Human trafficking in Canada is one of the highest crime rates in the country. Almost all of the victims are females and about 70 percent are from the age of 25 and below. Such ordeal cannot be easily forgotten by a survivor and that is why Rhonelle Bruder created the Project iRISE.
Bruder was a survivor of human trafficking. She started experiencing her dark years as a child and was found homeless by the age of 16. At that point, she was lured to the sex industry but a few months later, she escaped from her captors. According to her, some human traffickers made psychological tactics such as ‘love bombing’ where they trick the slaves into showering material things to secure their attention.
For the past decade, Bruder became a devout activist against the crime, and only during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown did she find a chance to work on her non-profit organization. The Project iRISE mainly focus on helping survivors heal by removing tattoos that were used as branding by the criminals. With this, the survivors can slowly gain the confidence that was shattered and able to face society without any reservations.