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Tanya Gould is a survivor of domestic sex trafficking. Her personal journey has fueled a powerful career dedicated to prevention, policy reform, and survivor empowerment.
She came to Danbury, CT, last week to speak at a charity gala headlined by Lara Trump in support of Latisha's House Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing safe housing and comprehensive services for survivors of human trafficking.
Her comments were eye-opening: she explained exactly how a person can wind up getting trafficked, and why people stay — based on her own experience of being "prostituted."
Gould described herself a proud “Jersey girl” from Exit 2 in rural New Jersey, grew up in a tight-knit but silent community where painful secrets stayed hidden. From ages seven to fourteen, she was sexually exploited by a family member. She also endured the production of child sexual abuse material and was raised in a strict, cult-like church environment that left her deeply confused about trust, love, boundaries and her own worth.
As a teenager, Gould became pregnant, and chose to keep her child despite pressure and hardship; abortion was not an option considering her religious beliefs. During her senior year of high school, the person who sexually assaulted, abused and exploited her came back into her family. Determined to break the cycle, she graduated in the top half of her high school class, secured her own apartment and car, and earned a scholarship to community college. Yet the wounds of her past left her vulnerable and longing for belonging.
At eighteen, during a senior class trip to Six Flags, she met a charming 28-year-old man on a blind date, joking that he didn't have the "hat and cane" you might expect a pimp to carry. For the first time, she felt truly seen and valued. He listened to her painful history and simply said, “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
"When I look back on that, I think how many members of my community could have just said that? I'm sorry that happened to you," she said. Gould admitted to being suicidal before meeting her trafficker.
Over four months of attentive dating, he became her safe haven. Then, through calculated manipulation, he introduced her to his “business” by asking if she knew what the word "madam" meant, then gradually convinced her to participate in prostitution by exploiting her desire for love, her sense of guilt, and her financial pressures as a single mother.
For the next 18 months, Gould was trafficked, primarily in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She endured the brutal reality hidden behind media stereotypes and jokes. She stayed not for money, but to hold onto the four months of affection she had craved her whole life.
Her escape came in a dramatic moment of divine intervention. After being abducted and abandoned on a roadside, she cried out to God in despair. A compassionate police officer responded, saw her humanity beyond her circumstances, and helped her return home to her son in New Jersey.
Recovery was neither quick nor easy. It took years to shed the heavy layers of shame placed on her by her trafficker, buyers, and childhood abusers. Through faith, resilience, and support, Gould rebuilt her life. She returned to school, earning a degree in Communications, and eventually stepped into advocacy.
Today, Tanya Gould serves as Anti-Human Trafficking Director for the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. She completed two terms on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and has become a nationally recognized speaker and trainer. Her message is clear: prostituted individuals are victims who need compassion, not judgment. Survivors need safe places like Latisha’s House to heal, regain dignity, and reclaim their futures.
Gould’s story is one of profound pain transformed into purpose — a powerful reminder that with community support, faith, and determination, even the “least of these” can rise and help change the world.
Thank you to the Bohn Family, Preferred Utilities Manufacturing Corporation, Michele Botelho and all of the volunteers, sponsors and supporters who brought this amazing, and inspirational woman to Connecticut.
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