A YOUNG woman who escaped from a basement where she was being held by her family is recovering thanks to support from a North West-based modern slavery charity.

Nina [not her real name] was 18 when she escaped the basement where she was being held captive by relatives and sold to visiting businessmen for sex.

As childhoods go, they don’t get much bleaker, but thankfully for Nina, a sympathetic neighbour helped her escape.

Arriving here scared and alone, Nina told the authorities of the years of abuse she had endured, and was referred into Causeway’s modern slavery safe houses.

Causeway is a national charity that exists to create lasting change for marginalised and vulnerable people, and has supported modern slavery survivors across Cheshire and Chester in its safe houses.

“Coming to the UK was strange, but I felt free,” said Nina. “I felt like I could finally breathe. I could feel the air. I could feel the outside. I could see the grass. It was scary, but I was happy.”

Whilst Nina was happy to be free, she was also deeply traumatised by what she had experienced, and needed a lot of support in order to feel confident enough to face the future.

She said: “I was scared to walk down the street. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t take a shower without hearing my abuser’s voice behind me.”

Nina’s trauma manifested itself in a desire to overeat and hide from the world.

“I had never been able to eat what I wanted, and I hadn’t eaten properly for years. When I got here, freedom was new to me, and it took a bit of time to feel safe.”

Despite being free from her abusers, Nina often felt lonely and isolated, especially around Christmas time.

“Christmas was always the worst for me,” she said. “Christmas time is full of people talking about what they’re doing with their families, but I never knew what it was like to have a loving family.”

Whilst Nina may not have family to turn to, for the past five years she has been supported by her Causeway advocate Charlotte, who, as well as supporting her to access education, and to focus on her health, has tirelessly championed her to the point where she is full of confidence and ambitions for the future.

“Charlotte has been there for me through everything,” said Nina. “We’ve come a long way and I can’t imagine my life without her. Through all the hard times, she’s been there for me. Every single time.”

Nina is now passionate about becoming her own boss so that she can feel in control of her life. To this end, she is learning to code with the goal of becoming a software developer.

“I didn’t know how to use a phone or a computer. I had to learn everything. I didn’t know anything about myself, but now I know that whenever I’m learning coding, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

“I started looking after myself, I started discovering my style, discovering how I like to dress, just finding out things that I like without anyone telling me who I am. I’ve started to see a lot of changes in me, and you know what, I feel good, I look good, life is just so good now!”

Causeway is an organisation passionate about supporting vulnerable people rescued from modern slavery and human trafficking. As well as safe houses and outreach programmes, they run recovery services that include counselling sessions, employment support, confidence building community groups, education opportunities, and a phone service that lets survivors know they are never alone.

Exploitation can happen to anyone. A Home affairs Committee report has put the number of modern slavery and human trafficking victims in the UK at more than 100,000, although the committee said the true scale is unknown as it noted the Home Office “does not hold a definitive data source on the number of victims in the UK”.

Men, women, and children are experiencing extreme sexual abuse, forced labour, forced criminality, domestic servitude, and forced marriage. Causeway supports thousands of people rescued from these nightmares each year.

Their Christmas fundraising campaign, Rewriting Christmas, aims to highlight how help from Causeway can empower survivors to turn their lives around, and to show the difference in circumstances and emotional outlook, that support can make.

The campaign is being supported by musician and chef Levi Roots, actor Jan Ravens, and former Strictly Come Dancing judge, Dame Arlene Phillips, who said: “Modern slavery is on the rise, and it’s taking place in towns and cities all across the UK.

"That’s why Causeway’s Rewriting Christmas campaign is so important. Causeway needs your support to continue their work with survivors. Any amount you can donate to them this Christmas will be massively appreciated, and will allow them to continue making a real difference to some of the most vulnerable in society.”

For more information on Causeway, follow their social media handle on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn @CausewayCharity.

Help survivors of slavery feel safe this Christmas. Text to donate:

  • To donate £3, text GIFT23 to 70331
  • To donate £5, text GIFT23 to 70970
  • To donate £10, text GIFT23 to 70191

Just £5 could buy a gift for someone in a safe houses this Christmas. £10 could provide hygiene essentials such as toothpaste, soap, and shampoo for a survivor over the festive period. £30 could provide ingredients for a special Christmas meal, ensuring survivors can enjoy a festive dinner with a touch of warmth and joy.