Ilja Abbattista was forced to work for up to 23 hours a day in red light districts and ‘gentleman’s clubs’ across Europe for three years, the victim of a brutal sex trafficking scheme when she was just a teenager. After she escaped, it continued to haunt her, and she struggled to adjust to life after modern slavery.
“How are you supposed to transition to some normality? It’s a whirlwind of emotions going on, and you have absolutely no idea what you’re supposed to be doing, how you’re supposed to be living, how you’re supposed to be blending into society,” says Abbattista.
“For the three years it happened to me, I was relentlessly put to work. It was gruelling. And then to come back and not have anything to do for a short period of time, I was lost.”
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Abbattista, who has previously spoken to the Big Issue about her life as a survivor of modern slavery, is now 51 and a successful businesswoman – and she is supporting other survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking into safe and secure employment as a board member for the Bright Future Co-operative.
The Bright Future Co-operative was launched in 2017 by charity Causeway and supermarket chain the Co-op Group, but it is now run as an independent co-operative by more than 30 businesses, support organisations and people with lived experience like Abbattista.
Since it began, Bright Future has helped 91 survivors secure work, with a 75% success rate of people getting permanent positions. In 2024, it had a 100% success rate. It works with 13 businesses including Currys, Aldi, Morrisons, Co-op, Siemens and Speedy Hire. It recently expanded to operate in Scotland, as well as England and Wales.