Leaving Exploitation Doesn’t Look the Same for Every Woman

Leaving Exploitation Doesn't Look the Same for Every Woman

For survivors in El Alto, Bolivia, freedom without a fair income leads right back to vulnerability.

Leaving sexual exploitation is only the first step. Staying free requires economic stability. For many survivors, freedom also means rebuilding income, stability, and choice.

A woman may leave exploitation and still need income, skills, stability, and choice. For mothers, that recovery extends to their children too. True recovery demands dignified work, market skills, and financial stability — without them, freedom alone isn't enough to keep a woman safe.

That's why Project Suma created SutiSana

SutiSana is a social enterprise where survivors in El Alto, Bolivia build economic independence through dignified work. Pazsos International supports Project Suma by strengthening its organizational structure, so Project Suma itself can keep supporting these women — not a program that ends when a woman leaves exploitation, but one that keeps going until she has what it takes to stay free.

What the numbers show

Project Suma's results show the strength of this system: 12 women employed with fair wages and benefits, 117 women trained in high-demand technical skills, and 43 women permanently liberated from sexual exploitation. Pazsos International supports Project Suma's organizational structure so Project Suma can keep helping women build what comes next — rebuilding independence, stability, and choice.