Jeri Jimenez and Elizabeth Pfenning
Recorded
June 9, 2021
Archived
June 8, 2021
56:04 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
ddv000858
Description
Jeri Jimenez (60) speaks with her colleague Elizabeth "Beth" Pfenning (34) about the experiences that have led her to become a voice for change for survivors of human trafficking. She shares about her experiences of sexual abuse in childhood and adulthood, becoming a mother, and how she has learned self acceptance.Subject Log / Time Code
TRACK 1 Elizabeth recalls first meeting and connecting with Jeri.
TRACK 2 Jeri remembers being molested as a child. She talks about later having a baby at 17, being forced to give the baby up, getting married at 19 and having another child she was forced to give up. She discusses the sexual and physical abuse she suffered in her marriage.
Jeri talks about escaping from her abusive husband and going to trial but being forced to go back to him by the judge. She talks about getting "joint custody" of her daughter but not seeing her for over 20 years.
Jeri talks about her living situation after leaving her abusive husband and remembers the day she was raped by members of a gang and forced into sex labor.
Jeri talks about how the abuse she suffered in childhood and adulthood impacted her self worth.
Jeri remembers the night she was nearly stabbed to death by a sex-buyer, and how it was the catalyst for her escape from the gang.
Jeri talks about escaping and moving in with a new boyfriend whose drug abuse landed her in jail. She remembers how the experience in prison gave her flashbacks of the sexual abuse she suffered in childhood.
Jeri talks about getting help from a women's shelter while her children were in the foster care system.
Jeri talks about her work now speaking to communities about the experiences she has had in hopes to spread awareness and use her voice to create change.
TRACK 3 Jeri talks about her identity as a mixed-race woman and how that often created a sense of not belonging in spaces she's been in her life. She talks about self-acceptance when it comes to identity.
Jeri talks about being reunited with her children. She shares what she hopes her legacy will be.
Participants
- Jeri Jimenez
- Elizabeth Pfenning