Human Trafficking Awareness Interviews

In the Booth with Ruth – Lise Bouvet, PhD Researcher in Gender Studies

“There is no such thing as the ‘right’ to prostitute oneself, only the one to never ever be reduced to become merchandise,” says Lise Bouvet in her interview for Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Lise has been studying prostitution for fifteen years. She has worked for NGOs, and has both field and academic experience. Her research has compared the situations in USA, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, China and Thailand among other countries.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Lise Bouvet

How did you become involved in supporting the abolition of prostitution?

Well that’s very simple: I’ve been working on prostitution for fifteen years now, in social sciences, then philosophy. I’ve worked for NGOs too. I have both field and academic experience. I have researched and compared situations in many countries including USA, England, France, Germany, Netherlands of course, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, China and Thailand.

Things are obvious: the only system that has seen prostitution decrease is the Nordic model for it is a true abolitionist policy. Any public policy that would leave out of its reach one of the three major parts of the prostitution system is bound to fail. Sweden has challenged the major part of the system, which is the john. No johns, no prostitutes, no trafficking, no pimps. It’s as simple as that – and it took me ten years to reach that conclusion!

Regulation…

View original post 1,037 more words

In the Booth with Ruth – Holly Austin Smith, Survivor of Child Trafficking and Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate, Speaker and Author

“I was blown away…there was a name for what had happened to them – what had happened to me – human trafficking. Sex Trafficking… For nearly twenty years, I carried around this shameful secret about my past, a secret which led me to believe that I was dirty, that I was damaged goods. And it was a lie all along. I wished I had known that I was not unworthy. I was a survivor. I was a survivor of human trafficking.” Holly Austin Smith, child trafficking survivor and anti-human trafficking advocate, speaker and author, shares her story.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Holly Smith

How did you become involved in the movement against sex trafficking and sexual exploitation?

It was on a Friday or Saturday night in 2009 that I found myself home alone with the television remote. Ben, my fiancé, was out with a friend, and I was pouring wine and baking brownies to celebrate having the apartment to myself. I’d been working long hours at my full-time job, and I needed a night in.

I flopped on the couch and flipped through television channels. Maybe I watched a movie or a couple of sitcoms before coming across a documentary about human trafficking overseas. I can’t remember which station it was on (possibly HBO), but it was about this woman who was a survivor of human trafficking (in India, I think), and she worked to rescue other young girls from the local brothels.

There was one girl in particular who was being sold…

View original post 849 more words

In the Booth with Ruth – Philip J Cenedella, Executive Director, The National Association of Human Trafficking Victim Advocates

“This fight will not stop until the traffickers and users of slaves are brought to justice and financially impacted by their actions,” says Philip J Cenedella, Executive Director of The National Association of Human Trafficking Victim Advocates. He shares about his goal to stop Google selling advertisements to traffickers, and how he’s going to achieve it.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Philip J Cenedella

How did you become involved in the movement against human trafficking? 

By helping one victim of domestic violence who stayed in the only shelter in Dubai for human trafficking victims. On 4 August 2007, I did not know anything about trafficking, but started that day to help Sharla Musabih and her United Hope UAE organization.

What draws you to support and advocate for people enslaved by traffickers?

Empathy.

What does your work involve?

I manage www.stopslavery2013.com. I also collaborate with other advocates via The National Association of Human Trafficking Victim Advocates and I answer hotline calls from throughout the US. As well as that, I help lead the fight against online trafficking, which involves Craigslist, Backpage and Google AdWords – there’s information on that here and you can help here, even if it’s just by quickly sharing some links on Twitter.

What legal improvements or changes would help to…

View original post 178 more words