Human Trafficking Awareness month

In the Booth with Ruth – Gemma Wilson, Anti-Human Trafficking Activist

“When people who were once trafficked are rescued and out of the hands of traffickers, they often recount the days and years spent in slavery as being worse than what they imagined death to be like,” says Gemma Wilson, part of Northern Ireland’s counter-trafficking movement. She continues, “I found out there are more slaves today than there ever have been… I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t turn away…”

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Gemma Wilson

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

I had what some would very rightly call a ridiculous fear of getting bored in the summer months between my undergrad and postgrad studies, so I gave myself a few projects. Having seen ‘Amazing Grace’, a film about the life and work of abolitionist William Wilberforce, I added researching slavery to my list of summer activities – which also included learning to enjoy running. Sadly, I have yet to tick that one off.

This project was based on the assumption that slavery was a thing of the past; I quickly found out there are more slaves today than there ever have been and was gripped by this new unveiled reality. I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t turn away from it.

I spent the guts of the following year researching the global picture of slavery: its various forms, the…

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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…

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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…

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