Sophia A. Strother talks about sexual abuse and sex trafficking from deeply painful personal experience.
Strother discussed her path from victim to victims’ advocate on May 11 during an ATX Together: The Engage Series discussion titled “Human Trafficking in Our Region.” The event was hosted by Courtney Bailey, director of issues & engagement for Leadership Austin, and Trenzio Turner with Austin PBS, and Strother was joined on the panel by Becky Austen of Allies Against Slavery and Texas Assistant Attorney General Brooke Grona-Robb.
Strother said it is a very serious problem affecting all socioeconomic categories. Child sexual abuse can make someone more vulnerable to sex trafficking, she said, speaking from experience.
“And so for myself, mine started at the age of 9 when my father actually started to sexually molest me, introduce me to pornography as a means of control,” Strother said. “No spiritual compass. We didn’t go to church. I was the only child, very ostracized from my mom’s family as we were living in Massachusetts. And so, again, no real compass.
“But he really molded me and groomed me to believe that my body was no more than a tool to be used at a man’s discretion. That actually went on for about two years where he carried on a sexual relationship with me,” she said. “And then, unfortunately, he died abruptly in a car accident in ’93. And that actually kind of sent my mother down a very spiral effect of drugs to cope with that grief. And she ultimately decided that I would be a part of that drug addiction.”
Strother said when they relocated to Garland, Texas, her mother began to groom her and, by the time she was 13, trafficked her to pay for her crack cocaine habit. By the time she was 15, she was pregnant by a drug dealer.
“Thankfully, I had a grandmother and my father’s mother that was still in Massachusetts that got me out of it. I asked her to send for me because I just knew that my future was either I'm going to be dead or I'm going to be a prostitute, or there was just no hope. I didn't really see where I’d have much hope for my future,” she said. “And so Oct. 21, 1995, my grandmother sent for me and at the time my 3-month-old son to go live with her. And that’s how I ultimately got out of the life of being trafficked.”
But the after-effects were troubling, with decades of relationships racked with domestic violence, and being sexually assaulted again numerous times.
“I think about 36 is when I really got to my rock bottom, my low, where I just didn’t want to be here. I just felt like even though I might have had some success on the career path, just all of my interactions were very transactional,” Strother said. “I didn’t even really know my name. I felt that my name was currency because that’s what my mom had really flipped my identity to, is being looked at and bartered as currency. And so it wasn’t until I was really almost 36 that I started to go to counseling and realized that I am more than what happened to me, I’m more than my circumstance, and that I could really use my voice and some of the circles to be a conduit for other whispers that are out there, especially women of color, because unfortunately, we are the most affected by domestic violence and human trafficking as juveniles for sure, and then about 40% for adults.”
She said not enough women of color are visible as healthy survivors or providers. Strother is determined to change that.
“It’s amazing to me that the FBI had a survey out stating that over 50% of juveniles that are arrested for prostitution are African-American. How can you be underage and be a willful participant in prostitution?” she asked. “I did not realize that I was trafficked until I was in my 30s because I learned what the definition was. I was like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. Oh, my mother was my pimp.’
“Like, I never put two-and-two together. Why? Because we have a society that even in media, movies and music, kind of glorifies being a pimp,” Strother said.
There are other cultural issues, she said.
“There’s women that say, ‘Well, no, I wasn’t trafficked. I knew what I was doing. I had to eat. I needed to get a roof over my head. There were things that I did this because I needed to live,’” Strother said. “Not realizing that when you have to feel obligated to give of yourself in that way in order to live, that’s a form of trafficking.”
There are encouraging signs. The Texas Department of Public Safety established a human trafficking division in 2017. All DPS staff members are required to watch the video “Be The One: In the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”
She and other advocates for human trafficking victims are working with state agencies, including the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, as well as private organizations such as The Jensen Project.
Strother said she was impressed in 2021 when Texas became the first state to make it a felony to solicit sex. But she said that needs to be a national standard.
“And even how we talk about those that are enduring trafficking, they’re not prostitutes, they’re being trafficked, they’re victims,” Strother said.
She said when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution after reportedly paying for sex in a Florida massage parlor in 2019, a prosecutor was very careful not to call those women prostitutes.
“He called them victims. And I think a lot of it is around the language and how we treat those that are affected by this,” Strother said. “It comes down to the training and the awareness so that we can break a stigma and a cycle that’s been going on if we want to be honest. America has been a part of human trafficking since its inception. It’s the most egregious and long-term form of labor and sex trafficking, period.”
She said until men face serious consequences for their actions, little will change. Charges were dropped against Kraft, and the judge ordered the video evidence obtained with hidden cameras destroyed.
She said people with money and influence can avoid real penalties.
“And we’re not just talking about, you know, everyday Joe Smalls, again, this goes all the way up. There are people, as we even saw with Mr. Kraft, that are billionaires still participating in trafficking,” Strother said. “And then when they get exposed, they get a slap on the wrist and they get to keep going on.”
Victims are afraid of retribution or ashamed to admit their involvement, and people involved in sex trafficking make money, little will change.
“One of the things when I spoke in front of Congress in 2019, I just kept saying, ‘Can you see me?’” Strother said.
She was asked the difference between sex trafficking and sex work.
“Wow. That's such a loaded question. So, you know, the industry of sex where it can be legal and illegal, so you can have sex work that's in the pornography business, you can have escorts, you can have it, again where you're dealing with prostitution,” Strother said.
The definition of trafficking is someone having control of your body to either do labor to make money off of your labor or sexual exploitation, she said. She said strip clubs are often “a hub and a hotspot for women that ultimately can become trafficked.”
A council she facilitates, the Human Trafficking Survivor Leader’s Council, works with law enforcement to do stings in strip clubs to help young women caught up in human trafficking, Strother said. If a victim wants out, or sees an opportunity to escape, they need to “Get Loud and Get Out,” she said.
It’s also important for people to be vigilant and report suspected human trafficking or sex abuse, Strother said.
“Even if you feel as though there might be something going on. You can actually report things anonymously,” she said. “Or again, if you want to report something you’re seeing, it’s better to report and be wrong, but not to report and have been right.”
She urges people to call 911 if they suspect abuse, and to know the number of the Human Trafficking Hotline, 888-373-7888. You also can text 233733 to receive assistance, or go to an online chat room.
Human trafficking is a widespread problem with many, many victims. But there is a way out, and a path to a better life. Strother is proof.
“I think the fulfillment for me was when I finally felt comfortable speaking my truth without any shame, without any guilt, because sometimes you have survivor’s guilt when you get out and you see that there’s others still dealing with that,” she said. “And then it’s been very gratifying to be a part of the legislative process. I think initially sometimes you don’t realize that if you’re in it, you’re just trying to get out, you’re trying to survive, you want to be healthy and whole, and then you’re like, ‘OK, I want to be part of the solution. I’m going to tell my story.’”