Somewhere in West Africa, a teenage girl loses both parents. She has to fend for herself, but it goes badly. A man who promised to help locks her up and uses her as a sex slave. Then he says he will rescue her, and give her the chance to start a new life in the Netherlands. She doesn't know what a passport is, or what The Netherlands is.
 
Scared

Once the girl gets here, she's locked up again and abused - until she manages to escape. The police find her walking on the street, confused and scared. They take her to a centre where asylum seekers are processed, and she agrees to bring charges against the man who 'rescued' her.
 
Valerie Essenburg is this girl's lawyer. She agreed to tell the girl's story on the condition that her identity remains protected. Ms Essenburg herself does not know where her client is living.
 
"He helped her to get out of the country, but he kept her for himself. He locked her up in a house, both in Africa and in the Netherlands. And he had some plans for her. She said 'I had to meet other men. I didn't want to but I didn't have any choice, that's how it started.'"
 
Hundreds of victims

This girl was the victim of people smugglers. Dutch authorities discover around 200 people every year who were trafficked and brought here against their will to work as prostitutes or forced labour. But the real number could be much higher. Few victims come forward on their own. Plus, once in Europe, victims are often moved from country to country, in part to evade authorities.

 
The girl from West Africa was lucky to escape her captor and get picked up by the police. She's living in a shelter and going to school. Her identity is strictly protected.
 
But she's likely to get sent back to her home country. Victims of people smuggling get a temporary residency visa only if they agree to cooperate in prosecuting their traffickers. If the case does not go forward, the visa is not renewed. Victims of human trafficking often do not know enough about their captors to bring a case to court.
 
Threats

Adriana van Dooijeweert is the director of the Advisory Committee on Migration Affairs. The committee recently recommended some changes in how the government handles victims of human trafficking.
 

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