Jaya (aged 14) arrived at New Horizons safe home in January 2023. Jaya, like so many young people these days, spent a lot of time on her phone. It was online that a man, a police officer, began chatting to her. This man then appeared outside her house, the same complex where he loved, and convinced her to enter his own house. Here, he drugged her with apple juice, and when she fell unconscious, he and his two friends proceeded to sexually abuse her.
She lay unconscious for at least four hours, aware that she was being abused and who was abusing her, and yet unable to move. That evening her brother spotted her shoes sitting outside the man’s house and raised the alarm. Jaya recounted what had happened to her aunt, who with the help of some neighbors, brought the matter to the police.
All three perpetrators, all of whom worked in the police department, were arrested and suspended from service. After this, Jaya came to us in NHH to recover from the trauma of the event and work towards a future of hope, dignity, and restoration.
Jaya dreams of supporting herself financially by working as a beautician and hopes to one day become an advocate for young girls like herself.