Female Police Officers Form Enduring Connections with Rescued Sex Trafficking Victims

Multiple years have elapsed since Cristina and her team, a specialized group of Spanish law enforcement investigators, liberated “Victoria” from a human trafficking network involving sexual exploitation. Upon her discovery, Victoria’s existence was precarious; for three years, she had endured such severe physical and psychological mistreatment that she scarcely perceived herself as human. Her survival was aided by the aspiration of reuniting with her children. While the police inquiry has concluded, the connection with Cristina and the other team members persists. They have maintained a significant presence in her life, ranging from the profound act of bringing her back together with her children after years of separation, to the more modest yet equally significant gesture of surprising her with a birthday cake. On an autumn afternoon, Victoria [not her real name] becomes emotional upon the arrival of Cristina and her colleagues with a gift at her neighborhood park. She smiles, pleased to mark another year with them, but Victoria, who is in her 40s, describes her past as “tough.” Her upbringing in her home country of Colombia was harsh. Her father vanished without a trace on his commute to work one morning in 1986. Her mother subsequently married a different man, who Victoria states sexually assaulted her younger sister. Being the eldest child, she was eager to secure employment to alleviate her siblings’ difficulties. When a friend connected her with a woman offering a cleaning position in Spain, Victoria believed her fortune had finally changed. However, a different form of suffering awaited her in Europe. She was instantly compelled into sex work. “I worked 24 hours a day,” she says. “I had to sleep with my make-up on and you always had to be [only] in your underwear, ready for any customer who would arrive.” Specifics of her rescue cannot be disclosed, as her status as a protected witness necessitates the concealment of her identity; however, Victoria asserts she will always remember the bright morning she first saw the investigators and moved towards them. “I looked at them, hugged them and cried,” she recalls. “They offered to take me to a safe place, where I could be free without fear.” Victoria recounted being so deeply affected by the criminal group’s constant monitoring that she even sought authorization to sleep. Subsequently, in collaboration with other entities, Cristina and her team have assisted Victoria in obtaining psychological aid, alongside guidance on securing employment and advancing her education. Of greater importance, they also dedicated months to helping guarantee the security of her children. The criminal group that enticed Victoria to Spain had issued threats to harm her children in Colombia if she ever attempted to flee or notify law enforcement. The group was extensively organized and improbable to be making empty threats, as the traffickers had previously sent direct messages to her children and were aware of their residence and educational institution. Cristina and other members of the Central Operative Unit – a specialized branch of Spain’s Guardia Civil responsible for prosecuting the gravest types of organized crime – collaborated with women’s groups and human rights attorneys for months to formalize Victoria’s legal status in Spain, enabling her family to relocate and unite with her. The unit employs an approach centered on victims, providing women with sustained assistance to facilitate their integration into a secure and stable setting following their rescue. The team reports occasionally being jested by other units for appearing more akin to a “charity” than a specialized group of criminal investigators; however, Cristina fervently champions their work. “We believe in a social and humanitarian process that can restore hope in victims’ lives, so they can truly recover and live passionately again.” Although women constitute less than 10% of Guardia Civil officers overall, they comprise 60% of Cristina’s specific squad. Felix Duran, the unit’s leader, states that their recruitment is a “priority.” He holds the view that victims of sex trafficking, especially adolescent girls, feel more at ease providing information to a female officer. The United Nations’ Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC) estimates that around 50,000 trafficking victims are identified globally each year. Its most recent worldwide report on human trafficking, released on Wednesday, indicates a 25% increase in victim detection compared to the period before the pandemic, noting that “more children are exploited and forced labour cases spike.” The report concludes that women and girls still represent the majority of victims identified globally, primarily trafficked for sexual exploitation. Spain functions as both a location for exploitation and a transit point for thousands of victims trafficked into Europe. Victoria and the other victims were hidden within an apartment, encircled by other residential units. Victoria perceived her abuse as occurring openly – she is convinced that the pleas for assistance, the physical assaults, and the continuous stream of men entering and exiting the premises would have made the situation apparent. “The neighbours; the postman; everyone knew. They could have killed me and nobody would have asked any questions,” she recalls. Following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, human trafficking for sexual exploitation became more clandestine, according to the Guardia Civil, who informed the BBC. The agency states that, although numerous women continue to be exploited in public locations like bars or on thoroughfares, the majority of recorded victims are now hidden in private residences provided by traffickers, complicating detection efforts for law enforcement agencies. Ilias Chatzis, who heads the UNODC Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, indicates that the significant participation of organized crime syndicates implies that human trafficking is now progressively linked with other illicit operations, including drug trafficking or cybercrime. “A large number of victims remain undetected because sometimes authorities will prosecute the trafficker for some lesser offence, but not for the trafficking crime, so the victim itself would not be recognised as a trafficking victim,” he told the BBC. Victoria expresses gratitude that her personal ordeal was acknowledged by law enforcement, and she intends to leverage her experience to increase awareness for victims still awaiting rescue. “They gave me another chance not only to live, but to heal and hug my children again.” She requested the BBC refer to her as “Victoria” due to its meaning of “victory” in Spanish. “I go out on the street and I breathe, and I say, ‘my God, thank you, I’m alive’. I feel free and that’s the best feeling.” Cristina states she is astonished by Victoria’s fortitude. “She is an example of how you can survive and overcome such an ordeal”, explains Cristina. “I often think: ‘My goodness, there’s so much inner power, such bravery in you.'” Annually, BBC 100 Women identifies 100 inspiring and impactful women globally. Connect with BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook. Engage in discussions using #BBC100Women. 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