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Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe sitting on a bench in front of St. Monica's Vocational School in Gulu, Uganda.

Sister Rosemary is a one-woman army in the fight against trafficking

For 15 years, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe has been picking up the broken pieces of girls' lives and putting them back together. She's helped thousands of girls in Uganda — now she's helping girls fleeing civil war in South Sudan.

Sister Rosemary is a one-woman army in the fight against trafficking
The World

AWL examines the road out of sex trafficking, from Uganda, India, Brazil and beyond

AWL examines the road out of sex trafficking, from Uganda, India, Brazil and beyond
Dominic Ongwen

How do you judge a child soldier?

How do you judge a child soldier?
Fainess Lipenga was trafficked by her boss, a former diplomat in the US from Malawi. Now, Lipenga is an advocate for victims of human trafficking.

This woman says she was trafficked by a diplomat. And it happens all the time.

This woman says she was trafficked by a diplomat. And it happens all the time.
Mona (left) with Elvira Gordillo Rivera in Rivera's garden in Comalapa, Mexico.

A former trafficking victim gets her life back in southern Mexico

A former trafficking victim gets her life back in southern Mexico
Francisca Carmona Garcia holds up a picture of herself, taken in the 1950s

It took a lifetime for this Queens grandma to open up about her experience being trafficked for sex

Grandma Frances is tiny, and very thin, with a shock of white hair and brown eyes that are always smiling, even when she isn’t. Those eyes, though, have seen a lot.

It took a lifetime for this Queens grandma to open up about her experience being trafficked for sex
Ugandan teacher Prudence Nandaula sits in an office in Kampala, Uganda.

She thought she was going to be a teacher in Kuwait — instead she was trafficked

When this Ugandan teacher got a new job in Kuwait, she was thrilled. But when she arrived, her passport was taken from her — and she was given a mop.

She thought she was going to be a teacher in Kuwait — instead she was trafficked
Child of a sex worker comforts another child of another sex worker.

For India's sex trafficking victims, family members often bear part of the blame

Sex trafficking affects 16 million people in India at any given time. Often, a family member is responsible for their circumstances, but getting away is complicated.

For India's sex trafficking victims, family members often bear part of the blame
Paska Akwero and son

Uganda's abducted kids try to get their lives back to normal

During Uganda's armed conflict, tens of thousands of children were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army. Now they are adults, and many of them have returned. But after spending formative years in the wilderness — can they fully come back?

Uganda's abducted kids try to get their lives back to normal
Nigerian women on a dinghy approaching Sicily

Witchcraft can be the toughest chain to break for Nigerian women looking to escape slavery

Despite hundreds of millions spent combatting sex trafficking, many Nigerian women say it is fear of a demonic spell that keeps them enslaved.

Witchcraft can be the toughest chain to break for Nigerian women looking to escape slavery
It took Halimot years to gather the courage to escape her trafficker.

Her family's business was trafficking. But she broke free.

"The sunglasses will hide your fear." That's the advice Halimot was given by her aunt — a boss in the booming sex-trafficking industry between Nigeria and Europe.

Her family's business was trafficking. But she broke free.
A group of 300 sub-Saharan Africans sit on board an Italian police vessel as their boat is left adrift off the coast of Sicily, May 14, 2015.

On Facebook, Nigerian victims of sex trafficking often present their life as far more glamorous than it is

Facebook may be one reason why the numbers of Nigerian women trafficked into Europe is growing. Many prostitutes hide the realities of their life, and present only a glamorous side for friends and family back home.

On Facebook, Nigerian victims of sex trafficking often present their life as far more glamorous than it is
Bolivian, Colombian, Venezuelan and Peruvian immigrants participate in a team-building activity before their community organizing training at CAMI.

How a whisper can help fight labor trafficking in Brazil

She was forced to work in a sweatshop — now she runs her own shop and helps other women avoid being trafficked.

How a whisper can help fight labor trafficking in Brazil
Portrait of a woman from Nigeria trafficked into Sicily

Nigerian women are being trafficked into Sicily at a rapidly increasing rate

Nigerian women are being trafficked into Italy in rapidly increasing numbers. Many get stuck in Sicily, and struggle to break free. Here is their story.

Nigerian women are being trafficked into Sicily at a rapidly increasing rate