Trafficking and Commercial Exploitation Riding In A Car

Trafficking and Commercial Exploitation Riding In A Car

Jack1

Registrant
For as long as I can remember I’ve had dreams of riding in a car. Sometimes in the daytime but mostly at night and I'm just a passenger. That was the entire dream that I frequently remembered my entire adult life.

A few days ago at a meeting of my men’s recovery group it was my turn to talk. We take turns and you can talk about anything you like for about 6 minutes. Someone had mentioned how his childhood involved periods where everyone was walking on eggshells because of his parent’s dysfunctional relationship. During my turn to talk I mentioned that this was very familiar to me as I grew up in a dysfunctional family. Then for some reason I mentioned that a lot of my anxiety came from not knowing when my father would be taking me to spend the evening with some strange man. I just blurted it out without thinking. The men in my group know I was sexually abused and that my father pimped me out to other men but I rarely talk about the details.

This morning I awoke to the dream of being in the car and suddenly the dream made sense and connected to being anxious about being taken somewhere as a kid to be used sexually.

When I had the dream again it was much more detailed. I was sitting in the car looking out the window. Because of my small size I could only look up at a slight angle. I could see the telephone poles and lamp posts as we passed by. I was wondering who I was being taken to see. Would it be a nice one, quick and easy or would it be a rough one, one who didn’t care. I began hoping it would be the man who always said he loved me and was very nice, who said he enjoyed making love to me. Suddenly I was starting to fight back tears. Must not cry. Must not cry.

I could see out the window that the street lights were coming on as we passed. Must not cry. Must..not..cry.
 
I get this one, Jack. I was taking a lot of places when I was trafficked and I’ve only had one or two memories come back of being in the car, but this was actually the very first memory that came back in a way it was being in the car with my husband and And not reacted way too strongly to what was happening to us in the car and that was the first indication that something was wrong.

There were a lot of car rides being taken to places where clients would use me. Very, I haven’t really touched him yet, but I’m sure there’s a lot of trauma there.
 
a lot of my anxiety came from not knowing when my father would be taking me to spend the evening with some strange man
I understand this. Not know when, where, or for how long. The fear bleeds into daily life because you never know what to expect.
Good for you for talking honestly to your group.
 
There were a lot of car rides being taken to places where clients would use me. Very, I haven’t really touched him yet, but I’m sure there’s a lot of trauma there.
The best to you on your journey of recovery.
 
I understand this. Not know when, where, or for how long. The fear bleeds into daily life because you never know what to expect.
Good for you for talking honestly to your group.
This is so very true. It doesn't let go.
 
Oh I totally get this. I still don't like sitting in the back of a car with a driver (taxi, uber, etc.) It was lonely in the backseat.
Thanks @mason. That was the emotion I was feeling when I was sitting in the car, anxious with no one to rescue me.
 
I keep thinking back to cars and remembered this thread.
I never learned how to drive and I wouldn't be able to afford a car anyways. Now I don't need one at all and I like taking the metro and bus.
Lots of times I would be told to get in the car and I would ask where we were going, but I wouldn't be told. I learned to just stop asking. I didn't need any instruction anymore I just knew how to submit and do whatever a client wanted without any friction. It was a very powerless feeling because once I get in the car there is really no escape. There is nothing I can do.
My biggest fear as a kid was being taken in the car and being abandoned somewhere forever, with a stranger, or at an orphanage. One winter I really believed I was abandoned with a man, but three months later, I came back home. I just can't remember what happened with him.
Anyways, I hate riding in taxis or being driven by someone, it's an uncomfortable feeling. I don't know why all this stuff in on my mind recently.
 
The first car ride where I was terrified waswith uncle Bill was when he took me to the basement, and I was terrified because he told me if I wasn’t a good boy I would be sold, and I knew what that meant.

Most the other car rides before that he took me to clients or to the warehouse where I met other disposable boys.
 
I also had this horror experience. When I was 15 years old, I was sexually abused by a drunkard Uber driver who dragged me 40 km away from my home. It was a nightmare. My mom fought for justice for almost 3 years, but because we didn't have any proof, it felt impossible. We finally won the case with an lawyer, and I want to tell you that you deserve every bit of any settlement you seek. When your life feels destroyed and your future is marked by this shadow, accountability is the only way to reclaim your power. I hired my lawyer because I realized that for corporations like Uber, financial consequences are the only way to force change. Seeing my case through provided the closure that finally allowed me to "stop the car" in my mind.
 
My mom fought for justice for almost 3 years, but because we didn't have any proof, it felt impossible
I’m so glad you were able to get some justice that’s something that a few of us are able to achieve.
 
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