The Free-Them Blog

Survivor, Robin Zee escaped the sex trade over 25 years ago, but the trauma associated with nearly three decades in the trade have left her in a constant battle with inner demons. Robin shares her struggles and addresses the lack of resources available to human trafficking survivors.

From victim to survivor, Robin Zee was given the gift of two lives. Trafficked for over 30 years, Zee was finally granted a small window of opportunity to escape. Since then, her healing journey has continued alongside one of her greatest gifts.

Nevertheless she persisted. Human trafficking survivor, Robin Zee shares her raw truth surrounding life in and out of the sex trade. After 25 years, Zee finds a journal entry called, Listen which depicts Zee only several years after escaping the trade.

Excerpt from Robin Zee’s tell-all memoir, Borderline Me: Beyond the Edge: Blame the victim. It never occured to anyone to look beyond the surface. My acting out and suicide attempts never seemed to cause anyone much concern. I was a source of aggravation.

Excerpt from Robin Zee’s tell-all memoir, Borderline Me: Beyond the Edge: My teen years were hell but then again so was my stolen childhood. There was nothing innocent about those years.

Excerpt from Robin Zee’s tell-all memoir, Borderline Me: Beyond the Edge: I had so many journals while I was lost, out in the world. Sadly life on the streets steals many things, journals being one of them. All those pages-lost into the place where all thrown away things go. I lost everything.

So last month I wrote about a little bit of, Now What! Funny that theme often resurfaces. If I step back I can clearly see its about revisiting my traumatic past, therapy was a great friend during this process for me, as was journaling/writing out the anxiety pain and damage I had experienced. Now feeling somewhat whole, after licking my wounds it was time to Create a healthy life for myself. I still had to deal with my addiction recovery and found ample support there as well as a sponsor whom is still a trusted friend today over 20 years later. I started to develop real friendships though not all close ones but it was a process of building a tribe for myself, with those who understand and can relate to some of my experiences.

I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know how to be. There was a spark deep within that ached to be released but I carried so much pain and confusion. Muddy waters, like quicksand I realized the more I struggled the more I sank, learning to embrace it all and move on, great but how the hell does one do that when most of the world just didn’t understand. I knew somehow that this is not the way the human race was supposed to be like. I knew there was another side of life but I had no idea how to get there.

I grew up with the message that a women’s role was to cater to men. And someone like me, had less options because I was less appealing. So when a groomer smelled that I was prime meat. Our sole purpose was to appease men and bring home the money, everything rotated around that even from a young young age. I had this feeling that we were nothing without a man present.

The control I lost, the control I truly never really had. It was easy to groom, to control someone like me, as it was plain to see I was already broken and hurting. But grooming can happen to any age; teen or pre teen, even grown ups still get caught up in the woven web of deceit.