The text of Eden folded seamlessly into the curriculum of U.S.-based anti-sex trafficking efforts with its images of taped mouths, chained wrists risen toward the heavens, “in our own backyard” and “stolen innocence” messages, and the idea that the average age of sex trafficked girls in the U.S. is age 13. – Kari Lerum
A Tale That Grew in the Telling
In 2010, there were 50,000 victims of human trafficking identified, with many more still being forced to…sell sex. But even the experts admit, the number of victims is difficult to quantify and largely unknown…Of…eight human trafficking cases, [Louisiana] prosecutors…[managed to win] only one [conviction]…
Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (#134)
One of the women who is suing the police after discovering that her former boyfriend was an undercover…[cop] has found a tracking device in her car…The woman – known as Lily – had a two-year relationship with Mark Kennedy without knowing his real identity. She is part of a group of women taking legal action against the police for the emotional trauma they suffered after forming intimate relationships with men who were later revealed to be spies…the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung reported that a tracking device – wrapped in tape – was found near a wheel of her car…while she was at a conference…in Spain to discuss surveillance and censorship…
The rescue industry is getting so successful it now has mergers and acquisitions: “The Elizabeth Smart Foundation and Operation Underground Railroad have announced that they will now be working hand-in-hand in a joint effort to save children by merging the two organizations…”
The [Utah] Legislature passed a bill…that would clarify that a person is guilty of prostitution not only when engaging in sexual activity with another for money but also for trade of goods…
Another astonishingly-stupid “study” produces predictably-stupid results:
Researchers with Mount Royal University and The Hindsight Group…[released] findings from a survey of men who were ordered to attend…“John schools”…66%…watched online pornography by the age of 15…67%…viewed online sites before venturing out to purchase sexual encounters…58%…said the Internet has made it more difficult for them to quit paying for sex…they’ve laid the groundwork for further investigation into prevention models that curb the demand for sex trade workers…
For those who know nothing about the social sciences, here are a couple of hints: a “captive audience” is going to produce badly skewed results, and assuming the conclusion before the data is even recorded isn’t very likely to result in anything resembling actual data.
In the coming weeks, the UK will see what must be a legal first – someone suing for libel over claims that they are not a former prostitute. The development has come in the legal drama surrounding Dr Brooke Magnanti, who…[wrote] under the nom de plume “Belle de Jour” about her secret life as a £300-an-hour call girl, and her ex-lover Owen Morris…The adventures of Belle de Jour spawned the long-running TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. But in 2013, Morris – known as “The Boy” in Magnanti’s book The Intimate Adventures of a Call Girl– claimed she had lied about her history as an escort and sued for defamation and breach of privacy. Morris claims that…his career has been damaged by the…revelation of her true identity…Magnanti is now counter-suing. She claims that Morris’ assertions that she was never a prostitute are defamatory to her reputation…
An in-depth analysis of how Eden and its ilk harm sex workers:
Does it matter when popular stories about “sex trafficking” are based on half-truths, junk science, and/or religious beliefs?…it is critical that we face the consequences of stories told in the name of rescuing girls and women…many individuals still derive most of their knowledge about human trafficking from sensationalistic media stories about so-called “sex trafficking….Hollywood action-adventure characterizations of victims and villains are deployed; complex structural problems are squeezed into personal morality tales; and the stories are then used by anti-sex work politicians and activists to justify heightened forms of criminal punishment. While the stories may have popular appeal, evidence suggests that more criminalization actually hurts all sex workers across the continuum of privilege and oppression…
A campaign by Thai authorities to crack down on human trafficking has led to the arrests…of…as many as 150 refugees and asylum seeker…Pakistan-based media and some Christian groups say the number may be as many as several hundred. Among those arrested were people fleeing religious persecution and sectarian violence in Pakistan…
It’s interesting to compare coverage of the same “sex trafficking” story from two different media outlets. The Christian Science Monitor tells us:
…the women of the Senate…decided to take on the “despicable, vile issue of human trafficking”…Sex trafficking crosses party lines…the House passed a dozen, bipartisan anti-trafficking bills…about 300,000 American children are at risk of being trafficked…it can happen to anyone. The average age is 11 to 14 years old…[cop] Michael Ferjak…[denied the agency of adult women and said] “We must…stop thinking that a 14-year-old can actually [think]”…
While in Reason, Noah Berlatsky writes:
According to the logic of many lawmakers, those engaged in prostitution are always victims. And once you have victims, you need victimizers—people who can be heroically beaten back by courageous law enforcement personnel. Generally, the victimizers are identified as sex traffickers or pimps. But a bill from Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) targets another popular bete noire: classified advertisers…the hope seems to be that negative publicity will cause the site’s owners to shutter Backpage, or at least its “adult” listings section…Kirk’s website throws around numerous frightening and dubious statistics, such as a claim that 300,000 children are “at risk of being trafficked for sex in the United States” every year…The implication, of course, is that the Internet makes prostitution more dangerous and exploitive. But is it really less safe for women to advertise online than (as one obvious alternative) to work on the street?…
Profound Mental Disabilities (#512)
Though the court’s statements and the media coverage of the story both came across as “doing sex work is evidence of brain damage”, Alissa Afonina doesn’t see it that way:
My brain injury is supported by far more than just the sexual symptoms, which is all the media decided to focus on…I have brain scans, countless assessments and [a] history of behavior that is totally congruent with my type of brain injury…I worked…because making that amount of money felt good and I wanted to save as much as I could…
”67%…viewed online sites before venturing out to purchase sexual encounters…58% said the Internet has made it more difficult for them to quit paying for sex…”
I tried to find the original study, but I couldn’t find it yet. I’d be curious to see what the questions actually looked like. Which sites are the ”Johns” viewing before going out on the streets? Porn sites? Escort sites? Trying to locate hookers on Street View? 🙂
They have an end-demand agenda, yet one of their ”conclusions” admits that demand is created and sustained by the supply (even though these clients didn’t make business through the internet).
Speaking of porn … I was doing some research on drones the other day and happened across what is billed as “the first porno shot by a drone”.
Yeah – had to click that!!
Well, it was something else. I LOVE HD drone footage of landscapes – and this was filled with that kind of stuff – with the occasional fly-over (usually at a fair speed) of couples doing their “thing” amongst nature. Not really “wanking material”, I would probably have no issue with showing it to my mother!
I would post … but … it does have adult content so you’ll just have to google if interested.
So Utah is going to start rounding up wives and girlfriends now on charges of prostitution?
Incidentally … per the Mormon religion – a woman gains access to heaven through her connection to a pious man. Soooo … shouldn’t “salvation” be considered a “goods” kind of thing too?
Actually, I applaud this law. At least it makes more sense and will ultimately illustrate the ridiculousness of prostitution laws.
I wouldn’t really call my wife a hooker – she offers herself to me whether I mow the lawn or not. But there are times when I delight her with something I’ve done that she didn’t expect when she goes the EXTRA mile and even drops a “barrier” or two to say “Thanks”.
I guess I need to keep her out of the state of Utah! LOL
Yes, for example in Canada our prostitution law is federal and it says ”sexual services for consideration”, so anything of value that is promised beforehand. This applies in theory to married couples. The actual words of the laws don’t matter to the public. They just have a vague notion of what is illegal based on how it is enforced. It’s a perfect example of universal criminality.
Dr Magnanti’s libel trial must be one of the strangest ever.
Libel is unlike most other trials, civil or criminal, where normally the onus of proof is on the plaintiff or prosecution. In libel, you, the defendant, the onus is on you; you must effectively prove that what you had written wasn’t defamatory, but accurate, true, fair comment.
Mostly not true in the US, but this kind of thing is why British libel judgments are no longer enforceable here.
Dr Magnanti’s trial will be in Scotland; the legal system there works quite differently from English common law. The end result is (usually) the same, but I’m not at all sure how this applies in libel suits.