More Than A Magazine, A Movement
If we are serious about ending sex trafficking by future Ghislaine Maxwells and Jeffrey Epsteins, we should not allow ourselves to be seduced by racist images of porn and pop culture—while rich and sophisticated white pimps, and their equally well-connected shills, sexually exploit girls in plain sight.
In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.
This week: Biden administration reverses Title X gag rule; federal courts halt, then reinstate Texas’s six-week abortion ban; school districts crack down on BLM and pride flags; Playboy features first gay man on its cover; California overrides workplace NDAs *and* requires free menstrual products in schools; and more.
Kim, Soon-Duk was one of hundreds of thousands of young women from throughout the Asia Pacific region and other Japanese-occupied territories who were abducted and subjected to sexual violence by the Japanese military before and during World War II.
The statistics are staggering: Human trafficking is estimated to be a $150 billion industry that profits from 25 million victims worldwide.
Jamie Beck, director of Free to Thrive, provides legal services and support to survivors of human trafficking.
The Super Bowl will draw attention to human trafficking for one day. But reducing human trafficking needs to be an ongoing endeavor by businesses, organizations and the public.
Conversations around sex trafficking experienced a resurgence following the investigation and indictment of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. However, the renewed spotlight on sex trafficking also helped popularize a plethora of unsupported conspiracy theories—leaving survivors in the shadows as powerful people continue to contort the narrative.
Shot in Spain, Nepal, Mexico and the U.S., “Sands of Silence” explores the spectrum of sexual violence—from sex trafficking, to child molestation, to trusted adults sexualizing the young people in their care. journalist and filmmaker Chelo Avarez-Stehle delves into the devastating and long-lasting impact of this violence, showing how childhood experiences of abuse make women vulnerable to future violence, and the ways girls and women are silenced or encouraged to deny the impact of this violence.
We don’t have to look far to see examples of ineffective action or harm—from policy based on an oversimplified understanding to organizations that claim to “rescue” and “save” those they are helping. To create a thriving movement for social change, those with lived experience need to be leading at every level.
In over 30 states, a young person under age 18 cannot be arrested for prostitution—replacing a punitive juvenile justice response with one informed by prevention, supportive victim services and child welfare. Many youth benefit from assistance that addresses their trauma by building upon their strengths and resiliency. But then they turn 18.
Asservo, derived from the Latin verb meaning “watch over or guard,” is an apt name for the project, which seeks to combat human trafficking and sexual predators, support the recovery of victims and aid in the imprisonment of perpetrators.