Understanding the Victim

We often mention the word victim when we talk about the women and girls that we rescue and restore. But simply, who is this victim? The dictionary describes a victim as a person who has been lured and cheated by somebody. In the Project Rescue sense of the word, victim describes a woman or girl who has been sexually exploited and as a result condemned by the society in which she lives.

"Don't these girls hate their perpetrators?" we are often asked. Sadly, we find that these victims have moved beyond hatred into a hardened state of detachment; the light in their eyes visibly turned off. The dignity, with which we are all born, stripped from their souls. Sold by someone they trusted and loved, these young women and girls now find themselves in an unfamiliar role as an outcast. Wanting to escape but unable, the situation is further exacerbated by a society that plays the dual role acting as the customer and the one who condemns. This is what we mean when we say victim.

Profile of a Child in the Red Light District

  • She is born into commercial sexual exploitation but is as intelligent and feeling as anyone else.
  • As a child, her dream is to run away from the red light district, to any place, where she no longer will be abused or forced to see her mother exploited
  • She has lost her childhood. She knows what her mother's profession is and ownership attached to her earnings.
  • She shoulders tremendous family responsibilities at an early age.
  • Her studies are secondary to her survival, yet her dreams help her survive.
  • She bears the scars and ostracism of association with her mother, yet she is keenly aware that her mother is really the only one who loves her.
  • She craves love and affection and will give it in return to a select few.
  • If given a chance, should would rather play. She is no different from your child.