Listening to the stories of human trafficking survivors provides an invaluable glimpse into the horrors of modern day slavery. In this interview, Stop Modern Day Slavery founder Rachel speaks with Elizabeth Quiroz, a survivor of human trafficking.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for offering to share your experience being trafficked with us. I am honored to help amplify your voice and help your story reach more people.
I am so grateful to be able to share my story and bring hope to others that feel that there is NO other way. If I can turn my pain into empowerment to inspire others, then there is hope for the lost and broken. Our past doesn’t define WHO we are today!
Absolutely! To begin, I wanted to have you explain your experience in human trafficking before diving into the questions. Basically, I would like you to share your story in as much detail as you are comfortable with. It is up to you how much information you share.
At 15 years old, I met my first trafficker. He came into my life as my “boyfriend.” Eventually, he got arrested and sent an older woman to help me make money while he was gone, so I thought she was my friend. She was about fifty years old, and she was also a part of the same prison gang that my boyfriend was from. She told me that I needed to make money to support my boyfriend, so I needed to sleep with Johns (men). I begged her to not put me out there, but I had no choice. She started to sell me on 17th & Capp and 20th & Shotwell in San Francisco. I was sold into multiple cars, and she collected all the money.
One night, she left me on the streets and a John pulled up to me and asked me for a date. He told me he had $200, which was much more than the $60 I was usually sold to each car for. So, I got into his car and became desperate. I grabbed him by his hair and put a knife to his neck and demanded that he give me the $200. I was just sixteen years old at this time. Sixteen-year-olds are supposed to have sweet sixteens and sleepovers, but I was being sold to multiple men, over and over again.
My boyfriend got out of jail, and I told him what happened because I felt so guilty. He cried and told me, “Well, if you did it for her, then you will do it for me. You love me right?” I cried and said, “Of course I love you.” So, he took me back out to the streets and sold me to Johns in cars and in shacks. I didn’t realize that he and the woman were both grooming and trafficking me; they were a team.
One time, I was sold to a businessman that owned multiple stores and had a family. He raped me in the back seat of his limo, and I begged him to pay me, but he threw me out of the car and took off. I had to hitchhike back to my trafficker.
Another night, my trafficker was standing outside of a shack while he was collecting money from the Johns that were rotating in and out of the room after having sex with me. At the end of the night, my trafficker would put me into the bathtub and wash my body down. He would tell me, “I love you.” So, everything I just went through was erased because he gave me that attention I was desperately seeking. I remember there were mornings where the police would kick down his door looking for him. I would wake up screaming and he would take off through the back door. The police asked me, “How old are you?” I said, “eighteen years old.” They never once asked for an ID.
Another night, I was working on the corner and saw my dad drive by, so I hid behind a car. I watched him and realized he wasn’t looking for me, he was looking for a woman to pick up. I knew in my soul that I never wanted to go back home; I believed I was home with my trafficker.
My trafficker got arrested again, and he was telling me over the phone to go make money to support him. My trafficker got me connected to a tattoo shop and had me labeled on both arms stating, “Property of ____.”
Then, I was connected with other men who got me a fake green card ID so I could go visit my trafficker in jail. A child human trafficking victim went through the metal detectors and searched by police, and not once did they ever seen the signs or asked me why I was visiting an older man. My trafficker told me I needed to bail him out, so I connected with another older gang member, who told me that we will rob someone to get the bail money. I agreed because I didn’t want to sleep with any more Johns. I ended up robbing a lady at gunpoint and took her purse. I ran up the street and was tackled by two Samaritans. I curled up into a ball on the floor because I was in total fear and survival mode. These men threw me on top of a car and the police came with two rifles pointed at me. I went to San Francisco Juvenile Hall. I used a different name because I didn’t want to go back to my mother. My trafficker got out of jail and came to the juvenile hall to visit me. The guards let him in, and he made sure I wasn’t talking.
I eventually was placed in a group home facility and then escaped. My trafficker got arrested again and was deported. I was on the run from the law and living on the streets, so I started to sell myself to survive. I was hooked on meth and weed, so I was able to leave my body while these men violated me. At nineteen, I was arrested due to having a knife on me for protection, and the officers threw me on the floor and pointed a gun to my head. I screamed and begged them to not shoot me. I was taken into custody and was never asked, “Why did you escape a group home facility? Why were you running?” I displayed huge red flags for human trafficking, and NO ONE noticed.
I was eventually released and met my third trafficker, my drug supplier and protector. He started to give me large amounts of Methamphetamines to sell for him. I was addicted, so I would smoke my own supply or people would rob me because I was a female drug dealer. My third trafficker was also a gang member, so I was in fear for my life when I was working for him. I would get arrested for his drugs, and I would get out and be in debt to him. I was looking for love and I thought if I was loyal to these people, they would LOVE me. After all, the streets were my family.
Throughout the years, I was in and out of correctional facilities and went to Valley State Prison. There was a time when I was out of prison that my trafficker was looking for me because I owed him money. He found me, kidnapped me and said, “You better cash these checks and pay me, or I’ll take you to the hoe stroll to make my money.” I did as I was told and paid him his money. I tried to tell him that I was done, but he gave me more dope to sell, and then before I could get out of his car, I had to give him oral sex. For about twelve years, I was hooked on meth, in and out of correctional facilities, and had three different traffickers.
Wow. Thank you for sharing. It is unbelievable what you were forced to endure. A lot of people don’t understand why human trafficking victims don’t just leave. What kept you from running away or calling for help when you were being trafficked?
There were times that I would try to escape from my first trafficker, but he would chase me, beat me, and drag me back to the garage we were living in. There were times that I would have the Johns drop me off to a different location and my second trafficker would find me and get the money. There were times when I would be in debt to my third trafficker and I would hide from him and eventually he would find me, which led him to kidnapping me and keeping me until I paid him. I was so deep into the game, I couldn’t get out and if I did, where would I go? I ran to the streets to get away from an abusive home. I felt more safe in the streets than I did when I was with my own family.
How did you end up in the foster system? What was foster care like for you?
One day, I came home from the river and my mother and I got into an argument and she chased me upstairs. I was in so much fear, I ran into the bathroom instead of escaping out of my bedroom window. I locked the door and she started to hit the door. I was screaming for her to stop, and she wouldn’t. I figured if I took my own life, she couldn’t beat me anymore. So, I grabbed the toilet cleaner and began drinking it. I started to throw up because I couldn’t breathe. My mother finally got into the bathroom, and she grabbed me by my hair and threw me into the bathtub. She started to beat me with a large metal spoon, and I finally had the courage to fight back. I grabbed the spoon and wouldn’t let it go. My mother grabbed multiple cleaning chemicals and started to pour it into my mouth and all over my body. She was yelling, “If you want to kill yourself, I’ll do it for you.” I screamed on top of my lungs because my skin started to burn because I had a sunburn from when I went to the river. I begged her to stop, so she finally did, and she turned the shower on. While I sat there with the shower washing the chemicals away, she said, “You are pathetic.” Something inside finally told me to do SOMETHING! I ran downstairs and grabbed the phone in total fear and survival mode. I called the police, and the police came. My brother brought down all of the chemical bottles and placed them on the table so the police could see what my mother did. They just referred us to a social worker and gave us a business card. They walked out the door and I was in total fear and my heart totally shattered because once again, I wasn’t heard and was left behind with my abuser when I was only trying to escape. We went to see the social worker, and I told them that I was living in fear, and I needed to leave. They finally placed me in a foster home. My foster parents were evil people, and they kept padlocks on the refrigerator, so we were only allowed to eat when they fed us. There was a child in the house that had a mental illness and also couldn’t talk. I was reliving my trauma all over again when I would hear my foster parents beating the child in the other room and I would hear his screams. I ran away from at 15 years old and was finally dropped off at my father’s doorstep in South San Francisco.
That is absolutely horrifying. I’m so sorry to hear what happened to you. Were there any signs of human trafficking that people around you ignored? Who could have noticed something was wrong?
One day, I met an older man and he told me he was nineteen years old; this man was really twenty-seven years old. He told me that I was beautiful, and he would take care of me. I fell in love, instantly. I brought this man home and introduced him to my dad who was drunk. I said, “Dad, meet my new boyfriend.” My dad said, “You can date my daughter, as long as you wear protection and don’t take her to the projects. This grown man was covered up with tattoos, which was a huge red flag, but my dad still gave his fifteen-year-old daughter to this man. This man started to take me to hotel rooms and gave me 2-3 ecstasy pills each time to get me loaded. I would be so out of it and couldn’t get out of bed or walk. This is when he would sodomize me and make me sexually perform on him. This was a form of attention for me, so I considered it love. I dropped out of high school and ran away with this man. He took me back to his family’s house, a dope house. He kept me in a room while everyone was partying in the living room. He met my uncles and cousins, and they sold dope to him and to the people at the dope house I was staying at. There were times he would leave me and be gone days at a time, and I would stay in the room waiting for him to return.
One day, when he came back to the room after being gone for so long, I saw hickies all over his neck. I would scream and panic because he left me, and he was cheating on me. He pulled out foil and put methamphetamine on it. He told me, “Hit this and you will calm down.” I did as I was told and I threw up everywhere, then he began to put pills in my mouth to calm me down. I finally calmed down and then he sodomized me. It hurts my heart that my own family was supplying my trafficker with drugs that got me hooked on meth. My family knew I was in the dope house but did nothing. I fell through the cracks in many situations. I displayed red flags at school, in the hands of law enforcement, in correctional facilities, with my family and in the foster care system, but NO ONE helped me.
How were you finally able to escape? How was your transition from being trafficked to being free?
At the age of twenty-six, I got pregnant and used meth throughout my pregnancy. I gave birth to my son and when he was three months old, I was arrested for the last time. I left my son at a dope house and the police told me that I was going away for a long time. I told them, “I will tell you who I am working for if you take me to see my son before you take me to jail.” They agreed. I told the police who my trafficker was in total fear and felt betrayal because the codes in the streets are that you don’t “SNITCH!” They got the info they needed from me and took me straight to jail, I didn’t get to say goodbye to my son. I called the dope house that my son was at from the holding tank, and he screamed when he heard my voice. I woke up that night, I felt like a human again and my heart shattered. I broke down crying because I was no longer dead, and I felt pain. I decided to change my life because my son needed a mom and I needed to break that generational cycle in my family. I ended up getting five years between San Mateo County and Sonoma County. I was angry, hurt, and full of guilt because I was missing my son’s first steps and his first words. When I was in San Mateo jail, I got into many physical fights. I knew I wanted to change, but I didn’t know how to. When I came to Sonoma County, I got enrolled into a program called Starting Point. That was where I learned about trauma and addiction. I was inspired to get my GED, so every night; I worked on my homework in my cell to practice for the exam. I had a wonderful teacher that sat down with me and helped me learn how to do math. I took the test and failed. I cried because I tried with all of my might, and I still failed. My teacher said, “TRY AGAIN.” So, I practiced and took the test again, I passed!! When I received my GED, I cried because I never received anything in my life but trauma and hate. I graduated from Starting Point (in-custody Residential treatment facility) and I was released from custody. I was encouraged by my counselor to do another program called Women’s Recovery Services because I had a lot of trauma and I could never go back to San Francisco/Daly City. So, I went to this residential treatment program for women in hopes that it will change my life. I learned about human trafficking and how I was victim not a child prostitute. When I found this out, a big burden was lifted off my shoulders. I was free to share my truth without fear and shame because it wasn’t my fault. I received TRUE love from both of these programs and that is when I decided I wanted to help others by sharing my story. This is where I started to get connected with my higher power, God. I felt his TRUE love when I would run at lakes and the sun would shine down on my face or when I would pray and every fear and anxiety would leave my body because I knew I was going to be ok.
What keeps you going in life despite all you have been put through?
On Christmas Eve of 2018, The Governor’s Office called me and said, “You have been granted a full unconditional Governor’s Pardon from Governor Jerry Brown!” I screamed and cried because I finally felt the true feeling of redemption. I graduated from SRJC last May with three associate degrees with the highest honors; the first in my family to receive a degree. I walked across the stage with so much joy and love in my heart because I felt in my soul that I just broke the generational cycle of death, incarceration, human trafficking, drugs, and gangs in my family.
I have been clean for nine years now, and I recently walked across the stage to receive my bachelor’s degree in Sociology with Distinction. In the fall, I will be attending Arizona State University to pursue my master’s degree in Social Justice and Human Rights. After fighting for my son for nine years after losing him due to my last arrest, I finally received full custody of my son last December. God truly heals and restores families. I am now a sought-after speaker who presents on various topics, including criminal record expungement, addiction recovery, and human trafficking. Among my audiences are Sonoma County Jail GED graduates, female inmates at Folsom State Prison, the California Violence Prevention Network annual conference, the Placerville Summit view Child and Family Services, Lake County Tribal Health, the San Mateo women’s correctional facility, the 2019 SRJC Latinx graduation, and more recently I was a keynote speaker at the Santa Rosa Junior College President’s Address to the Community. I also presented at events including the SRJC Human Trafficking Awareness and Women’s History Month events. As a mentor, I work with at-risk youth from multiple organizations including, Seneca, Valley of the Moon, and Juvenile Probation. I currently serve as a member of the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force and founded and co-facilitate Sonoma County’s first Human Trafficking support group for victims and survivors. Together with my partner, Lisa McQuaid, we coordinate a monthly street outreach program for human trafficking victims, aiming to provide them with a safe way out of the hands of their perpetrators. To support these efforts, I am the co-founder of Redemption House of The Bay Area, and I am currently working with my partner to establish a nonprofit organization to assist human trafficking victims by providing them with a safe place to live while recovering and healing from their traumatic past. I am married now with four stepchildren plus my own son. I travel all over California to share my story and bring awareness about human trafficking. I won the Humanitarian Hero award from The Red Cross. There are days that my past pops up in my dreams or I will have flashbacks, but I am immediately embraced with love through my new family, God and mentoring other broken women.
That is amazing! I am so happy to hear about your wonderful achievements and efforts toward combatting trafficking. My last question is, in your opinion, how can we best advocate against human trafficking? In other words, what can the average person do to help eliminate the exploitation of other human beings?
Get educated, attend seminars, educate your peers, and get familiar with your local resources to give to others when you come across someone that is high-risk or experiencing human trafficking. DOING SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING!!!
Thank you, Elizabeth, for telling us your story and answering my questions. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share stories like yours with the world!
