Survivor of Sex Trafficking, Advocate, Author, and Trainer
From the age of twelve to twenty-two, Dr. Barbara Amaya was trafficked on the streets of New York City. She overcame heroin addiction, horrific trauma, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and cancer that was directly related to sex trafficking. Today, Dr. Amaya is an award-winning advocate, speaker, best-selling author of Nobody’s Girl and a survivor leader in the movement to end human trafficking and all violence against women and children. In her book Nobody’s Girl, she writes: “To those who may question why I chose to write this book and how I could share such deeply traumatic, painful, even horrific experiences, here is my response, ‘How could I not?’“

“Breaking my silence is a political statement for me, one of choosing to never again be a voiceless victim. It is a deliberate choice to take my life back and to help others do the same for themselves. Would it matter any less to you if it were only one child being trafficked? Or would it matter more if it were a million children? One child abused and trafficked is too many. All I want to do is make a difference.”