We
will call her Maria*.
She
is 19 and the mother of a young son who lives with his aunt in another town in
Moldova. Her mother died when Maria was young, and her father wasn’t around.
She and her sister went to live with their grandparents, but things began to
fall apart when her grandmother died. After a short while, Maria ran away from
her grandfather to the city where her cousin lived. This same cousin introduced
her to the streets, and with only a grade-9 education, Maria was prostituted
for the first time. She was 13 years old.
Thirteen.
We
first met her during a volunteer training day for our Mobile Intervention
Clinic. A Christian doctor and counselor, both trauma-trained, were teaching
five volunteers how to provide pre- and post-counselling for women being tested
for HIV/AIDS. While researching ways the church could address the problem of
human trafficking in Moldova, we learned that this test is one service women in
the sex trade have said they would welcome. In response, we turned a van into a
mobile clinic to provide rapid HIV/AIDS tests and health checks, as well as
referrals to other services.
Maria
was the first young woman we approached. We asked if she would like to be
tested, and she timidly accepted the offer. Inside the van, she told us how she
wound up in this life and was tested for HIV. Thankfully, the test came back
negative, but Maria said she was worried that she was pregnant. She asked if we
would stay until after she took a pregnancy test she had already purchased. We
agreed.
The
test confirmed her suspicions. Maria’s face fell. She said she was considering
an abortion—she pitied the life another child might have with her. She still
hoped to have more children later in life, though, and expressed concerns about
problems with pregnancy after an abortion. The doctor confirmed that risks did
exist.
I
shared with Maria our desire to help women in the sex trade exit and begin new
lives. I told her we could connect her with other organizations that can help. I
told her we were there to walk alongside her and help in any way we could.
While
I spoke, Maria kept her eyes fixed downward, avoiding eye contact. But when we
offered to take her to the doctor to get an ultrasound of the baby, Maria lifted
her head and said she would like that.
“When?”
we asked.
“Now,” she said.
Three
of us went with Maria to the doctor, who said her baby was already 11 weeks
old. When Maria showed us the sonogram image, we celebrated with her. She
didn’t talk anymore of abortion from that point.
Two
weeks later, after frequent contact with our counselor, Maria visited a
Christian residential restoration program for survivors of sex trafficking.
While she didn’t make a decision that day, she did articulate a basic hope: “[I
want] to have my family together with me.”
After
thinking it over, Maria decided to move into the restoration home. Today, a new
life is possible for her—and her children.
Rebecca Sukanen is
a missionary with the Church of the Nazarene in Moldova.
*Name has been changed.
SIDEBAR
Moldova Mobile Intervention Clinic
Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe,
is a hotbed for human trafficking. Desperation, poverty, and lack of education
make girls and young women vulnerable to traffickers who promise a better life,
only to force them into slavery and prostitution. In
response, the Nazarene church in Moldova has started a Mobile Intervention
Clinic to provide free medical services and referrals to Christ-centered
restoration centers that provide a way off the streets. The goal is to get
victims and their children, as well as potential victims, out of this danger
zone.
To learn more about church-centered anti-trafficking ministries,
go to ncm.org/trafficking.
