The stories of human trafficking survivors provide an invaluable glimpse into the horrors of modern day slavery. In this interview, Stop Modern Day Slavery founder Rachel speaks with GiGi Calcagno, a survivor who was trafficked for 24 years.
Hi, Gigi! Thank you so much for sharing your story with Stop Modern Day Slavery’s readers. I am looking forward to speaking with you and learning from your story.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my story here.
My name is GiGi Calcagno, and I am a 51-year-old sex trafficking survivor. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and was adopted as an infant. My childhood was full of abuse by my adoptive parents, and I know that the sexual abuse from them just prepared me for the life of trafficking and addiction that I spent 24 years in. That life of trafficking began when I got a job at a strip club, unaware that it was a cover for a human trafficking ring run by the owner of the club. Some of the girls working there were his recruiters, which is how I was groomed and coerced into their “circle.” No one in that kind of environment dare say anything.
I was finally rescued by a small church group who literally showed up and waited in a car while I escaped out a back door, never to look back.
Thank you for sharing. So, you believe the abuse you experienced in your childhood made you more vulnerable to human trafficking? Can you expand on that?
I feel like I was even more deeply affected by the abuse because they adopted me. That is a different responsibility of loving and caring for a child who is not biologically yours, and in that, they failed.
Being raped and abused sexually at the age of six and the mental abuse and things I believed about myself as a result of that abuse just prepared me for my traffickers. Any form of abuse can tear down and distort one’s view and image of themself, therefore leaving them vulnerable to harm.
What coercion tactics did your traffickers keep you from escaping or seeking outside help?
The coercion was a lot of sick manipulation and the threat of violent physical abuse. The reward for my cooperation was more drugs to numb my pain and make the circumstances momentarily tolerable.
You mentioned that you were suffering from addiction before and while you were trafficked, how did that affect you? How did addiction play a role in your story?
I started drinking and taking opiates at age nine because I was so desperate to stop how I was feeling, and drinking and getting high gave me temporary relief and some sort of happiness.
I was an addict for 24 years and had no desire to change or seek help because I thought that was just my life and there was nothing else for someone like me.
When did you realize that your “relationship” with the strip club owner was actually human trafficking? What made you realize something was wrong?
When having a couple people over for drinks after the bar closed turned into “This is what will make me love you and make me really happy with you.” This meant having sex with one or multiple people while he either watched, photographed, or participated. I felt like I was repeating the abuse from my childhood all over again, and I became very depressed, which resulted in more drug abuse.
You ran away from your parents; did they ever try to reach back out? Did you have any familial support at all while you were trafficked? Did they suspect anything was wrong?
I had run into them on a few occasions, and all they did was berate me and call me names. I have not seen or spoken to them in over 20 years because of all the harm and abuse I endured from them as a child.
Were there any signs that people around you ignored while you were being trafficked?
The signs were there, but because of me being an addict, I think people just thought, “Oh, she’s just another junkie choosing that life.”
How were you ultimately able to escape? How was your transition from being trafficked to free?
I had received a church business card with the pastor’s number on the back from a man I was asking for money. Shortly after that, my trafficker was arrested and taken out of state on a prior kidnapping charge, so that was my chance to call the pastor for help. I did not share that I was being trafficked at that time because of shame and fear. I got myself clean and got a job in fast food making enough to pay for my motel room. Things were good and some church members would pick me up for Sunday service and take me to lunch. Then, a few months later, one night, there was a knock at the door of my motel room… It was my trafficker back from jail. It started all over again, but I was allowed to keep my job because of the income.
My trafficker ended up getting a job with me on the same shift so I could be watched. So, one day on my break I went outside and called a lady I trusted from church, and she said they were praying for me. I told her about my plan to escape and asked that they continue praying. In the following weeks, I made a reservation at a motel on the other side of town for the next week, I called another lady from church and asked if she would show up and park outside the back door. She said “yes!” When that day came, I waited until my trafficker was in the shower and took back my identity: birth certificate, ID, payroll card, etc. Then, when it was time for my lunch break at work, I went to the back door quietly where my bag was and out the door into the waiting car to freedom.
The transition was learning how to live without fear and shame. My church paid for two years of trauma therapy for me, and that was so very necessary in my journey to healing. My church family is literally the hands and feet of Jesus! They gave of their time, finances, hospitality, and, most of all, their love. My motivation comes from my faith in Jesus and how He has healed me and called me to share my testimony of hope to a broken world.
Psalm 118:17
I will not die but live and tell of what the Lord has done!
Are there any harmful misconceptions about sex trafficking that you would like to address?
One is that people think it’s a choice like prostitution, and it’s so much more dangerous and heinous than that because you cannot leave or do anything alone ever.
Secondly, many think that you get trafficked by a van pulling up and grabbing you, taking you to some other country. While that has happened, it is not as common as getting groomed and lured in by a “boyfriend,” who is often much older and promises money and a lavish lifestyle, or a prospective “employer” that requires additional interviews to “get you in the door.”
What can the average person do to help eliminate the exploitation of other human beings?
The first thing people should do is to educate themselves and know what to look for and who to call when they suspect someone is being trafficked. I also suggest getting involved in an anti-trafficking ministry or organization in their community. We need awareness out there and people who are educated on this and not afraid to call authorities.
People can also help by recognizing signs like malnutrition, no identification, no eye contact, bruises, or someone supervising every move. Don’t be afraid to speak up and call the police when you see someone who you think may be a victim of trafficking.
Lastly, I want people out there to know that your call and intervention could be what saves someone like me.
Thank you very much, GiGi, for speaking with me today about your life as a survivor of human trafficking! I am so grateful for the opportunity to share stories like yours with the world. For more interviews with survivors of human trafficking, please click here.
