Last month I wrote about CNN's documentary on sex trafficking hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith. This month they are featuring Survivor's Ink, an non-profit organization founded by Jennifer Kempton, a sex trafficking survivor who spent five years of her life as a sex slave, branded three times by different traffickers. Her organization now provides financial help for women trying to cover these brands.
You can check out the video here.
Jennifer's trafficking horrors ended in a basement while trying to hang herself. When the rope broke, she heard God's voice telling her He had a purpose for her life. And it wasn't dying in the basement with a rope around her neck. Once free of her trafficker, Jennifer endured several years with her brands before she was able to scrape up enough money to cover the one on her left arm with a colorful tattoo and a scriptural verse from Corinthians. She now helps other women do the same.
Formerly trafficked women are constantly reminded of their past when they look at themselves in the mirror and see "Property of..." tattooed on their necks, their arms, their stomachs, their groins. As they try to put the horrors of that existence behind them, many of them find they cannot afford the costs of a cover-up tattoo, much less laser removal. Survivor's Ink helps provide them with scholarships so they can finally put one part of their past behind them.
You can check out Survivor's Ink at this link.
