
Bought and Sold
Megan Stephens(Author)
HarperCollins (Publisher)
Published on 29. January 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-00-759407-8 (ISBN)
Description
A heart-stopping story of lies, brutality and fear. British girl Megan Stephens tells the true story of how an idyllic Mediterranean holiday turned into an unimaginable nightmare when she was tricked into becoming a victim of human trafficking and held captive for six years by deception, threats and violence.
While on holiday with her mother at a popular Mediterranean coastal resort, Megan fell in love. Just 14 years old, naive and vulnerable, she had no reason to suspect that the man who said he loved her would commit the ultimate betrayal of her trust.
When her mother returned to England, Megan stayed with Jak, who said he would find her a job as a waitress and promised they would be together forever. But when Megan travelled to the city with Jak, his attitude quickly changed and instead of finding her work as a waitress, he allowed her to be raped and then sold her to a human trafficker.
Abandoned by Jak but still unable to accept that everything he'd told her had been a lie, Megan was coerced by threats and violence into working as a prostitute in private homes and brothels. Then the trafficker threatened her mother's life and it was Megan's turn to lie: sending her mother the staged photographs that had been taken of her apparently working as a waitress in a cafe, she told her she was happy.
Too frightened and bewildered to trust or reach out to anyone, Megan remained locked in a world of brutality and abuse for six years. In the end, there only seemed to be one way out.
Megan's powerful story reveals the devastating realities of human trafficking and the fear that imprisons its victims more effectively than any cage could ever do.
While on holiday with her mother at a popular Mediterranean coastal resort, Megan fell in love. Just 14 years old, naive and vulnerable, she had no reason to suspect that the man who said he loved her would commit the ultimate betrayal of her trust.
When her mother returned to England, Megan stayed with Jak, who said he would find her a job as a waitress and promised they would be together forever. But when Megan travelled to the city with Jak, his attitude quickly changed and instead of finding her work as a waitress, he allowed her to be raped and then sold her to a human trafficker.
Abandoned by Jak but still unable to accept that everything he'd told her had been a lie, Megan was coerced by threats and violence into working as a prostitute in private homes and brothels. Then the trafficker threatened her mother's life and it was Megan's turn to lie: sending her mother the staged photographs that had been taken of her apparently working as a waitress in a cafe, she told her she was happy.
Too frightened and bewildered to trust or reach out to anyone, Megan remained locked in a world of brutality and abuse for six years. In the end, there only seemed to be one way out.
Megan's powerful story reveals the devastating realities of human trafficking and the fear that imprisons its victims more effectively than any cage could ever do.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
189 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-759407-8 (9780007594078)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions




Person
Megan Stephens was just 14 years old when she went on holiday to the Mediterranean and ended up being forced into prostitution. She was 20 when she finally managed to escape. Now back in England, she is making a life for herself and picking up the threads of her education, which ended so abruptly and prematurely.
Megan knows she will never truly recover from her horrific ordeal, but she is keen to use her own experiences to help raise awareness of human trafficking by supporting anti-trafficking charities.
To protect her identity Megan is writing under a pseudonym.
Megan knows she will never truly recover from her horrific ordeal, but she is keen to use her own experiences to help raise awareness of human trafficking by supporting anti-trafficking charities.
To protect her identity Megan is writing under a pseudonym.