Powerful organizations and advocates wielding power unethically has contributed to violence and bullying even between survivors. This is harmful, unethical, and exploitative, and is a big part of the reason we only hear from survivors who agree with the existing narratives. This movement is not safe when survivors are pitted […]
sex worker safety
In ‘“Have you ever traded sex for money or drugs?” Health care providers’ perspectives on sex trafficking risk assessments in clinics,’ Lara Gerassi and Anna Pederson share their findings about how health care providers made decisions about screening for sex trafficking (ST) among adult patients.1 Table 2 in the article […]
For more on the range of exploitation that is common (and legal) in many jobs, especially those that involve precarious labor, see: “Are You Better or Worse Off? Understanding exploitation through comparison” by Joel Quirk.
On the Super Bowl, Safety, and SolidarityFinding common ground in a time of crisis … and beyond Every year, around this time, the airwaves in whatever city is hosting the Super Bowl are flooded with public service announcements about sex trafficking. Billboards go up. Police officers receive special training. Media […]
When I first began working in the anti-trafficking movement, I had a decade of experience working as a rape crisis center responder. I was familiar with trauma-informed care, non-judgmental provision of services, and the ways in which victim-blaming, rape culture, and sex-negative messaging impact both survivors and our efforts to […]
I was interviewed for this New Republic piece by Melissa Gira Grant on the divide in the human trafficking movement between those who see it as a conservative, anti-sex work, criminal justice movement, and those who understand the human rights underpinnings of any effective anti-violence work. This was not a survivor-led movement […]