Trigger warning: This story contains the topic of sexual assault.

Three women, survivors of human trafficking, shared their stories with audiences at the Central Valley‘s Hidden Highway event, on Feb. 4 at Cal State Bakersfield.

The event featured a panel discussion that shed a light on human trafficking in Kern County and how they continue to use it to educate their communities and to help law enforcement.  

Three local lived experience experts– Angelica Zuniga, executive director of “Enough HT” a documentary film about human trafficking, Odessa Perkins, founder of Empowerment and Ofelia Flores, who works in law enforcement speaking with officers and inmates– educating about trafficking victims and how to help them. 

Flores from victim to law enforcement advocate 

“By 15, I was groomed. By 16, I was addicted to heroin and trafficked at the same age. Now I think of it as I have to give out my story,” said Flores. 

From an early age, Flores was a victim of abuse, having to move around because she was being abused by her parents’ partners. 

Until one of her sisters offered her a permanent home– yet her sister would manipulate her with the people she would bring home. They soon began trafficking her by convincing her that it was necessary since she was living there.

Flores now works with law enforcement, training officers on how to interview victims and an advocate for the program Daughter Project, a non-profit dedicated to help survivors. 

Survived to Empower, Perkins shares her story

At six years old Perkins’ family moved in with her mothers new husband, a veteran who abused her mentally and physically.

Perkins was trafficked by her own mother due to living in poverty and unstable housing after her grandmother died.

Once Perkins was safe from the world of human trafficking, she used that opportunity to go to school where she received three Master degrees and a Bachelor degree from CSUB in criminal justice.

After years of working in counseling with multiple schools around Bakersfield, warning her students about human trafficking, in 2022 she started a non-profit organization called “Empowerment.”

“A lot of my students know my story, and they ask why I do what I do, and I always tell them because of you, I don’t want you to ever get in the same situation that I was in, that’s why I listen to my students,” said Perkins. 

Breaking the Cycle, Zuniga’s Fight for Justice and Advocacy

“I felt that I had to take care of her, that I had to be her protector, making sure I’m aware which pimp was staying at our house, or drug dealer,” said Zuniga.

Zuniga, a trafficking survivor, spoke about her mother, who was also a victim of trafficking even before she was born. Zuniga was groomed and trafficked from an early age even before she could remember.

Zunigas’s mother struggled with mental illness and taught her how to pimp herself out and survive that lifestyle. She felt the need to take care of her mother.

After finding help from multiple safe houses around California hiding from her trafficker, she now uses her experience to get involved throughout Kern County.

“I love to be part of different organizations because they need survivors like me, because we are the experts. It’s important that I can come to educate, meet with and work with different people and we get to grow and learn with these organizations,” said Zuniga.

Students who missed the event are encouraged to get involved by reaching out to church organizations or community outreach programs. Furthermore they can help by donating to organizations such as Kern Coalition Against Human Trafficking and The Open Door Network.

If you suspect sexual exploitation or human trafficking, contact local law enforcement, Child Protective Services, or the National Human Trafficking Hotline. (1-888-373-7888).