How Two Former Models Are Working To End Human Trafficking – Essence

The global crisis of human trafficking sadly hits closer to home than one might think. Monica Watkins knows this all too well. She is the co-founder of Beauty For Freedom (BFF), a non-profit organization that empowers young survivors of human trafficking through creative art therapy. “A two-year study revealed that 40% of sex trafficking victims were identified as Black women nationwide,” Watkins shares. “And according to Urban Institute, traffickers admittedly believe trafficking Black women would land them less jail time than White women if caught.”

Some good news: In December 2022, the Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022 became law. It's a bipartisan bill originating in the House and sponsored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries that would require that the national trafficking hotline be posted in all federal buildings, public restrooms at airports, train and bus stations, and at each port of entry. A victory, certainly, but a small one in the context of a major, insidious war. According to a proclamation from President Biden in December, “human trafficking has stripped nearly 25 million people of their safety, dignity, and liberty — disproportionately affecting historically underserved and marginalized communities.” 

How To Save A Life

“At Beauty For Freedom, we believe in nurturing the youth we serve by removing the stigma of trafficking and amplifying the ideas, self-expression, hopes and dreams of those we serve,” explains BFF co-founder, Suwana Perry. Perry and Watkins are gearing up for their next humanitarian trip to Ghana this May, called Project Ghana. “Our current project is focused on supporting the youth of Challenging Heights in Ghana, an organization that provides comprehensive rehabilitation to trafficked children,” Perry continues.

For each mission trip, BFF taps talented artist volunteers to conduct self-care, health and wellness, fashion, photography and design workshops for trafficking survivors all over the world. In Ghana, BFF's partnership with Challenging Heights commenced in 2017 and rapidly expanded in reach. Today, BFF conducts workshops for over 700 child labor trafficking survivors in the African nation annually. “Following our arts workshops […] these youth have had their work featured in professional global exhibits and the press, shifting their narratives as victims to professional artists,” Watkins marvels. Artwork created by survivors during the BFF workshops has been featured in Harper's Bazaar India, The HuffPost, and Vice, among others.

From The Fashion World To The Frontlines

Now anti-trafficking activists and leaders, Watkins and Perry are also retired models who describe their former profession as an excellent foundation for their humanitarian work. “Modeling gave me the resilience and ability to overcome rejection,” says Perry, “as well as the skills to build connections and rapport, advocate, and listen to others, all of which are essential in non-profit work.”

The two women founded BFF in 2014, three years after an impactful mission trip to Haiti that brought Watkins face-to-face with a formidable evil. While volunteering there, she met a 14-year old trafficking survivor named Fati: “She had lost her entire family in the [2010] earthquake and was exploited by traffickers, who forced her to have sex for money in exchange for her survival. I was enraged and saddened by what I learned from her. I came back to the States committed to learning more about human trafficking.” Echoing that sentiment, Perry adds: “It is horrifying that anyone would feel entitled to own another person and use force or coercion to make them submit. The evil intentions behind such actions must not only be condemned but eradicated.”

While non-profit work is far from the glamorous life of billboards and couture, neither woman feels that their activism should be surprising to anyone. “The preconceived notion about models is that we have no thoughts or ambitions outside of fashion or that we are not intelligent. I have friends that started out modeling, and have since become physicians, accountants, teachers, lawyers and politicians,” says Watkins. And the activist lifestyle may not be flashy, but for Perry, it is incredibly rewarding: “The most fulfilling part of this work is the opportunity to serve and support survivors as they shift into becoming artists and advocates for themselves and their stories.”

The Marathon Continues

Each year, Beauty For Freedom produces four US-based programs and two travel abroad programs. The latter has thus far included Ghana, India, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico and Hong Kong. In total, BFF has served over 3,500 trafficking survivors globally and donated over $400K in art and self-care supplies. All of these efforts require extraordinary planning, preparation and of course, funding. “Fundraising is the hardest aspect of being a grassroots organization,” Perry says. “As a small organization run by people of color, it can be challenging to access the same level of funding as larger organizations.”

Given how costly their international work is, 95% of BFF's annual budget is invested back in their programming. This often means that as soon as one project is completed, it's already time to start raising funds for the next one. “We've been blessed to have some incredible supporters in the past, but we need a more sustainable avenue for fundraising,” Watkins confides. “I'd prefer to solely focus on serving the survivors and innovating programs that empower and educate them, but much of my energy is spent on fundraising.”

Beauty For Freedom's outstanding global effort has not gone unrecognized. In 2015, the organization received the Desmond Tutu Phelophepa Achievement Award for Excellence alongside recipients Jeffrey Wright, Ndaba Mandela, and Rev. Al Sharpton. During Human Trafficking Awareness Month, which takes place in January, Nasdaq has honored BFF in 2016, 2020, 2021 and 2022. But there is still more work to be done.

If you would like to support this female-led, minority-founded organization in its mission to end trafficking and provide healing for child survivors around the world – donate to Project Ghana and join them in the fight for freedom.

Karen J. Francis, is a culture journalist and a BFF volunteer artist. Follow her humanitarian trip to Ghana with BFF and other travel adventures at @culturebykaren.