Restore NYC

The United States Department of State estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 people of all ages and across all countries are trafficked across international borders; 14,500 to 17,500 are women and children trafficked annually into the United States.

Prostitution and sex trafficking are widespread in New York City. According to the United States Department of State, New York City’s JFK airport is a major port of entry and transit point for trafficking of persons. International sex trafficking and prostitution (i.e. domestic trafficking) are both forms of modern-day slavery. Both forms of sexual enslavement entail some degree of force, fraud or coercion. Contrary to popular belief, a woman does not simply decide to become a prostitute. Rather, she often finds herself in this situation as a result of economic deprivation, coercion of some sort and a history of childhood sexual abuse.

The prostitution and trafficking of women is inherently harmful, and there are few activities as brutal and damaging to individuals as sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is a threat to the human rights and freedoms of people, a global health risk with the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B, and is fueling the growth of organized crime. For the victim, the impact renders women and children physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually devastated.

Women who are trafficked may be tortured, held captive, threatened, raped, and subjected to physical abuse and forced abortions. Victims are often moved to other major U.S. cities (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago and Washington D.C.) every 15 to 30 days to disorient them and provide a fresh flow of "faces" to their customers. The effects on the victims are devastating. In addition to visible physical injuries, victims suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS, as well as depression, acute anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder at levels unseen in other populations. Field research in nine countries concluded that 68% of the women in prostitution "met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder in the same range as treatment-seeking combat veterans and victims of state-organized torture." Their spirits are broken, they feel cut off from society and see no hope for the future. The needs of this population are daunting. According to the U.S. Department of State, "Recovery takes years, even decades…" .

While many women may want to escape this life, there are few resources and organizations that would enable them to do so in Manhattan or the surrounding boroughs. Currently, there is not a single long term residential program specifically dedicated to international survivors of sex trafficking. Restore hopes to provide a solution to this problem through its unique holistic, long-term program.