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Mahila's Story

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DOUBLE your impact to bring freedom to trafficked women and girls

Give your caring and compassionate gift before March 31st and it’ll be matched—dollar for dollar

You can DOUBLE your impact by giving today to help bring rescue, freedom and restoration to women and girls trapped in sexual exploitation and violence. Thanks to two very generous donors, your gifts will be matched up to $50,000.

Right now as you’re reading this, millions of people are trapped in sexual exploitation. A quarter of them are children. And the majority are women and girls.*

Mahila** was just 13 years old when she was trafficked.

She was sold to a brothel in Mumbai. There, the owner forced her to perform sex acts with hundreds of paying customers.

He kept her from leaving the building. Hidden from the outside world. Trapped in darkness. She eventually lost all track of time and stopped dreaming of her escape.

Mahila was hopeless. Afraid. And alone.

But, because of a team of very dedicated and determined people, local police, lawyers, social workers, IJM staff and you, she was rescued and her life is now forever changed.

And her story didn’t end there. Because when Mahila started her journey of restoration and healing, she had a goal she was determined to see through.

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She graduated with a law degree and last year, she passed her bar exam becoming the first survivor of sex trafficking, supported by IJM, to become a lawyer.

“My IJM family helped me a lot in my growth. You all are my roots and support on which I’m standing today. Whatever I have achieved in my life…is because of my IJM family. Thank you so much.” - Mahila

What an incredible story of triumph over darkness!

Will you consider giving a generous gift that DOUBLES the impact and helps more survivors rebuild their lives today?

*Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2022
**A pseudonym

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