Somy Ali Helps Abuse Survivors in Discovery Plus’ ‘Fight or Flight’

By Allison Degrushe, Distractify

Sadly, human sex trafficking and domestic abuse are pervasive crimes in our world due to their hidden nature.

According to Guardian Group, human sex trafficking is the fastest growing criminal initiative in the world; for those unaware, roughly “600,000 to 800,000 individuals are trafficked across international borders” every year and are often exploited for intentions of commercial sex.

When it comes to domestic abuse, the National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that “an average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner.”

Since most of these crimes happen behind closed doors, there’s hardly been any coverage — but a new show is looking to help change that. Distractify has an exclusive first look at Discovery Plus’ new docuseries Fight or Flight, which follows survivor and advocate Somy Ali as she “illustrates the horrors and frequency of abuse.”

Somy Ali helps sex trafficking and abuse victims become survivors in ‘Fight or Flight.’

For nearly two decades, Bollywood actress turned human rights activist Somy Ali has “rescued thousands of men, women, and children from domestic violence and sex trafficking” with the help of her progressive nonprofit No More Tears, per the show’s official press release.

Now, Discovery Plus sheds light on Somy’s work in Fight or Flight, a new docuseries that highlights the atrocities of abuse and details the emotional transformation of victims taking back their lives and becoming survivors who refuse to be defined by their abuse.

The press release states that all six episodes of Fight or Flight are “a race against time” to free victims from the conditions in which they strive to escape, as well as obtain legal, medical, and educational consultants and provide emergency shelter for them while they reconstruct their lives to attain the independence they’ve been denied for so long.

“Having our cameras capture the painfully important and intense work that Somy does is an incredible honor, hopefully empowering many victims of abuse and trafficking to realize that they do not need to suffer in silence,” said Jason Sarlanis, president of crime and investigative content, linear and streaming.

He added, “Somy’s mission is driven by her personal passion and unparalleled devotion to turning victims into survivors. With instances of domestic abuse unfortunately skyrocketing during the pandemic it’s more critical than ever that we bring much-needed attention to this issue.”

Following a notable Bollywood career, Somy Ali founded No More Tears in 2007.

As a survivor of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and rape in her teenage years, Somy Ali established No More Tears in 2007 with the mission to rescue and empower all victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. NMT provides direct and immediate support and has helped more than 30,000 men, women, and children since its inception, per its website.

“In 2011, Somy was honored with the American Heritage Award from the American Immigration Council for her work with No More Tears, The Daily Point of Light Award by President George H. W. Bush in 2015, and The National Domestic Violence Month ‘A Proclamation’ by President Barack Obama,” according to the nonprofit’s website.

Fight or Flight is produced for Discovery Plus by Cineflix Productions with J.C. Mills, David Casey, and Diana Nolan as Executive Producers. Tim Baney is the Executive Producer for Discovery Plus.

The first three episodes of Fight or Flight premiere Thursday, May 26, on Discovery Plus. New episodes drop weekly.

If you or someone you know is being trafficked, these organizations can help:
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: 800-843-5678
Shared Hope International: 866-437-5433
Rescue America: 713-322-8000