A Window of Despair to a Bridge of Hope

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
John 8:7

Ines' Hope*

Prostitution is rarely the result of a one time struggle, but rather the desperate last resort for women struggling with chronic poverty, hunger, homelessness, unemployment, or other ongoing traumas. In Zimbabwe, there are an estimated 40,000 women experiencing such desperation resulting in sex work. 

Although prostitution is illegal in Zimbabwe, it is rampant - particularly in cities with higher population densities. 

Ines lives with her family in a large city in Zimbabwe, across the street from a hotel. From her bedroom window, Ines can see these desperate women working the only way they're able. Night after night, Ines would see the shameful acts through the hotel windows. Night after night, Ines was traumatized as she witnessed the assault of these women. 

Ines began having nightmares and losing focus at school, unable to shake the obscene images from her mind. It wasn't until a RiverCross trainer at Ines' school approached her with the opportunity to open up about her experience that she was able to process her own shame about what she had witnessed. After Ines shared her story, the RiverCross trainer was able to help move Ines' family to a new home on a quieter street. Today, Ines is making great steps on the bridge to freedom, learning more every day how to thrive. 

*Although the stories we share are true, some identifying details have been changed.