'Caged and taunted like a trapped animal': Singer sold as a sex slave when just seven years old
An American singer has told the horrific story of her childhood in which she was traded as a sex slave after being kidnapped by her male nanny.
Brooke Axtell was only seven years old when she was stolen away to live a life of bondage and abuse, forced to have sex and make pornography with adults and children and "caged and taunted like a trapped animal".
The abuse started when her mother Mollie fell ill and her father Calvin travelled for work.
Her predatory male nanny raped her and sold her on to other men.
Now in her 30s, the Austin, Texas, based singer has penned an essay about her experience as a sex slave for the anti-slavery group Global Citizen.
"The first rape was my initiation, my rite of passage into his underworld," Axtell wrote.
"From that initial violation, he secretly took me to houses, hotels, and parties to sell me to men for sex. I was forced into pornography with adults and other children.
"I was caged and taunted like a trapped animal."
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The singer, poet and activist took to the stage at the 2015 Grammy Awards after collaborating with Katy Perry and then-President Barack Obama to correct gender violence.
Axtell now works with Allies Against Slavery, a non-profit aiming to end human trafficking.
She wrote about her childhood when she still lived like a girl in the daytime only to re-enter the world of sexual servitude every night, belonging to "whoever was interested in buying me".
Every time she became that sex slave she "flew outside" her body.
"Each time they invaded me, I soared above them. I was passed from man to man, hand to hand, like a doll. My soul traveled and retreated, crossed oceans, centuries.
"I lived a thousand lives in a single night," she wrote.
Axtell warned that sex trafficking was not something that only happened in other countries, but that it happened in the developed world too.
"The truth is every day children are being trafficked in our cities, children are being exploited for profit... we need to bring an end to this injustice," Axtell warned.
Axtell's story appeared with a video by the group Real Women Real Stories, which is empowering victims of sexual violence to share their stories in the hope of empowering others to find their freedom.
If you or someone you know is suffering from sexual or domestic abuse, don't suffer in silence, call 1800 RESPECT any time of day or night.
Adults Surviving Child Abuse: 1300 657 380
Survivors and Mates Support Network: 02 8355 3711
Bravehearts: 1800 272 831
