Almudena Toral

Visual journalist

almudenatoral.com

Survivors Ink

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Jennifer Kempton, 32, was a vi... symbols of hope and recovery.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, was a victim of domestic sex trafficking for many years of her life in Columbus, Ohio, USA. She was first trafficked by her boyfriend, who got her addicted to heroin and made her prostitute herself to pay for both of their drug habits. Later on, that boyfriend sold her to a gang that continued trafficking and brutalizing her. Like many women who are trafficked in the United States, Jennifer was tattooed by her traffickers as a sign of ownership and control. Over a year after escaping the horror, she has founded Survivors Ink, a grassroots project that helps formerly trafficked women to cover up their brandings with their own symbols of hope and recovery.

Tonetta Jackson (in rose; cent...nd coming to C.A.T.C.H. court.

Tonetta Jackson (in rose; center) and Kristin Waller (in light brown; between the hands clapping), both of whom are waiting for a Survivors Ink scholarship to get their brandings covered up, attend C.A.T.C.H. court on Thursday morning in Columbus, Ohio, USA. C.A.T.C.H. (Changing Actions to Change Habits) is an innovative, voluntary, two-year program designed to rescue and restore those trapped in the sex trade through intensive probation and rehabilitation services. Jennifer reaches out to trafficking survivors who may benefit from her re-branding project through word of mouth and coming to C.A.T.C.H. court.

Columbus, Ohio, USA. Reliable ...ostitution and drug addiction.

Columbus, Ohio, USA. Reliable statistics are rare, but those in the field estimate hundreds of thousands of women and girls â€“ the majority of whom are US citizens â€“ are sold for sexual exploitation in Americaâ€™s $9.5bn human-trafficking industry. According to the US Department of Justice, 300,000 of those at risk are children. Jenniferâ€™s journey into the darkness of human trafficking started, like many of the women she worked alongside on the streets of downtown Columbus, with a chaotic and abusive childhood, a history of violent and destructive relationships and a downwards spiral into street prostitution and drug addiction.

Melanie Dillon, 34, a human tr...and profit from this trade.â€

Melanie Dillon, 34, a human trafficking survivor in Columbus, Ohio, got a trafficking tattoo covered up by Survivors Ink. She used to have a chest tattoo of a heart with the name of her trafficker in it. She chose to cover it with butterflies. â€œWhen you look at this particular type of trafficking,â€ said Brad Myles, chief executive of Polaris Project, an influential US anti-trafficking organization, â€œwhere you have thousands of self-labelled pimps selling hundreds of thousands of women and children for profit in every state across America, the branding is all part of the extreme nature of the ways they control and profit from this trade.â€

Erica Cortez, 33, a sex traffi...es, such as Spain and Romania.

Erica Cortez, 33, a sex trafficking survivor, shows a tattoo in her neck that reads "Free yourself" in Columbus, Ohio, USA. This tattoo was designed to cover up a previous gang insignia tattoo from her trafficking days that said "Sin City". Brad Myles, chief executive of Polaris Project, an influential US anti-trafficking organisation, says his organization has come across hundreds of women and children who have had their arms, backs, legs, faces, breasts and even eyelids and gums marked with pimpâ€™s names and gang tags or with barcodes, sexual slang words or dollar signs. In recent years, trafficking tattoos have also started to be seen in other countries, such as Spain and Romania.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, at churc...iction and family strangeness.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, at church on Sunday morning. Transitioning from one life to the other isnâ€™t easy, Kempton said. â€œDoesnâ€™t matter that youâ€™re trying to get your life back together, doesnâ€™t matter if the courts have ID-ed you as someone who was trafficked, youâ€™re still just a criminal junkie,â€ says Jennifer of the stigma sex trafficking survivors suffer. In the last year, sheâ€™s gone to a detox program and a temporary house for sex trafficking survivors. She goes to trauma therapy every week. She now lives with her grandmother, with whom she reconciled after years of addiction and family strangeness.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, hugs a f... to reunite with her children.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, hugs a fellow parishioner at church on Sunday morning after Jennifer gave a speech about leaving prostitution and finding God. Jennifer says church and community really help her heal. Sheâ€™s working hard to reunite with her children.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, looks ou... Iâ€™m fighting for myselfâ€.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, looks out her window in her bedroom in Columbus, Ohio. Jennifer finds strength to fight her own battle helping other women through Survivors Ink. â€œEven when I havenâ€™t been able to fight for myself, I can fight for them, and I will fight for them,â€ she said, â€œand in fighting for them, Iâ€™m fighting for myselfâ€.

Erica Cortez, 33, a sex traffi...here with two of her children.

Erica Cortez, 33, a sex trafficking survivor, waters plants in her apartment provided by Amethyst, an organization that helps addicts and alcoholics, including sex trafficking survivors, get on their feet. She had two brandings covered up thanks to a Survivors Ink scholarship. The one in her arm was a wound, now re-designed into a flower. The one in her neck was a gang insignia tattoo, now re-designed into a feather that reads â€œFree yourself.â€ Cortez was admitted to college and lives here with two of her children.

Charles Waldo, a tattoo artist...ives and help them move onâ€.

Charles Waldo, a tattoo artist, tattoos Christina Brookâ€™s foot on a Saturday afternoon in a tattoo parlor in Lancaster, Ohio, USA. Waldo volunteers his time. The funds that Jennifer raises for the scholarships pay for renting the space, the materials and the ink. â€œTattoo art has been around since the beginning of human history, and I find it deplorable that this is happening. When I think about trafficking, I never thought it was something that happened here in the United States. It gives me an appreciation that whatever trauma and turmoil Iâ€™ve had in my life doesnâ€™t even come close,â€ Waldo said. â€œBut this gives me the opportunity to change their lives and help them move onâ€.

Christina Brooks, 29, had the ...nited with her two baby girls.

Christina Brooks, 29, had the name of her ex-husband and trafficker tattooed on her foot. He tattooed it himself on her. Three days ago, recovering from heroin addiction and on track to getting her life back together, Christina had her tattoo covered up by artwork thanks to a Survivors Ink scholarship Lancaster, Ohio, USA. â€œI feel like as long as I had his name on my foot he had a claim on me. Iâ€™ve felt so dead inside, but now itâ€™s like a new chapter is starting,â€ she says. â€œItâ€™s just overwhelming, all of this. That I get to choose what goes on my body this time. That itâ€™s finally over.â€ Her divorce papers were approved recently and she reunited with her two baby girls.

A post-it in the kitchen of Me...addiction and sex trafficking.

A post-it in the kitchen of Melanie Dillon, 34, a sex trafficking survivor in Columbus, Ohio, that reads â€œBig futures ahead of usâ€. Melanie's daughter, Ariel Pace, 10, wrote post-its and hang them around the apartment to encourage her mother as she recovered from heroin addiction and sex trafficking.

Melanie Dillon, 34, looks at h... apartment since January 2014.

Melanie Dillon, 34, looks at herself in a mirror in the bathroom of an apartment provided by Amethyst, an organization that helps addicts and alcoholics, including sex trafficking survivors, get on their feet. Dillon has been in this apartment since January 2014.

A house on Ryan Street in The ... them know that there is help.

A house on Ryan Street in The Bottoms neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, where Jennifer Kempton, 32, was trafficked for over a year in 2009 and 2010. "Living there was horrible. The apartments were rented out to dope boys and I was expected to make money to supply our addiction from those dope boys being pregnant and all,â€ Jennifer said. â€œMy memories of that place are of misery and horrorâ€. Jennifer now comes about once a month to The Bottoms to do outreach, talk to women, give them hygiene bags and let them know that there is help.

A tattoo in Jennifer Kemptonâ€...s literally months of work.â€

A tattoo in Jennifer Kemptonâ€™s arm displaying a cross and the name of her favorite book in the Bible. This tattoo substituted a sex trafficking branding. Jennifer met tattoo artist Charles Waldo, who covered her four trafficking tattoos for free, through a sex trafficking advocate. Sheâ€™s been working with him since to do the Survivors Ink tattoos to the other women. Jennifer fundraises at local events to pay for the ink and rental of the space. â€œAt the moment Iâ€™ve got 13 applications that Iâ€™ve approved and now need to raise money for. Thatâ€™s about $1,500 worth of work that I need to raise funds for right there,â€ she says. â€œProbably doesnâ€™t seem like a lot to most people, but for me that is literally months of work.â€

Jennifer Kempton, 32, on the w...u in a state of depression.â€

Jennifer Kempton, 32, on the way to church on a Sunday morning. She had four trafficking tattoos, one of which, above her groin, branded her as â€œproperty ofâ€ a man. â€œAnd after enduring this, being raped and beaten and abused, and after getting clean of my addiction, every time I took a shower or tried to look at my body I was reminded of the violence and exploitation Iâ€™d suffered. I was so grateful to be alive, but having to look at those scars, seeing those names on your body every day, just puts you in a state of depression.â€

Kristin Waller, a human traffi...overed up with tattoo artwork.

Kristin Waller, a human trafficking survivor in Columbus, Ohio, shows scars of violence that she received from a former trafficker. Kristin has applied for a Survivors Ink scholarship to get the scar covered up with tattoo artwork.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, puts coo...itiative in the state of Ohio.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, puts cookies in a catering plate at Freedom a la Cart, a catering service company where she works that employs sex trafficking survivors in Columbus, Ohio, USA. For a long time, Jennifer said, she could not find employment because of the solicitings in her record and her criminal background. â€œFreedom a la Cart gave me a chance,â€ Jennifer said. In November 2014, Jennifer had her record expunged thanks to a new anti-trafficking legal initiative in the state of Ohio.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, walks in...ituation only over a year ago.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, walks in The Bottoms neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, where she was trafficked for many years of her life. She comes here about once a month to do outreach and offer help to other women. These visits are often emotionally hard for Jennifer, who left her trafficking situation only over a year ago.

A tattoo showing a heart that ...pton's trafficker, Salem.

A tattoo showing a heart that says "Believe again" in Jennifer Kempton's back. This tattoo substituted a sex trafficking branding that was a heart with the name of Kempton's trafficker, Salem.

Melanie Dillon, 34, and Ariel ... clean her and put her to bed.

Melanie Dillon, 34, and Ariel Pace, 10, talk to the receptionist at Arielâ€™s special education school in Columbus, Ohio. Ariel is bipolar like her mother, a sex trafficking survivor. While Melanie was battling with heroin addiction and being trafficked, Ariel often performed like a mother, Melanie said. She would undress her, clean her and put her to bed.

Jennifer Kempton, 32, takes a ...but no. Iâ€™m here to stay.â€

Jennifer Kempton, 32, takes a break to make a phone call at Freedom a la Cart, a catering service company where she works that employs sex trafficking survivors in Columbus, Ohio, USA. â€œThere is this stereotype that weâ€™re a success if we have a minimum-wage job and we can stay clean,â€ she says. To her this isnâ€™t acceptable. â€œWe can live way above that. Trafficking survivors have faced evil and conquered it. We have lived on the streets and survived the worst of the worst. We have had demons attack us, beat us, rape us. We are some of the strongest women in the world, and we can go above and beyond what other people can do. Youâ€™re not going to box me up â€“ no way, Iâ€™m sorry but no. Iâ€™m here to stay.â€

Post-its in the bathroom of Me...addiction and sex trafficking.

Post-its in the bathroom of Melanie Dillon, 34, a sex trafficking survivor in Columbus, Ohio. Melanie's daughter, Ariel Pace, 10, wrote the post-its to encourage her mother as she recovered from heroin addiction and sex trafficking.

Andrea Cathey, a human traffic...name of her daughter, Brianna.

Andrea Cathey, a human trafficking survivor in Columbus, Ohio, was the first survivor to be helped through Survivors Ink. After a dysfunctional, violent childhood, Andrea ended up on the streets, where she fell under the control of a gang of dope boys. When she was suspected of stealing a small amount of money, one of the gang, â€œJRâ€, beat her with a baseball bat. He then took her, barely conscious and bleeding, to the basement and held her down while his friend tattooed his initials and a heart on her breast. Cathey ended up injecting heroin through this part of her skin so the name would disappear. When given the opportunity to redesign her 9-year-old trafficking tattoo into a symbol of hope, she chose to tattoo the name of her daughter, Brianna.

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Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, was a vic_n symbols of hope and recovery.

Thumbnail of Tonetta Jackson (in rose; cente_and coming to C.A.T.C.H. court.

Thumbnail of Columbus, Ohio, USA. Reliable s_rostitution and drug addiction.

Thumbnail of Melanie Dillon, 34, a human tra_ and profit from this trade.â€

Thumbnail of Erica Cortez, 33, a sex traffic_ies, such as Spain and Romania.

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, at church_diction and family strangeness.

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, hugs a fe_d to reunite with her children.

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, looks out_, Iâ€™m fighting for myselfâ€.

Thumbnail of Erica Cortez, 33, a sex traffic_ here with two of her children.

Thumbnail of Charles Waldo, a tattoo artist,_lives and help them move onâ€.

Thumbnail of Christina Brooks, 29, had the n_united with her two baby girls.

Thumbnail of A post-it in the kitchen of Mel_ addiction and sex trafficking.

Thumbnail of Melanie Dillon, 34, looks at he_s apartment since January 2014.

Thumbnail of A house on Ryan Street in The B_t them know that there is help.

Thumbnail of A tattoo in Jennifer Kemptonâ€™_is literally months of work.â€

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, on the wa_ou in a state of depression.â€

Thumbnail of Kristin Waller, a human traffic_covered up with tattoo artwork.

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, puts cook_nitiative in the state of Ohio.

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, walks in _situation only over a year ago.

Thumbnail of A tattoo showing a heart that s_mpton's trafficker, Salem.

Thumbnail of Melanie Dillon, 34, and Ariel P_, clean her and put her to bed.

Thumbnail of Jennifer Kempton, 32, takes a b_ but no. Iâ€™m here to stay.â€

Thumbnail of Post-its in the bathroom of Mel_ addiction and sex trafficking.

Thumbnail of Andrea Cathey, a human traffick_ name of her daughter, Brianna.

Public Project

Survivors Ink

Updated Jan 2015

Topics Documentary, human trafficking, Ohio, sex trafficking, tattoos

Pimp-led prostitution is one of the most violent and prolific forms of trafficking found in the US, with hundreds of thousands of women sold annually for commercial gain. Many are branded with tattoos by their traffickers as a sign of ownership and control. After being trafficked for many years of her life in Columbus, Ohio, Jennifer Kempton founded Survivors Ink, a grassroots project that helps formerly trafficked women to cover up their brandings with their own symbols of hope and recovery. Hers is a true story of survival, resilience and redemption.

Photographs shot on assignment for The Guardian and published in The Guardian's Sunday magazine, The Observer.

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