On April 6, 2016, the French National Assembly recognized prostitution as a form of violence against women, voting to criminalize the purchase of sex in France. Under the new law, prostituted people…
Tag: trafficking
How can we talk about “sustainability” without also talking about an industry that sees thousands of women and girls, across the planet, exploited daily? What responsibility do governments have in terms of…
In a neoliberal society driven by right wing extremist narratives that ultimately infiltrate even the left, it is not at all surprising to see ongoing attempts to normalize the most horrific forms…
The Toronto Star published an extensive investigative report on sex trafficking in Toronto this week. Reporter, Olivia Carville spoke with a number of victims as well as pimps throughout the Greater Toronto…
On Wednesday, November 18th, in East Vancouver, about a dozen people from the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood attended a panel discussion called Creating John-Free communities. Panel members from Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s…
Controversy swirls around Amnesty International’s celebration of their new policy on prostitution, which calls for the decriminalization of pimps and johns. Pimps, johns, and sexists around the world are celebrating, which is…
I’m going to hazard a guess and say that most people reading this do not believe that men are entitled to access women’s bodies for the purposes of their sexual gratification either…
I was in Europe doing research for Female Sexual Slavery in 1977 when I met with the Executive Director of Amnesty International in London. I had thought, naively, that in following their…
On May 11th and 12th, The World Summit: End Sexual Exploitation 2025 was held at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference formed working groups of experts and advocates in law…
In October, members of the Stormont assembly voted in favour of a bill that would criminalize buying sex in Northern Ireland. On Wednesday, December 10th, Lord Morrow’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill…
Julien Blanc is rightfully condemned, but who is willing to confront the global economy of misogyny?
It’s easy to blame a globalized and systemic issue on “a few bad guys.” This is exemplified by cases like “dating advice consultant,” Julien Blanc. Blanc tours the world teaching men “pickup artistry.”…
When the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia (CATWA) announced the release of our new report on the Nordic Model, supporters of the sex industry began targeting our Facebook page. When I…
I am thrilled that California has just passed two laws addressing the harms of the sex industry. Measure B mandates condom use in porn among other sensible workplace safety preventions for the…
Law enforcement, intellectuals, politicians, and activists all over the United States—last month, even President Obama—are discussing legal approaches toward the related scourges of human trafficking and prostitution. Recognizing that prostitution is a…
Gloria Steinem recently gave a talk in New Delhi about prostitution and trafficking. Again defying that old trope, forever pushed by advocates for the full decriminalization and/or legalization of prostitution, that pretends…