An Australian woman has revealed the terrifying moment she was \u201calmost trafficked\u201d in Paris \u2013 with the Australian Embassy needing to bring forward her flight home to potentially save her from an unthinkable fate.<\/p>\n
Djanaya Hampton, 30, from Perth, had booked a solo, two-week trip to the popular tourist destination in May last year to celebrate her 29th birthday. <\/p>\n
Every year, she picks a different bucket list destination, and while she was meant to go to Africa, the accommodation she hoped to stay at was undergoing renovations.<\/p>\n
So instead, Ms Hampton chose to celebrate in The City of Light, a place she\u2019d never been before. <\/p>\n
She spent the first few days sightseeing, ticking off all the \u201ctouristy\u201d spots, including Disneyland.<\/p>\n
She saved visiting the iconic Eiffel Tower for the evening before her birthday, when she enjoyed a solo picnic while she waited for the lights to begin to twinkle. <\/p>\n
Unbeknown to her, the two \u201cnice\u201d men who sat beside her and introduced themselves would soon become part of the horror that was about to unfold. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am usually pretty smart when I solo travel. I don\u2019t tend to stay in the same spot for too long for people to realise that I\u2019m by myself, and especially at night,\u201d Ms Hampton told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was my birthday eve, so I thought I\u2019d sit, have a picnic, pray, say thanks for another year, watch the sun go down and watch the lights on the Eiffel Tower light up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sitting there for ages because I didn\u2019t realise the sun doesn\u2019t go down for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
By this point it was about 8pm, and that\u2019s when Ms Hampton said two young men came over and sat to the left of her, with one glancing her way and smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne caught my eye, he was very attractive. He kept turning around and smiling and I smiled back,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said the man, dressed in designer clothing, then came over and started talking to her in French, before she advised him she could only speak English. <\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said he began bombarding her with questions in English, including what she was doing in Paris, who she was with, if she was travelling with family, friends or had a boyfriend.<\/p>\n
She became suspicious of his questions and told him that her \u201cfriend\u201d was back at the hotel. He then told her he was \u201chaving a party\u201d at his house that night, and that she should come and bring her friend.<\/p>\n
\u2018Like something out of Taken\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so weird, it felt like something out of [the movie] Taken. But I told myself it was all in my head,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said the man pressed her even more, almost begging her to come before she said her \u201cfriend\u201d was sick, and that she had planned an early morning of sightseeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was like, \u2018you will meet heaps of people\u2019. I just told him, \u2018no, I\u2019m so fine, but thank you anyway\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
When she got up to leave, he also stood up and said he was going, before grabbing her to take a photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lifts me up and grabs me. He\u2019s like, \u2018we need a photo together\u2019, and his friend comes around and just starts taking photos on his phone. I put my hand over my face and was like, \u2018no, no please don\u2019t\u2019. It was incredibly strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said he then walked over to the base of the Eiffel Tower where locals were handing out little trinkets and selling items. <\/p>\n
\u2018My heart sank\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHe walked over to one of those guys, gave him money and pointed at me, and that\u2019s when my heart sank. I wasn\u2019t feeling cold before, but suddenly I was freezing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shocked by what she had seen, Ms Hampton stood there waiting for the two men to leave before she made her escape.<\/p>\n
But it was far from over.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I got up to leave, the guy they were talking to got on the phone. I then Facetimed my best friend \u2013 it was about 5am in the morning in Perth \u2013 and I told her everything \u2026 including how I [regretfully] gave him my Instagram.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said the man had asked for her number but she refused, and instead gave her social media handle. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think anything of it, but when I spoke to my friend, I told her I couldn’t believe I did that,\u201d she said, adding she was paranoid he was now going to trace her every step.<\/p>\n
She did a few laps around the Eiffel Tower before making her way to a restaurant in the hopes she would lose the man. <\/p>\n
Her battery was also low at this point, so she told her friend she would call her back if she needed to talk.<\/p>\n
After 40 minutes, Ms Hampton left the restaurant and headed to the train station.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got on the train and was like, \u2018ah okay, I\u2019m fine\u2019. There was one person in front of me that was sitting the opposite way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Knew I was in trouble\u2019<\/p>\n
However, to her shock, just before the doors closed, the two men she met at the Eiffel Tower also got on the train, along with five other men and two girls \u2013 all aged around 25 to 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe friend walked past me and said, \u2018yep, she\u2019s here\u2019 in English. Then the friend that was actually talking to me walked past and didn\u2019t say a word to me. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was like OK, I am in trouble, I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton immediately called her best friend again, who informed her to get off at the next station.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got off at Notre Dame and they all got off and stood at different places around me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She found a seat and wedged herself between two people, hoping they could help, but unfortunately, they didn\u2019t speak English.<\/p>\n
The Aussie traveller refused to leave the station, given the only exit was through a tunnel, adding it wouldn\u2019t have been a safe move. <\/p>\n
\u201cI got on the next train which stopped at every station but mine, and I remember thinking, \u2018this is a bad dream\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
When she sat down, a man sat directly in front of her, \u201clocking eyes and didn\u2019t stop\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother guy sat the other way and kept laughing and asked me, \u2018so, not getting off at this stop?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A terrified Ms Hampton broke down in tears. She was convinced she wasn\u2019t going to make it to her birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just started crying, I didn\u2019t know what else to do at this point,\u201d she recounted.<\/p>\n
A desperate Ms Hampton had previously approached a man on the train asking for help, but he too couldn\u2019t speak English.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe then saw me crying and came back and in Spanish asked me if I was OK.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ms Hampton was still on the phone to her friend at this point, who was able to communicate with the man in Spanish. He eventually escorted Ms Hampton off the train and got her into an Uber.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough my friend, he told me to get off at the next stop. I asked my friend to ask him if it was safe, because at this point I couldn\u2019t even trust him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The man said it wasn\u2019t safe, but he was getting off and that she could get off with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018well, this is my only hope\u2019. I was thinking \u2018what if he\u2019s involved\u2019, and began crying even more, and my friend said he was a security guard. It was my only hope at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the doors opened, the pair got off the train.<\/p>\n
The man took off his puffer jacket, wrapped it around Ms Hampton and prompted her to stay close to him as he kept his arm around her. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said for to me to stay close or they will grab me. I was just bawling my eyes out as I watched them surround us.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne was behind us, another was in front \u2013 I was just like, \u2018this is not real, this is not happening\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton called an Uber while the man waited with her and stood behind her as she got in the car.<\/p>\n
She explained the story to the Uber driver, who informed her she was very lucky she got away, as \u201cnot many people do\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I would have been out of the country by now.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was about 11.30pm when Ms Hampton got to her hotel. Understandably, she couldn\u2019t sleep that night, locking all her doors.<\/p>\n
The following day, she headed straight to the Australian Embassy to explain what had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I gave my statement, the lady at the front desk said, \u2018we need to get you home\u2019. She asked for all my flight details to change my booking. She said there\u2019s a high chance I am on the black market and if anyone on there sees me, and sees a chance to take me, they will take me.\u201d <\/p>\n
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson told news.com.au the government agency provided consular assistance to an Australian in France. <\/p>\n
\u201cOwing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n
Ms Hampton still had about five days left of her trip, but her exit flight was changed to the following day. <\/p>\n
She was also given a list of numbers to call if anything was to happen between her leaving and getting to the airport, with the staffer allegedly advising her to cover up to disguise her identity. <\/p>\n
Ms Hampton eventually made it back home safely, adding she never thought she\u2019d be in such a situation. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think if it wasn\u2019t for watching Taken, I wouldn\u2019t have known the signs,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have thought anything of it \u2026 and they would have followed me back to my hotel and who knows what would have happened.\u201d <\/p>\n
Taken follows a CIA spy, played by Liam Neeson, who rescues his teenage daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers while holidaying in Paris.<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said she recently explained her story to colleagues, who advised her to share it publicly to help raise awareness in the hopes it could save someone\u2019s life. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the ladies said she would love for me to post it on social media so she can show her daughter that these things can happen to real people and how you need to be mindful of your surroundings,\u201d Ms Hampton said.<\/p>\n
Story has gone viral<\/p>\n
Since sharing her story on Instagram a week ago, it has attracted over 7 million views and hundreds of comments from women sharing similarly terrifying experiences. <\/p>\n
\u201cParis is really hardcore for young single women. I got grabbed years ago by some guys in a car in Bastille when I was about your age, about to cross a road (it was late and I\u2019d left a nightclub). I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn\u2019t managed to get away. I\u2019m glad you are OK,\u201d one woman wrote.<\/p>\n
Others pointed out it\u2019s not just in Paris, but locations all around the world that people get trafficked. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a young single female, I travelled the world on my own (40+ countries) \u2026 I have been kidnapped twice, and twice I got away,\u201d one woman alleged. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure I would\u2019ve been so lucky in Europe where human traffickers are far more sophisticated. Glad you are safe. Stay vigilant. You saved yourself \u2013 through vigilance. I also recommend taking self-defence classes and carrying pepper spray. Don\u2019t let this ruin your love of adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n
A third woman claimed she was \u201calmost taken\u201d in Bali.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such an orchestrated network that so many are involved! I was in disbelief how well it was managed. We almost got taken in Bali, but we stayed in the club until we got into a cab and lucky enough we didn\u2019t leave the club as they had black vans outside waiting,\u201d she wrote. <\/p>\n
\u2018Hasn\u2019t stopped me from travelling\u2019
Ms Hampton said the incident hasn\u2019t deterred her from travelling, it\u2019s just made her to be even more cautious of her surroundings. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis experience hasn\u2019t deterred me from solo travelling \u2013 I still continued my birthday tradition and have since travelled to the Bahamas on my own,\u201d she told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it has made me even more aware of my surroundings. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve also received many messages telling me not to travel alone or share my location anymore. While I understand those concerns and will always take sensible precautions, I refuse to let fear dictate how I live my life. My faith has taught me to live with wisdom, not fear, and I won\u2019t let one terrible experience take away my love for travelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hampton said she hopes sharing her story doesn\u2019t discourage others from travelling, but instead encourages them to recognise the warning signs, trust their instincts, and stay vigilant.<\/p>\n
If you feel unsafe overseas<\/p>\n
Smartraveller provides advice on consular assistance available <\/a>to Australians overseas, as well as information on modern slavery<\/a> and human trafficking, safety advice for women travellers <\/a>and tips for solo travellers<\/a>.<\/p>\n DFAT advises Australians overseas who feel unsafe at any time, should prioritise their immediate safety, move to a safe location and contact local emergency services or police. Australians can also contact the nearest Australian embassy or consulate or call the 24\/7 Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305.<\/p>\n What is human trafficking?<\/p>\n The United Nations and the Council of Europe reports human trafficking is a lucrative business. <\/p>\n \u201cTrafficking is believed to generate up to $US150 billion (AUD $213 billion) in annual profits. It thus represents a comprehensive security issue, fuelling corruption, irregular migration and terrorism,\u201d it states.<\/p>\n The United Nations identifies human trafficking as a global crime that trades in people and exploits them for profit. <\/p>\n \u201cSome trafficked people might start their journey by being smuggled into a country illegally, not knowing the intention of the trafficker to exploit them, or find themselves deceived, coerced or forced into an exploitative situation later in the process, for example being forced to work for no or very little money to pay for their transportation,\u201d the UN states.<\/p>\n