Every once in awhile, we feel compelled to comment on something that we have observed in our greater society or on our page in specific. Today is such a day. It has been very interesting to read some of the comments on our post about a bust that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted that netted 41 buyers of commercial sex. It was an operation where agents posed as prostituted

We recognize that when children and youth are victimized in any way, including being enslaved in sex trafficking, the reaction is one of horror and outrage. And this is right and normal and good. But unfortunately, we have noticed that the outrage and horror fall off dramatically when the victim is an adult. Justifying their abuse, judging them, calling them names, and/or just ignoring the fact that they exist is

Often when we post stories about a trafficker being sentenced for his/her crimes or about a trafficking case being brought to trial, there is an understandable cry for justice. Everyone wants the traffickers sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. However, reaction is mixed when we post a story about the buyers of sex. If the buyer is purchasing a child, there is definite outrage, but if they are

Consistency is important when we engage in the fight against human trafficking. It is important to hold fast to our beliefs throughout all of our interactions. If we say we are against sex trafficking, we need to be against the systems and the accepted cultural norms that have allowed it to flourish and grow. For example, in our culture, pimping has been glamorized, normalized, and the word itself coopted to mean

Do we only care about trafficking victims if they are white and middle class?Will we only act if the one being hurt looks like us and lives in our neighborhood?Do we justify someone’s victimization by where they were born, their economic class, sexual identity or the color of their skin? Saying to ourselves, what else can be expected…Do we dismiss someone as a victim once they turn 18? 20? 30? Do