Effects of Trafficking

In The Road of Lost Innocence, Somaly Mam exhibits many traits that are common among women who have endured sex trafficking. According to Soroptomist, an international women’s organization, there are mental, emotional, and physical effects of trafficking. These effects include fear, shame, distrust, insomnia, and much more. All of these can be seen in Mam’s personal story. Even years after she escaped the brothels, Mam still struggles to trust people, especially men. If I were Mam, I would feel the same way too. At one point Mam says, “I felt I could never really trust Pierre again. Barang or not, all men are alike,” (89). Regardless of how men treat her, Mam will never be able to get past her time in the brothel, nor would I in her situation. Trust is a very difficult thing to fix. Fear is another traits Mam exhibits while traveling with Pierre. Mam is exposed to many new things when she goes to France. Airplanes, escalators, vacuum cleaners, and French food are a few things that are a myster to Mam. She is very hesitant to experience these new things, although to most people they are quite common. It is as if being a prostitute has forever prohibited Mam from being able to keep an open mind about life. As Mam was growing up, she feared for her life and struggled to live from day to day. Now that Mam has grown into a woman, she still cannot accept new experiences and is always skeptical of ulterior motives. For example, she fears the vacuum cleaner might suck up her leg. A third trait Mam possesses is shame. She does not think of herself as beautiful because she was told from a very young age that she wasn’t. This would be very difficult for any girl. Constant negative reinforcement can have lasting, if not permanent, effects on girls as they grow and develop. Enduring sex trafficking is a horrible experience that most people can never understand; yet it has a lasting impact on those who have survived, like Somaly Mam.

http://www.soroptimist.org/trafficking/faq.html#6