Survivor of Sex Trafficking and President and CEO, Survivor Operative Solutions
Raised in an affluent but physically abusive family, Julia Anderson became a mother at age 17 and a flight attendant thereafter. When her children were ages six and seven, she and they were kidnapped by a co-worker who forced her to marry him by threatening to kill her children. He trafficked them across the country. After escaping captivity, Ms. Anderson answered a bait-and-switch advertisement leading to her being raped for her exploiter’s profit. Over 11 years, she was sold by organized trafficking rings, a madam, and a guerilla agency and faced multiple retaliation efforts trying to exit “the life.” Today, Ms. Anderson receives emotional support from her psychiatric service dog, Allie, who helps her manage her post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Many people are guarded because they've been HURT. Trafficked victims and survivors are guarded because someone PROFITED from it."