TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and many people are bringing awareness to the issue, just like Angela Marie; a survivor of human trafficking in Tucson.
Angela started to tell her story through art and created an exhibition called "What I Wish You Knew : The Stories We Carry" to showcase survivors stories of courage, resilience and hope.
"A group exhibition that I curated is from other local survivors of trafficking, sexual exploitation and survival sex. So some of those aren't really talked about a lot in the sphere of human trafficking. But so often they lead to trafficking, survival sex, for some place to live, something to eat," Angela said.
One of her art pieces is called "Down the Rabbit Hole." It's an attempt to understand why this happened to her.
"The night before I confronted the man who assaulted me when I was 14, I painted this," Angela said.
"Can You See Me" is another one of Angela’s paintings exposing how it feels to be screaming in silence.
“Because as survivors we’re not just what happened in our past. We’re also what we’ve become because of our past and for me, that's an advocate. I wouldn't be able to be a community builder if I hadn't gone through the things I did," Angela continued.
Angela calls herself an accidental artist who had her life saved by a paintbrush.
"Because I had been a writer up until a couple of years before this and I wrote all the time, and then in 2013, I had lost my words. There were no words to describe what I was going through. There still aren't."
She reflected back to pictures when she was 18 years old with her prom dress on, only it wasn't for a school dance this time.
"That night, I went to the Viscount after those pictures right there at Speedway and Alvernon and that was just one of many hotels," says Angela. "Yeah, there's a lot of hotels and most people just don't even realize what's going on in the room next door."
Angela was able to escape that lifestyle after a few months, that is, until it came back in her 30's.
"I actually ended up returning to it, not by choice. But [I] definitely was living a life where it wasn't unexpected. But it was really a lot harder to get out that time," Angela explained.
She was tired of waking up every with a death wish every morning and finally had enough.
"I remember just looking at the stars and thinking, okay, if there's a God, if there's really somebody or something that cares, then there will be a way out. I won't have to keep doing this. And it wasn't that night. It wasn't that next day. But within a couple of weeks, I had left my then boyfriend's house. He was very, very abusive. I'm really not sure how I made it out alive," Angela recalls.
She says her perspective on life is very clear.
"There's darkness in the world and there always will be but the reason darkness and pain grow is because of people who do nothing. And if you do nothing, you are a part of the problem," Angela said.
"It is only by standing together and standing for what's right that we can bring light to all of these topics. It's by having the hard discussions. It's by having shows like this."
Angela shares a message to those who may be going through the same struggles.
"You matter, I see you. There's other people like me who are here to help. Not because we know best or know how to do it perfectly but because we've been there. Because we know what it's like and if you want out, we're here."
Angela Marie says the popular Tucson Gem Show that brings 65,000 people from across the globe is a place where people are buying more than just rocks.
"There are more people sold during the gem show than any other time in the year in our city. And I mean, I remember in 2000 I was working. I very clearly remember some of those same people that I saw, the hotels that I went to, the things that I did, I made a lot of money. Well, somebody I worked for made a lot of money," Angela said.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 469 signals were received by the Hotline in 2023 from Arizona and 124 of those signals received were from victims or survivors of human trafficking.
Angela shares signs to look out for if someone is being trafficked.
"Somebody who doesn't speak for themselves, and this can be male, female does not matter. Gender does not matter for this at all, but if they're not dressed appropriately. They always defer to somebody around them to know what to do and when to do, how to do it right. A lot of the same things that you can look for for; domestic violence type situations, honestly. But then you're looking at those larger signs, like, are they wearing a really short skirt. And it's weather like today and no jacket. But they've got everything on display. Are they acting inappropriately for their age? Are they a young person who's very sexual? That's a big indicator that there's some kind of sexual abuse going on."
She says giving people a voice, giving people control over their bodies and allowing people to share the truth of who they are and what they're experiencing in a safe way, is really the best answer to prevent trafficking.
Angela says non-profit, Southern Arizona Against Slavery (SAAS) has been a huge part of her healing process.
Norma Darnell, President of SAAS says the organization is dedicated to fight against human trafficking.
"Our mission it to empower survivors of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking,"
On top of that, they also provide events throughout the community to spread awareness.
“We want survivors to be the voice of all the projects that we do right? To be in the forefront of everything and discover their gifts while they do things," Darnell said.
Every time she hears Angela's story, Darnell says it fuels her even more to do what she does.
Once a victim goes through treatment and wants to integrate back into the community, that's where SAAS comes in.
They will be hosting a free Human Trafficking Awareness Walk on Sat. Jan. 18. from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the NW corner of Reid Park.
Resource tables will be available there.
To support survivors and see and hear their stories, "What I Wish You Knew: The Stories We Carry" exhibition, will be open Sat. Jan. 11 from 12-5 p.m. at the 7 Legged Spider Gallery inside the Steinfeld Warehouse.
If you are experiencing human trafficking or know someone being trafficked, call the hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733.
Southern Arizona Against Sexual Assault (SACASA) also has 24 Hour Sexual Assault Crisis Services. You can call (520) 327-7273 or toll free at (800) 400-1001.
