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Report from the field: Peru - Recruiting Young Women During Lunch
For Marissa, a young woman who was juggling school and her low paying job as a nanny, the nebulous offer of a high-paying job during her lunch break was seen a possible positive break.
Marissa’s story is all too familiar in Peru. She had been abandoned by her parents when she was a baby and grew up in a home run by nuns. When she was in her teens, and without any prospect of being adopted, the nuns trained her to take care of the newborns. In time she decided to use her skills by going to Lima, continuing her education, and taking control of her own fate.
At first, Marissa did not accept the job offer, but one of her classmates kept talking to her about the chance for a better job, the possibility of making more money. Soon thereafter, while out with the fore-mentioned classmate Marissa was drugged. The same ‘friend’ had given her bubblegum that had been laced with drugs.
Slave recruiters have an eye to recognize people that are naïve or vulnerable. If the victims have any social tie with a group or person that would speak up on her or his behalf they find ways to break that connection.
The drugs made Marissa feel like a zombie, hyper, aggressive, wild, and reckless. Her boss, without knowing that she was drugged, noticed the strange behavior and fired her fearing that she would harm her child. Marissa had lost the only family that could speak up for her if necessary.
Not for Sale was able to investigate this matter. We found that the person who offered Marissa a job, runs a sex trafficking ring in the city by recruiting kids from local high schools.
We are happy to report that Marissa is currently in a temporary home run by our Lima-based partner Generación where a social worker is caring for her.
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