Chifonne, one of our Ambassadors of Hope shares her story! When I first heard about sex trafficking, I was probably 12 years old. It was the very early days of Shared Hope, not long after Linda Smith had been to India, and she shared at a local event where my mom heard what Linda saw and […]
Backpage.com Shuts Down “Adult” Section as Victims Pursue Justice
Overnight, Backpage.com announced the shutdown of its “adult services” section of the classifieds website. This announcement came on the eve of Backpage.com’s executives and general counsel appearing at a hearing today before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) to answer questions about the committee’s report stating that Backpage.com knowingly posted advertisements for the sale of sex […]
What Could I Do to Make a Difference?
A Guest Post from Shannon in Virginia. When I became an Ambassador of Hope, I was passionate about spreading awareness of trafficking in my native state of West Virginia. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by rich natural and cultural resources, it is easy to feel you are far away from the rest of the […]
How our Culture normalizes Sexualization
by Karen Morris, LP, NCPsyA Linda Smith’s account of her encounters on Falkland Road in Mumbai, in Renting Lacy, brought me to tears in a way I thought would never stop. I was as George Harrison wrote, “drowning in the tears of the world.” I knew then I had to stop tuning out the pervasive […]
Finding Yourself in the Flow of Fighting Sex Trafficking
By Beth Edmonds Yesterday I was listening while driving to the NPR talk show:Ted Radio Hour featuring Maslow’s Human Needs. I’ve been fascinated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and often feel it’s intended to flow from the “bottom-up” with not just an individual person at its crux, but as a “we the people” all needing […]
