Survivor of human trafficking walks in freedom

By Madeline Mazak

Silence blanketed Dieppe Gardens Saturday morning as a survivor of human trafficking shared her harrowing testimony at Windsor’s first Walk for Freedom.

A crowd of 116 walked in a single-file line along Windsor’s riverside to raise awareness of human trafficking. It was the first time Windsor took part in a global demonstration started in 2014 by A21, a non-governmental, non-profit organization. People wore shirts that said “Abolish Slavery with Each Step” and carried signs that said phrases including “Slavery Still Exists.”

“It means the world to me to be here today. For so many years I didn’t have a voice. I get to walk in freedom now. I never thought I would be able to do this,” said Jennifer Devoe, a survivor of sex-trafficking.

A Cape Breton, N.S. native, Devoe arrived in Windsor two years ago after escaping 21 years of human trafficking.

The crowd was silent as Devoe bared the painful details of her experience. They applauded her in encouragement when she faltered. She did not hold back in her account, detailing what happened from the day she met her pimp to the day she escaped.

She said it took her two years to realize she was being trafficked.

“My pimp gave me everything that I didn’t have,” said Devoe. “That didn’t last long. All of that was taken away from me within two years. At that point I was stuck and I couldn’t get out. He had my visa, my phone. I needed him for absolutely everything. I was prostituted all over Canada. I was branded with their name on my neck.”

Devoe said the abuse progressed to her being locked in a basement where she slept on a gravel floor with only a blanket in the winter.

She said this was her lowest point and prayed to escape. Soon after, her addiction counsellor put her in contact with Dr. Laura Whyte, co-founder of The Hope Project, a live-in recovery home for women in Cape Breton. Within three days she was on a plane to Windsor where she spent one year in recovery at Windsor Life Center.

“There has to be more awareness,” said Devoe. “People don’t want to believe that human trafficking is going on in their own town. It’s an epidemic and it’s across Canada.”

Pascale Colucci, Walk for Freedom event organizer and team spokesperson, said she hopes victims of human trafficking will hear about the walk and seek help.

“We are here,” said Colucci. “Our eyes and ears are open. We will do what we can as a community to help.”

Devoe said she believes that there will be victims who reach out. She said it is important to do more events as a community such as the Walk for Freedom so victims know help is there for them. She said it is hard to walk away from that life without people who will walk with you and support you.

“Back in Cape Breton, people knew what was going on and they turned away from it. They didn’t want to face it,” said Devoe. “I would’ve wanted them to ask me. If someone would have asked maybe things would have been different.”

Colucci said she wants to encourage people to be a friend to somebody who doesn’t have support. Friendship could be the difference in preventing someone from being trafficked.

Colucci said she is ready to begin organizing Windsor’s next Walk for Freedom in 2019.

“We’re going to keep walking until every person is free,” said Colucci.

Today, Devoe works to mentor women with addiction and spread awareness of human trafficking by sharing her story. She said Windsor could benefit from an after-care program for victims of human trafficking and is making it her goal to start one.

She said she never imagined that she would be free after 21 years of human trafficking. She said she hopes by sharing her testimony she can give hope to women who are in similar situations.

“I’m living a normal life without my head buried in shame,” said Devoe. “I walk here and I’m just Jen, who I’ve always wanted to be—just Jen.”