Meet Marie!

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 Trigger warning: Content discusses childhood abuse and exploitation.

About Marie Striebel
Survivor | Leader | Advocate | Author

Marie Striebel is a survivor of child sex trafficking, a dedicated advocate, and the Founder and Executive Director of Bondage2Freedom Inc., which includes The Empowered Child Alliance (TECA). Bondage2Freedom's mission operates full-circle: TECA advances child-abuse prevention — empowering children with the knowledge, understanding, and language needed to protect themselves and report abuse — while Bondage2Freedom's survivor programs confront the root cause: the cycle of unhealed trauma that fuels demand.

The Reality of the System

Marie was trafficked from the age of 13 to 16 by a trusted family friend. During this time, she was sold, controlled, and repeatedly exploited—her identity stripped away before she ever had the chance to form one. She was held alongside approximately 30 other children, both boys and girls, most of whom were under the age of 10.

Marie didn't just witness the system—she lived inside it. She knows exactly what happens behind closed doors, understands how easily a vulnerable child can fall through the cracks, and recognizes a critical truth: trafficking doesn't start with the traffickers—it begins much earlier.

A Unique Journey of Healing

 Like many survivors in the anti-trafficking movement, the sustained severity of Marie’s childhood abuse resulted in complex trauma, with much of it buried deep within her subconscious. It was through the powerful act of writing that these long-held memories were finally brought to light, giving her the space to confront and heal them. Today, she honors what her writing brings forward, living proof that healing comes through processing what surfaces—not forcing open every locked door at once. 

The Invisible Battle: High-Functioning C-PTSD

Marie eventually escaped at 16, but the impact of the trauma did not end there. Like many survivors, she spent decades navigating the aftermath—living without boundaries, disconnected from her own worth, and repeating patterns rooted in complex trauma she didn't yet understand.

She survived by operating in a state of High-Functioning C-PTSD. To the outside world, Marie's life looked perfect. She built a highly successful career, rising into executive leadership within the automotive industry and breaking barriers in one of the most male-dominated fields throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. She went on to open a thriving real estate appraisal business in Minnesota, expanding into Wisconsin, before finally settling in her home of Naples, Florida. But internally, Marie was fighting battles no one could see. High-Functioning C-PTSD adds a heavy, invisible burden onto its victims; because she looked like she was thriving, no one asked Marie if she needed help. No one asked if she was okay.

Turning Pain into Purpose

Everything changed when Marie chose to face her past head-on. Through deep personal work, she began to understand the full scope of what had happened to her—not just the abuse itself, but the systemic cycle behind it. That profound understanding became her life's purpose.

Today, through Bondage2Freedom, Marie is focused on disrupting that cycle at its source. Her work challenges the conventional narrative by addressing an uncomfortable truth: the demand for child exploitation is often rooted in untreated, generational trauma. Through TECA, she advocates for early prevention education and early intervention. Through Bondage2Freedom's survivor programs, she champions the deep healing work that stops the cycle from repeating.

Marie doesn't speak from theory. She speaks from an experience most people will never understand, and many don't want to face. She shares this vital perspective as the author of her forthcoming book, Silent Screams.

She refuses to stay silent—because silence is where this cycle survives.