TW: self-harm, sexual abuse   

If you or someone you know may be a victim of trafficking or would like more information, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.  

This week on the podcast, Trista is joined by Elizabeth Frazier, a survivor of decades of sex trafficking who is helping to empower other survivors by sharing her story to shed light on the often-hidden world of trafficking. To outsiders, Elizabeth appeared to have a “normal” childhood as part of a loving family. But behind the scenes, Elizabeth was being trafficked from a very early age by her seemingly caring parents, a nightmare that lasted until she was a 23-year-old wife and mother. In this eye-opening episode, Elizabeth shares signs we can look out for when it comes to abuse, details how she coped while being sex trafficked as well as how she is able to deal with the memories to this day, and describes moments of love and safety she felt from people along the way that kept her hanging on. Elizabeth is now working to provide hope and light to other survivors as the founder of Hero Bands, a company whose mission is to “arm you with strength” through bracelets and the power of words. Elizabeth recently hired the first set of survivors, in an effort to ensure that they don’t have to return to a life of trafficking.   

We cannot solve problems we aren’t yet aware of, and we hope this episode educates and inspires you to take action, keep your eyes open to the horrible truth that is prevalent in our country, and hopefully help to cause positive change and protect women, men, and children just like Elizabeth.  

 For more information, please visit: Aimfree.org and Operation Underground Railroad.   

You can follow @hero_bands on Instagram, and find their website at herobands.com. They donate $2 from every item sold to different organizations that help with awareness, and right now that is the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and Fight the New Drug.   

To check out what your host is up to, you can follow her at @tristasutter or @betteretc on Instagram.  

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