07:09 GMT - Wednesday, 12 March, 2025

Hong Kong human rights advocate Sylvia Yu on building ‘mental toughness’ to create change

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Hong Kong-based Canadian author Sylvia Yu heard many heart-wrenching stories while researching sex trafficking in Asia.

The story of Mei – just 14 when she was trafficked as a bride – hit extra hard.

Bought by an elderly farmer in China, Mei spent years chained up like a dog. By the time she found support in a shelter she had been starved, used as a sex slave, contracted HIV and battled drug addiction and suicidal thoughts.

Mei’s story is one of many Yu recounts in her new book Fearless: A Guide to Freedom and Fulfilling Your Fullest Potential, a candid reflection on her own family, cross-cultural work experiences and sometimes harrowing adventures as a human rights journalist.

A campaign poster for Mei, a young survivor of bride trafficking in China who Sylvia Yu interviewed in 2011. Photo: courtesy of Sylvia Yu
A campaign poster for Mei, a young survivor of bride trafficking in China who Sylvia Yu interviewed in 2011. Photo: courtesy of Sylvia Yu

“I gravitate to the untold stories – I want people to feel heard.”

Yu has long given a voice to the voiceless through her pioneering investigations into the underworld of sex trafficking and modern-day slavery.

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