Trafficking and Prostitution Services

For a few years now, I've been getting an increasing number of posts, emails, phone calls, letters, etc. that have pretty much this sentiment from people I have no clue who they are.  These people have never read our Recovery Guide, nor listened to our radio show, attended a meeting, or spent five minutes on the phone with me.  But for some reason they come stomping onto my playground trying to tell me what I'm supposed to call myself.  This is what it looks like: Notice this person joined our group first of all.  Then after doing so - she attacks me over the name of the program, and then demands we change our name. On top of this, I've had problems with groups like Project Rose.  When they first started Project Rose, which was the same time Catholic Charities took over the Dignity Program in Phoenix, Arizona, I got a call from the new director, Cathy Bauer, when she came on board that "they would no longer be holding any Prostitutes Anonymous meetings"

After posting our "Code Red" about what's happening to sex workers in Nevada - I got a correction from Daniel Bogden about how my "disparaging remarks" are not being clear enough about who is what and that I'm "lumping" people in together. I should be more clear and specific.  I certainly am also not trying to be "disparaging".  But let me be more specific and clear then about what I have said.   I have been on the phone for over 10 hours today taking crisis calls across the county and I need to go unplug a toilet.  So I will go back and re-clarify my past statements when I can.  In the meantime - let me be more clear. Let's look at some recent examples of who has been harmed, attacked, murdered, abused, or who is in danger in the headlines of Nevada with respect to sex workers since our report in 2007 "Trafficking in Nevada". I'm not sure where to classify this poor boy.  He's a 13 year old boy that the soldie

When we started Sex Workers Anonymous - we have always stood on the fact of "not caring where you came from, what you did, who you worked with, how much you made, etc.".   Nor have we focused on why someone entered the industry.  To us - it's like asking an addict or alcoholic to make a distinction about why they started drinking and/or using, or even to make a distinction about how they got the alcohol and/or chemicals.  I mean does it matter if the addict got their fix by a legal prescription or by stealing the drugs?  Isn't what we're supposed to care about when they come to us ONLY about helping them to transition out of sex work? Which is one of the reasons why we strongly denounce the focusing of resources ONLY upon trafficking victims when it comes to helping a man or women to transition out of sex work.  We also don't believe that getting someone out of sex work is about just offering drug treatment and job training.  To prove our point - let's t

I saw a petition today signed by a lot of non-survivors of trafficking again trying to speak for us without including us.  I then noticed the petition was created by CATW.  So I went to their site to see the false claim they were the "first to fight international sex trafficking". What a bunch of hooey!  Below is a letter I wrote to them about this.  Their site claims they were founded in 1988 by the way - yet I started our work in 1987.  I didn't see or hear them around that's for sure.  Considering I was appearing on 20/20, Nightline, Geraldo, Donahue, etc. - you'd think they would have heard of me and come to say something to me during this time.  Yet none of the victims we were talking to knew anything about them either .  https://www.change.org/organizations/coalition_against_trafficking_in_women_international_catw Hello: Please allow me to introduce myself because you clearly don't seem to have the slightest awareness of who

After reading this article - http://www.ocregister.com/articles/trafficking-630795-county-human.html I wrote this letter to the writer: In reading over your other articles - I have to admit I’m confused.  I’m not seeing a clear distinction between prostitution and sex trafficking which are two different issues.  You also are blending in the cases of minors in with adults - which again from a legal standpoint are very different.  For example, any sex, whether commercial or not, with anyone under 18 years of age in California is considered statutory rape.   That said - trafficking and prostitution are two different things.  Yet I’m seeing you report signs of “trafficking” which are in fact signs of “prostitution”.  They're different.  It’s important for this reason - when we started the movement to have sex trafficking recognized it was because our legal system wasn’t set up to address the issue.  You touch upon it lightly when you point out that Oreo was “recrui

You know how shows like "Jackass" and "Ridiculousness" and many others show things that are very dangerous along with the warning "don't attempt this at home - these are trained professionals"? For some reason, I keep reading of how very loving, caring, great people see a video about sex trafficking at their church and next thing you know - you read about them deciding to "open up a safe house" like they think this is the same as any thing else. The main reason we stood up starting in 1987 and demanding that the system "change" is because EXISTING systems did not work.  Do you honestly think trafficking victims didn't do things like attempt to run away to a homeless shelter or a domestic violence shelter before?  The problem is that they aren't set up for what happens next. When a very well known youth program opened up a shelter in NY - every Friday and Saturday night they would get swamped with prostitutes who manage

I just saw Joe Manchin's objection about MTV's "BuckWild" where he asks MTV is they want to put money ahead of the welfare of our children when he asks them why they're airing that show. The answer Mr. Manchin is yes. Yes they put money ahead of the welfare of our children. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/wp/2012/12/07/joe-manchin-objects-to-mtvs-buckwild-reality-show/ In 2003, I was discussing with the producers of MTV doing a series of public service announcements about the only hotline in the country where anyone, male, female, or transgender, who simply wants help to leave the sex industry, whether they are trafficked or not, can call to find help to either escape and/or leave the streets where the hotline is answered by another survivor. The hotline also refers adults into the 12 step program of Sex Workers Anonymous, and those under 18 years old to Children of the Night. We were also negotiating a deal to have a film crew come out