sex trafficking

In the Booth with Ruth – Anne Bissell, Sex Trafficking Survivor, Author, Executive Director Voices for Justice/Silver Braid

“We believe that sexual violence, under the Department of Justice Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) needs to include the three aspects of sexual violence. We use the silver braid to represent these types, domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation (prostitution and trafficking).” Anne Bissell, Sex Trafficking Survivor, Author, Executive Director of Voices for Justice/Silver Braid.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Anne Bissell, Silver Braid

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

When my book, Memoirs of a Sex Industry Survivor, came out in 2004, I found myself on the frontline regarding issues of child sex trafficking and the commercialized sexual exploitation of children.  Towards this end, I have worked for many years to create a strategy, which I call Operation Silver Braid.

What draws you to support and advocate for people in prostitution?

I am a survivor of prostitution, the sex industry, and trafficking. My heart has been with bringing sympathy for survivors since 1997.

What does your work in this area involve?

Under the charity of which I am the executive director, Voices for Justice, we set up a first point of contact with the Operation Silver Braid Strategy. We have a helpline and receive calls nationwide. We attempt to work with clergy, pastors, correctional officers, parents, and survivors to set…

View original post 266 more words

In the Booth with Ruth – Dedee Lhamon, Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate and Non-Profit Founder

“As long as the demand is there, this problem will exist.” Dedee Lhamon, Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate and Non-Profit Founder.

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Dedee Lhamon

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

In 2008, I was watching a program about sex trafficking of children in Cambodia on MSNBC. When watching this program, they started talking about sex trafficking of children in the United States. The thought that this was happening here pierced my heart. I have two daughters and so the thought of girls being victimized in such a way deeply disturbed me. I spent an entire year attending conferences, contacting authorities and social agencies to determine what was being done and where the greatest need existed. After a year, my husband and I hired an attorney to set up a non-profit corporation and I created a board of directors. In November of 2009, The Covering House became incorporated and in August of 2010 we received our 501(c)(3) status.

What draws you to support people who are trafficked…

View original post 220 more words

In the Booth with Ruth – Stella Marr, Sex Trafficking Survivor, Anti-Sex Trafficking Activist and Advocate, Executive Director and Founding Member of Sex Trafficking Survivors United (Survivors Connect)

Sex trafficking survivor and anti-sex trafficking advocate and activist, Stella Marr, gives a powerful interview. “I was trafficked in prostitution in New York City for nearly ten years… Two of my friends from the life were murdered. My beautiful friend, April, died of suicide because the madam she’d called promised to send help then did nothing. April died waiting – to me it feels like another murder. My best friend Gabriel, who’d been trafficked from age sixteen, died of AIDS at age twenty-four. His family kicked him out when they found out he was sick, so he had to spend his last days living with a john who made him buy life insurance with the john as beneficiary. I fill with tears when I think of it… After being trafficked in prostitution, you feel linked to all the others who’ve been there. You want them to be okay. You are no longer merely yourself; you are part of a whole…”

Ruth Jacobs's avatarRuth Jacobs

Stella Marr

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

I was trafficked in prostitution in New York City for nearly ten years, from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Two of my friends from the life were murdered. My beautiful friend, April, died of suicide because the madam she’d called promised to send help then did nothing. April died waiting – to me it feels like another murder. My best friend Gabriel, who’d been trafficked from age sixteen, died of AIDS at age twenty-four. His family kicked him out when they found out he was sick, so he had to spend his last days living with a john who made him buy life insurance with the john as beneficiary. I fill with tears when I think of it.

The public needs to understand that prostitution is sex trafficking. The term ‘sex trafficking’ reflects an…

View original post 1,432 more words