Paris birthday trip turns into near-trafficking ordeal, Australian traveller says
A birthday getaway to Paris ended in fear for Australian traveller Djanaya, who says she was nearly trafficked after arriving in the French capital. She
A birthday getaway to Paris ended in fear for Australian traveller Djanaya, who says she was nearly trafficked after arriving in the French capital. She spoke out this week, warning that such risks can emerge in places many people think of as safe, including a postcard spot beneath the Eiffel Tower.
Djanaya had travelled solo to mark her 29th birthday, following a habit she says began after years of waiting for other people to join her on trips. She now picks a destination each year and goes on her own. Paris was meant to be a dream stop. Instead, she says it turned into a trap.
‘I’m actually still living’
“I genuinely can’t believe that I’m actually still living. It can happen anywhere, it can happen to anybody,” Djanaya told A Current Affair. Her best friend, Shon, said the experience left them shaken. “You hear of these stories happening but you never think it’s going to happen to you,” she said.
The pair’s comments cut through the usual travel gloss. No glamour. No postcard finish. Just the blunt reality that a solo trip, even one built around independence and confidence, can turn dangerous fast.
Djanaya said the Paris trip had felt exactly like the sort of birthday adventure she had imagined. “I was like, oh the Eiffel Tower, beautiful, the city of love, turn 29 in Paris, how beautiful,” she said. “That’s all I wanted to do. I just wanted to be around it. It was so beautiful. It’s so surreal.”
A solo traveller’s warning
Solo travel has become a defining choice for many young people around the world, especially women who see it as a way to keep moving without waiting on friends, partners or family schedules. But Djanaya’s account is a reminder of the trade-off: freedom can come with exposure, and busy tourist districts do not guarantee safety.
Her story lands in a year when concerns about travel scams, exploitation and targeted crime continue to shadow major cities and tourist hubs. Paris draws millions of visitors and remains one of the world’s most photographed destinations. That visibility does not make travellers immune.
Djanaya has not described the full sequence of what happened in the material available, but she says she was almost human trafficked. The fear, she told A Current Affair, has stayed with her. For now, her message is simple and unvarnished: people should not assume these risks belong to somebody else, or somewhere else.
“It can happen anywhere,” she said. And for anyone planning the next solo trip, that line may linger longer than the view from the tower.
