A sex-trafficking survivor’s story

“But I’m his girl. From that first night on the beach, when I was 15, I was his girl.”

It’s a simple line but one that tells an entire story, according to Dawn Schiller, who narrowly survived years of sex trafficking and abuse at the hands of porn legend John Holmes.

Years ago, Schiller might have uttered those words in defense of her relationship with Holmes, even as he sold her off for cash or cocaine. Today, she sees these words as the key to explaining not only her own fall into the world of human trafficking but those of so many other youth still being victimized.

“That is what I believed, and that is what I saw,” Schiller said. “That’s really a key line, I believe, to tell you how he had me since I was so young.”

She recalled those lines from the 2003 James Cox film Wonderland, which is being screened at Portland State today as part of the 2012 Northwestern Coalition Against Trafficking Film Festival.

Wonderland portrays events in Schiller’s life. Starring Val Kilmer as Holmes and Kate Bosworth as Schiller, Wonderland focuses on the brutal Wonderland murders, which occurred July 1, 1981. Holmes was closely tied to the people involved and was investigated for the crime. While Schiller’s story is not the central focus of the film, her role is pivotal, and the abusive nature of her relationship with Holmes is depicted in several scenes.

The film is visceral in its portrayal of the violent events. Michelle Bart, an organizer responsible for the NWCAT Film Festival, observed that “although a dark film, it’s a true film.” The reality behind the motion picture, according to Bart, is what makes the screening important.

“We felt it was necessary to depict some films that we believe are true stories of individuals who were victims but who are now survivors that got back on their feet,” Bart said.

Also at the screening will be Shelby, a high-achieving student and trafficking survivor that narrowly escaped exploitation when police apprehended her kidnapper. Shelby and her parents will be available after the screening to answer questions about her story.

“[Shelby] got on a website called Plenty of Fish,” Bart said. “She was befriended by this individual who claimed he was 19, but he was really 39. He started drugging her, and she didn’t realize it.”

The NWCAT Film Festival directly precedes the NWCAT Conference, held at the Lloyd Center Doubletree and from Jan. 13–15. Schiller will be among the speakers and is scheduled to talk at the conference Sunday, Jan. 15.

The NWCAT events have been prepared by Soroptimist, an organization of professional women dedicated to improving the lives of women across the globe with efforts to expand awareness of human trafficking in cities across the nation.

“With Soroptimist, our objective with this conference is to educate and empower communities across this country to understand this epidemic,” Bart said.

Human trafficking is seen increasingly as a problem across the country and is commonly described as a modern form of slavery. Although media attention often focuses on the sexual exploitation aspect, human trafficking can take other forms, such as labor trafficking, according to Kari Anne McDonald, events coordinator of the Portland State Women’s Resource Center.

“While sex trafficking receives a lot of the attention, labor trafficking in the rural areas can actually be a big issue,” McDonald said.

The WRC is responsible for facilitating the NWCAT Film Festival. The center also helped Soroptimist arrange campus accommodations for the week. Both organizations regard raising awareness of trafficking as an important objective, and, according to McDonald, many students agree.

“We have had students approach us in the past asking us why we don’t do more about trafficking,” McDonald said. “The last couple of years, we’ve done more to reach out and address that issue.”

The young people at highest risk seem to be the loners, according to Bart. Individuals with fewer ties to others seem to be the easiest to lure and the easiest to miss when they’re lost to the underworld.

“Little Jane Doe over in the corner is all alone because she’s an outcast or she’s a loner,” Bart said. “Those are the typical children that kidnappers look for because they’re the easiest to take. We see it over and over again.”

Schiller expressed the same opinion through the lens of her personal experience.

“I was somebody that people remember being very quiet, in the corner, withdrawn, not really thinking I was anybody special or that I had anything to offer,” she said. All John [Holmes] had to do was turn around and look at me, and say, ‘Well, that was really smart,’ or bring me a stuffed animal from one of his trips out of town, and all of a sudden, I meant something to someone.”

Though she was a victim in her youth, Bart believes Schiller’s story is ultimately inspiring. Schiller recovered to pursue higher education, and found the nonprofit organization ESTEAM (Empowering Successful Teens through Education, Awareness and Monitoring), to aid struggling youth. She has written a book, The Road through Wonderland: Surviving John Holmes, detailing her own struggle.

“She chose to overcome it,” Bart said. “She was rescued after the Wonderland murders were exposed. She’s been able to get back on her feet, get a college education, raise a daughter and start an organization for runaway teens. She is a hero among us.”