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If you had met me as a little girl, you never would have thought my life would go this way.
Like many women who get caught in sex trafficking, my story did not begin with trafficking. It began with pain: childhood trauma, abuse, rejection, and a deep need to be loved left wounds I did not know how to heal.
I spent years looking for love, trying to figure out who I was, and desperately looking for safety in all the wrong places. I did not know that my wounds made me an easy target for people who would use them against me.
Traffickers do not always begin with violence. They begin with lies.
They look for people who are hurt or in need. They promise love, safety, money, a job, or a place to belong. Little by little, they pull women away from others, take control, and use fear, shame, drugs, and hurtful words. By the time many women see what is happening, they feel trapped and believe there is no way out.
That was my life.
I became caught in the sex trade and was later trafficked. The shame was deep. Every day I felt myself becoming someone I no longer knew. I believed the lies that I was worth nothing, that this was all I deserved, and that no one would ever want someone like me.
After five long years, I got away from my pimp. But then I turned to drugs to cover up the pain.
What began as a way to stay alive just became another prison. Drugs quickly took over every part of my life. Before long, I was homeless, living in fear, and just trying to make it through another day. Every choice was about staying alive. I had lost hope that life could ever be different.
Looking back now, I can clearly see that God never left me.
At the time, I could not see Him. I was not looking for Him. Yet He kept reaching for me through people who prayed for me, were kind to me, did not give up on me, and reminded me that I still had worth, even when I could not believe it myself.
The moment everything changed was when I accepted Jesus as my Savior in the backseat of a car. A woman known for taking girls off the street and taking them to church told me about God’s love, and I felt it for the first time.
As I gave my life to God, He began to rebuild what years of trauma, trafficking, and addiction had torn down. He began to change the way I thought, heal my heart, and teach me what real freedom looked like.
Recovery was not easy. Healing was not quick. There were tears, setbacks, hard talks, counseling, people who helped keep me honest, and learning to trust again. But through every time in my life, God stayed faithful.
Today, I have been free from addiction for almost nineteen years. I am married with five children, and I am the founder of Beauty From Ashes Ministry. Now I have the honor of walking with women who are leaving the same life I once lived.
If you are reading this and feel trapped by abuse, trafficking, addiction, or shame, I want you to know this:
Your story is not over.
What happened to you does not tell you who you are.
You are not too broken for God to heal.
There is hope, even if you cannot see it today.
I know because I once believed freedom was not possible.
Jesus met me in my darkest places — not after I cleaned up my life, but while I was still broken. His grace reached farther than my shame. His love was stronger than my addiction. His mercy made a way when I saw none.
If He could save my life, He can save yours too.
Jasmine Marino is a survivor of sex trafficking and drug addiction who now lives a life of hope, healing, and purpose. She is the founder and director of Beauty From Ashes Ministry, a Christ-centered group that helps women leave the sex trade and recover from addiction. Jasmine is also the author of The Diary of Jasmine Grace: Trafficked, Recovered, Redeemed. www.beautyfromashesministry.org
