Fifteen-year-old Stephanie* cried in her small, dark room in Honduras’ capital, Tegucigalpa. She was only eight hours away from her small town, but it seemed much farther. Stephanie had left her home a few months earlier after an acquaintance promised her a good job as a maid in her home. Stephanie had some developmental disabilities and never went to school, so she thought this job would be a great opportunity to help support her parents and six siblings.
Stephanie Tells Traffickers: “I Won’t Be Silent!”
October 29, 2015
But, what really awaited Stephanie was hard physical labor from sunup to sundown, sexual abuse by her “boss,” and no paycheck.
Stephanie felt trapped, until one day a kind neighbor, who was suspicious about how Stephanie was being treated, helped her to escape from the house and took her to a children’s home.
That’s when ASJ (formerly known as AJS) got a call. The home’s staff knew that ASJ lawyers, investigators, and psychologists worked with authorities on particularly difficult cases of sexual abuse and trafficking, especially when survivors can’t pay for a lawyer themselves.
Soon, an ASJ psychologist, Ada, visited Stephanie in the children’s home, and when Stephanie was ready, Ada introduced an ASJ lawyer, Cristian.
Together with the team’s investigator, Joel, and the police detective assigned to the case, they put together enough evidence to get an arrest warrant issued.
The arrest of the woman who had brought Stephanie to Tegucigalpa was relatively easy, but her husband, who had sexually abused Stephanie, quickly went into hiding. Joel had to work overtime on stakeouts to finally catch the suspect on a busy street in Tegucigalpa.
Once he was arrested, it was Cristian’s turn to build up the case for the sexual abuse trial in May 2014. During the trial, the suspect pled guilty and was sentenced, much to the relief of Stephanie and her family. The trial for the woman charged with trafficking is scheduled for later this year.
In the meantime, Stephanie is back with her family, and, according to Ada, “She is doing great! And she is so happy to be back with her family.”
Ada added with a smile that Stephanie’s family has become advocates in their community to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Stephanie’s dad told Ada, “Our neighbor’s daughter was invited to go to Tegucigalpa for a maid’s job. I told her to be really careful — that things often don’t work out as you think. And you know what? In the end, she didn’t go!”
When Stephanie was crying in her room, she never thought she would see justice. But thanks to her bravery and ASJ’s support, traffickers and abusers received a clear message: vulnerable people will not remain silent!
*Name changed and photo blurred to protect the individual’s privacy and security
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Hondurans cast their ballots during the November 30, 2025, general election, which saw historic voter turnout and a peaceful process supported by more than 12,000 national and international election observers working to safeguard transparency.
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
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The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025
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