batch of enactment exploitation is advertised online and connected societal media platforms, but popular up brothels tin look anywhere, successful immoderate neighbourhood.  

“In a backstage lodging property if you’re seeing a changeless watercourse of radical coming successful and retired of a spot that mightiness beryllium suspicious and could bespeak idiosyncratic wrong that spot is being exploited. 

“Pop up brothels are much and much prevalent and they are virtually conscionable a mean level oregon house. It doesn’t needfully look however radical ideate a brothel to look.  

“When I archetypal started moving successful this assemblage I didn’t realise however galore brothels were really successful the municipality I was surviving in. 

“Once you spot it you can’t unsee it. They’re everywhere.”

‘I felt similar I’d dice of a breached heart’ 

Despite the carnal symptom she was forced to endure, Marie became numb to it - and the lone happening that caused her immoderate existent agony was being kept isolated from her children, present each successful their forties. 

While she was gone, she had nary interaction with them for a agelong play of time, but she believes they were told she was successful a psychiatric hospital. 

She says: “I missed my children truthful much. 

“I didn’t truly attraction what they were doing to me, it was thing compared to the symptom of not seeing my children.

“I felt similar I’d dice of a breached heart.”

Forced to formal up & partake successful orgies 

Marie was passed astir from exploiter to exploiter, and each clip she hoped things would get better. 

At 1 constituent she was sold to a man, who she went connected to marry. 

She says: “I was conscionable blessed to yet get retired of the concern I’d been trapped successful each those years, but it lone got worse. 

"He told maine helium would look aft maine and helium loved maine and helium had a large house. 

"He would big orgies and radical would wage a batch of money, sometimes 12 couples, and helium would movie maine dressed successful dominatrix outfits. 

“I refused to drink, truthful 1 clip they threatened to inject maine with heroin instead. 

“I'd seen the movie Trainspotting and I knew I couldn't fto it hap truthful I tried to tally distant but helium recovered maine and told maine helium missed maine and brought maine back.”

Eventually 1 of her abuser’s wives discovered Marie, and helped her escape. 

Marie says: "She thought I was having an matter with her husband, truthful I conscionable told her everything. She cried and hugged maine and said she would assistance me."

‘They saved my life’ 

Marie was taken to a Salvation Army safehouse, wherever she remains today.

For the archetypal clip successful her life, she recovered herself successful a spot wherever she was genuinely safe, however, adjusting to her caller beingness was not easy, and she initially slept with the furniture against the door, excessively fearful to spot anyone.

The Salvation Army's enactment workers played a important relation successful helping Maria rebuild her life, and they supported her done the process of having the bosom implants removed. 

Marie  says: "They saved my life. I’ve been treated with respect and for the archetypal clip successful my beingness I person a accidental of immoderate benignant of normality.”

Looking backmost connected her ordeal, Maria believes that the mates who initially brought her to the UK had apt exploited others successful the aforesaid way. 

She’s focusing connected rebuilding her life, but hopes to 1 time beryllium beardown capable to enactment the constabulary bringing them to justice.

While it’s an ever-evolving and changing transgression that tin beryllium hard to track, erstwhile it comes to tackling the issue, nationalist consciousness of the contented is key.

 Lauren adds: “We’re decidedly getting much calls and much radical request our support.

“I deliberation radical would beryllium shocked to cognize however prevalent it is astir them without them adjacent realising. 

“We bash grooming crossed schools and businesses and rather often radical deliberation initially modern slavery isn’t thing they’ve ever encountered, but by the extremity of the grooming radical are reporting incidents they’ve seen.

“A batch of the calls to the helpline we’ve received are from individuals - members of the public, oregon professionals - who are acrophobic astir thing they’ve seen, truthful it’s truly important we rise arsenic overmuch consciousness of the contented arsenic we can.”

If you fishy modern slavery activity, you tin study it to the Modern Slavery Helpline connected 08000 121 700, telephone The Salvation Army’s confidential, escaped referral helpline connected 0800 808 3733 oregon the constabulary connected 101. In an exigency ever telephone 999.

* Names person been changed.