Written by Melissa Holland and Laila Mickelwait

Forty-eight years ago prostitution was legalized in Nevada and as a result, Nevada has developed into a breeding ground for sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

In fact, Nevada has the highest rate of prostitution in the country—its illegal sex trade is 63% higher than the next highest state. It also ranks in the top 10 states for trafficked and exploited youth.

None of this is surprising because research has shown that legal prostitution increases the demand for prostitution and thus increases the market for sex. As a result, there is a significant increase in instances of human trafficking.

https://youtu.be/KytIG3uK7_Y

For example, in 2012 researchers Seo-Young Cho, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer published their findings in World Development establishing that “The scale effect of legalized prostitution leads to an expansion of the prostitution market, increasing human trafficking… On average, countries where prostitution is legal experience larger reported human trafficking inflows.”

In 2005, another study¹ on 11 European Union countries, requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, found that stricter prostitution laws seem to produce fewer human trafficking victims. 

Furthermore, case studies published by researchers Niklas Jakobsson and Andreas Kotsadam² support the connection between criminalizing buying sex and reduced human trafficking. Jakobsson and Kotsadam found that sex trafficking is least prevalent in countries where prostitution is illegal and most prevalent in countries where prostitution is legalized.

Nevada is the only state in the US where legal prostitution exists and because of this, the entire state has a reputation for being a safe haven for pimps, traffickers, and sex buyers. As such, legalized prostitution in Nevada has created an enabling environment for sexual exploitation to flourish. In Nevada alone, there is a demand for over 20,000 innocent women and children sold online every year.

In order to abolish sex trafficking, we must eliminate the demand for prostitution. The demand elimination strategy is the only way to put pimps and traffickers out of business and protect the rights of women and children to attain a life free from exploitation.

Women in prostitution shouldn’t be arrested, they should be offered services to help them escape prostitution, heal, and live a life of dignity. Sex buyers, pimps, and traffickers should be arrested and their crimes should be felony-level offenses.

As Nevada trafficking survivor Rebekah Charleston articulates, “To put it candidly, we must stop any system that condones buying human beings for sex. It’s an injustice against our sisters, our friends, our neighbors, and our daughters.”

Legal prostitution in Nevada has brought severe harm to the women and girls who’ve been pulled into prostitution over the last 48 years. 

One of the largest studies conducted on prostitution, published in the Journal of Trauma Practice, surveyed 854 prostituted women in nine countries. It concluded that 63% of women in prostitution were raped, 71% were physically assaulted, and 68% met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder in the same range as treatment-seeking combat veterans and victims of state-organized torture.³

It’s time to end the toxic prostitution industry in Nevada. It has to stop. Now. Until it does, Nevada is a haven for exploiters and Nevada is not safe for women.

Please support ending legalized sexual exploitation in Nevada and specifically ask the governor and attorney general of Nevada to withdraw their opposition to the lawsuit that would effectively abolish legalized prostitution in the state. Go to prostitutionharms.com to find out how you can take action today.

 

Footnotes
1. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2005/360488/IPOL-JOIN_ET%282005%29360488_EN.pdf
2. The Law and Economics of International Sex Slavery: Prostitution Laws and Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation
Niklas Jakobsson and Andreas Kotsadam No 458, Working Papers in Economics from University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics
3. Farley, Melissa et al. (2003). “Prostitution and Trafficking in Nine Countries: An Update on Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” Journal of Trauma Practice, Vol. 2, No. 3/4: 33-74; and Farley, Melissa. ed. 2003. Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress. Haworth Press, New York. ; Ramsay, R. et. al. 1993. “Psychiatric morbidity in survivors of organized state violence including torture.” British Journal of Psychiatry. 162:55-59.

Article One: A Simple Breakdown of the Jeffrey Epstein Case

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By Shontell Brewer

In a recent interview with Yasmin Vafa of Rights4Girls, interviewer Lisa Desjardins of PBS NewsHour posed a thought. “I’m wondering how much of this is in plain sight, the problem of child trafficking. How much of this is a cultural kind of ignorance or a shrugging off of a serious problem?” If the recent Jeffrey Epstein case is any indicator of typical then I would say nearly all of it. Much of America is still choosing to normalize or overlook behaviors that lead to child sex trafficking and to traffickers getting away with it.

It isn’t that we don’t know child sex trafficking is happening. It’s happening right here in our America. We have survivor’s stories and statistics and specialized government task forces and non-profits popping up everywhere trying to bring about change.

The problem America is facing is they know children are being sold for sex and not enough is being done to stop it. Instead we get a former prosecutor trying to justify the lenient plea bargain he offered to alleged child rapist, Jeffrey Epstein. We get Epstein’s attorneys defending his actions saying this isn’t considered child sex trafficking because there was no coercion or violence. And we get stories breaking into the news saying Epstein wired money as a possible bribe “to influence individuals” not to testify against him if it came to a trial. These individuals are two people who have been named as co-conspirators in his trafficking scheme. And we get media and lawyers analyzing words to see if these kids were sexually trafficked or just sexually abused. What a fleece.

Everyone involved here has normalized illegality and crazy on a level that attempts to make us forget that over a dozen children (this number is growing as new evidence comes forward) were repeatedly sexually assaulted and will be forever changed from the little girls they had the right to be. They will never get that opportunity back.

As horrendous as this case is, the charges brought against billionaire Jeffrey Epstein have opened lines of dialogue between everyday Americans. We are all beginning to ask questions and seek clarifications. We hope to shed some light on reoccurring subtopics in this case and in general understanding of how child sex trafficking happens in the United States.

This blog series will cover topics such as

• Consent—what is it and who can give it
• Coercion—what is it and who is guilty of it
• the culture of acceptance—how our everyday actions may be perpetuating child sex-trafficking
• Why many guys don’t think they are “that guy”—a look at identifying who is a john, a trafficker, and a pimp
• What it looks like when men take a stand for this cause

Our hope is that you feel better informed as you either follow Epstein’s story and/or find ways to bring small changes (which lead to big changes) in your own community. Maybe we decide to join forces as humans who share this planet and care about the future of our children. Maybe we take on Thorn’s motto “we won’t stop until every child, can just be a kid.” No matter what we do, we do something.

As the school year has come to an end, Awaken has said goodbye to six of our spring interns and welcomed four new summer interns! These students are a vital part of the Awaken team, and every semester it’s tough to say goodbye. Both staff and clients become close to them. During the spring semester, most of our interns have not only had the opportunity to work at the office and with clients in our Drop In Center, but also with our house staff and residents.

During their last week at Awaken, we asked each intern a few questions about their experiences working at Awaken. We hope this interview helps you understand a bit more about our internship program, and also helps you see Awaken through a new perspective.

What has been the best part of your internship at Awaken?

Interaction with the women.

Interacting and helping each client that comes into Awaken. It also has been rewarding to see the progress within many of the clients.

The friendships I have formed with the clients who currently live at the house have been the best part. They may be in recovery, but they are the strongest women I have ever met. They often greet me with a smile, and enjoy teasing me about the fact that I struggle to shuffle cards whenever they have me join them in a card game. They have shown me that strength and healing comes in many forms.

What has been the most challenging part?

Not being able to have the answer to everything and not being able to have enough community resources for these women.

Finding free time to complete my internship.

Friendships I have formed with the clients. I want to see them succeed and continue on their path to recovery, but I have learned that there is only so much I can do for them and I pray that they can learn from their mistakes when they fall. They have opened up to me about their past, and although it is hard to hear at times and breaks my heart, I can only hope it helps them heal from their past.

What have you learned during your internship?

I have learned many things from my internship. Two main learning opportunities I was able to gain was conflict and empathy skills working with the different clients. There were many cases where empathy was needed when listening to client’s stories but there was also conflict that arose, so being able to handle those situations was a great learning opportunity.

I learned to stay flexible and enjoy every minute.

I learned to take time to make sure I am okay at the end of the day. There is nothing wrong with taking a break from the world, and practicing self-care constantly and consistently. I was taught that in the business of helping, I need to prioritize not only the client’s mental health, but mine as well.


What advice would you give to new interns just starting at Awaken?

I’d say do research on sexual trafficking in the United States and also Reno. It is important to be aware of this issue and educated on it to help better your experience as an intern.

We cannot save or rescue people, just do your best to help people understand their value. Make every interaction count and be genuine.


Thank you to all of our interns! We so appreciate you! We hope that your experiences at Awaken continue to drive your heart to serve others and make a positive change in the world.

Awaken is excited to have guest blogger, Shontell Brewer, join us this month. Shontell is a speaker, teacher, and part of Awaken’s prevention team. To view more of her writings, listen to her podcast, or book her as a speaker for your next event, check out her website.

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I asked my 5^thgraders if they’ve ever been approached online by a stranger or someone who seemed inappropriate. Twenty-four out of 26 of them raised their hands with stories that would cause many of us to grab our babies and head for a commune.

One ten-year-old boy shared that a lady sent him a nude picture on FortNite. Asked if he wanted to have a private chat. The boy next to him said a teenaged girl sent him a text and asked if he wanted to smoke pot with her. Or other things. One girl confessed that she has had many older boys message her on an app called Kik. Does she want to hang out IRL-In real life? These stories went on for an hour. Then, I asked the biggest question hoping the rumors I heard about this next stat were false.

“If you feel comfortable, raise your hand if you have ever been asked to send a nude photo of yourself or had one sent to you.” And ever true to the FBI’s current statics, 80% of my students raised their hands.

I thought for sure these stories would be too much for ten-year-olds, but the only two who seemed surprised by any of it were the two who don’t have phones. The only two who have not been exposed to these potential predators.

Where is all this taking place? You can read up on my article on what parents need to know about the basics of trafficking here. But it’s time we stop believing this is a 3^rdworld country problem—a poor people problem—and start living like we care what happens to our kids.

With child pornography increasing 10,000% since 2004 (yah that’s the real statistic) there is a good chance your family is affected. Don’t worry! There’s a new bright light emerging.

My circle of folks may be different than yours since I work in education and trafficking prevention, but you’ve likely noticed celebrities wrapped up in this topic. Some not so great, but others are putting their money and time where their mouth is.

Have you heard of Thorn? It’s an organization co-founded by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. They have figured out where the crux of child pornography and predators camp out and they’ve become “dedicated to building technology to defend children from sexual abuse…” Sound impossible? Well they’ve done it. All they need now is for companies who allow online spaces for user-generated materials to buy in.

What’s a user-generated material site? Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Burn Note, Line, Tinder, Blendr, KiK messenger, Yik Yak, FortNite, Reddit, and Tik Tok (formerly Musical.ly). Incidentally, these are some of the top named sites for sextortion as well. It means users get to post what they want. They simply check a box that they are old enough and safe enough, and then they post what they want until they get caught. And here is the problem. Who is out there catching them? In the past it’s been no one or only a few people who stumble upon the problem. It’s a short-lived fix because they just change their username, and keep going. But not anymore.

Thorn’s new software Safer “provides a solution to help companies ensure their platforms are not enabling the viral spread of,” child pornography and other abusive content. Not only are they working with law enforcement and Homeland Security, they work with groups such as Amazon Web Services, Google, Twitter, and Facebook. Thorn is committed to “build[ing] technology to defend children from sexual abuse.” This is music to my ears that have frankly heard too much even within the four walls of my elementary school classroom.

So, what can we do to get Safer into the hands of every online interface? A few things. First, visit your app store and rate these apps and websites that are being used for child sexual abuse. Give them the stars they deserve, sure, but be sure to leave them a note that reminds them they are part of the equation. These app owners have a responsibility to protect our kids, too. Ask them to look into Thorn’s product and care enough to make a difference in this multi-billion-dollar operation. Yes, multi-billion. To the tune of 150 billion dollars a year according to humantraffickingcenter.org.

Second, tell people about this software and what Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are doing to bring light to families who are victims of child sextortion and abuse. This is as simple as sharing this post or bringing it up in conversation with your friends.

And finally, like every good campaign will tell you GO BUY THE SHIRT. I’ve already purchased two, and I encourage you to do the same. It’s the best $25 you will ever spend.

As a nation we’ve tried doing nothing. We’ve tried pretending this doesn’t exist. We have even gone so far as to pretend it will never happen to our kids. But the data doesn’t lie. These abusers need to be taken down, and I for one am going to do everything I can to be part of it.

Sources: These quotes are found either in my classroom or on the Thorn website.