Freedom fighter

Milana wanted to share her story to show how girls can be manipulated and then trapped in exploitation, and the crucial need for survivor support. Some readers may find her story upsetting.

A tough start

Milana was born in Russia but grew up mainly in Lithuania. Her parents went back and forth between the two countries, selling clothes to make a living. Milana moved between the two countries too, and suffered a number of types of violence and abuse within her family from the age of five.

‘I was all over the place,’ says Milana. ‘My childhood was not very good. I lived with my grandmother most of the time. I went to school but I left when I was 13. I used to run away from school - I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t get along with people and wasn’t encouraged to stay. My mother didn’t care. I left home when I was 13 and went to live with my friend.’

The girls made as much of a living as they could by selling shoes at the market, often working long hours outdoors in freezing cold weather. They worked hard, but hardly made enough to get by.

Milana, pictured, was trafficked from Lithuania to the UK when she was a teenager. Photo: Paul Drabble/Daily Express

An offer too good to refuse

When the girls were 16, Milana’s friend got a boyfriend. He was five years older than them. He was attentive and seemed kind, bought gifts and acted like a friend to both girls. After a few months, he told the girls that he could get them well-paid work in the UK serving drinks in a pub.

‘We were struggling and we wanted a better life,’ says Milana. ‘Some of the boys were getting to travel and see the world, and we thought “why shouldn’t we?” We told him we would go.’

The girls didn’t have any travel documents, but the boyfriend said it was ok, he would sort it out. ‘It felt weird to me that he could get these documents for us, but we thought everything was going to be ok,’ says Milana. ‘We didn’t know that we were in danger.’

Milana and her friend left Lithuania in a mini bus driven by a contact of the boyfriend. It was full of teenage girls and young women. Milana says it was common for people to move around for work, so no-one suspected that anything was wrong.

When they arrived in the UK, Milana and her friend were taken to a house - a regular looking family house in a residential area. Their documents were taken away for ‘admin reasons’ and they were told they’d be living in different houses. The girls left the house in separate cars, and would never see one another again.

Trapped and exploited

Milana was taken to a house in London, and it was here that she realised she’d been lied to. A woman told her she’d been bought for £5,000, and that she needed to work as a prostitute to pay back the money.

‘I told them, “I’m 16, I’m not even 18.” And the woman said, “that’s no longer a problem”.’ Milana was beaten and abused for trying to resist. She even escaped from the house at one point, but was found...

‘I was taken back, beaten, and made to work [as a prostitute] to pay back the £5,000 they said I owed,’ says Milana, in tears.

Milana can’t say how many months she was at the brothel, forced to sleep with up to five men a day. Memory loss is a symptom of trauma for many of the women we work with at Ella’s. Milana’s prison was an inconspicuous flat within a smart period building in Earl’s Court, London - hidden in plain sight.

“I was taken back, beaten, and made to work [as a prostitute] to pay back the £5,000 they said I owed”

After some time, the woman who ran the brothel started to let Milana go to the shops alone. Milana took the first chance she got to escape, and this time they didn’t come after her.

A different kind of prison

Milana was still just a child when she escaped, not even 18, and she was deeply traumatised. She found work in a Lithuanian pub, but the next few years were not easy. She got into a relationship with an older man who turned out to be extremely abusive. She attempted suicide twice, and ended up in prison as a result of her partner’s criminal activities.

Milana says that in prison was the first time she’d felt safe in her whole life. ‘In many ways, prison saved me,’ she says.

Milana received some mental health support at prison, and shared some of her life story with the counsellor. The counsellor helped Milana see that what had happened was not her fault, and that she’d been the victim of a crime.

‘I’d never even heard of trafficking before then,’ says Milana. ‘I was beaten up as a child, so I even thought that [violence] was a normal part of life. Now, I know it’s not ok.’

“I’d never even heard of trafficking before then. I was beaten up as a child, so I even thought that [violence] was a normal part of life. Now, I know it’s not ok.”

Free at last

When she was released from prison, Milana was taken to a women’s refuge and supported to go through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the government’s system for people who claim to have been trafficked. Milana was granted status as a survivor of trafficking, and, shortly after, she came to live at one of Ella’s’ safe houses.

Milana lived in the safe house for a year. As well as providing somewhere to live and recover, we helped Milana to get the regular mental health care she needed. We also supported her to get legal support, learn about how to build and recognise safe relationships, attend skills training, rebuild her confidence and self-esteem, and more.

‘When I was at Ella’s, I was surrounded by so many good people. And because of that, my life felt good again.’ says Milana. ‘You feel like you can live.’

Eventually, when she was ready to move on, we helped Milana relocate from London to another part of the country where she felt safer, and made sure she was plugged into local support services near her new home.

In many ways, Milana is still recovering from the abuse, violence and trauma she’s experienced. But she’s keeping on moving forward.

Milana is determined to rebuild her life and go on to help other women. Photo: Paul Drabble/Daily Express

‘I hope in the future I can forget about all of this,’ says Milana. ‘My dream is to work with women… to help others who have been hurt and abused.’

Milana says she wants stories like hers to be out there, to raise awareness of trafficking and exploitation, and of the crucial need for survivors to receive care and support.

‘Survivors need help to get their lives back on track,’ says Milana, reflecting on the support she received at Ella’s. ‘Otherwise they will just end up back in the bad situations they were in before.’

Milana was brave enough to share her story with the Daily Express to raise awareness of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. You can read it here.

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