Stop Trafficking ! Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter Awareness

September 2016 Vol. 14 No. 9 Advocacy This issue highlights the complex issues that result from allowing a society to use prostituted women for profit. Action Sponsored by the: Sisters of the Divine Savior

Co-Sponsors

•Adorers of the Blood of Christ •Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Prostitutional Dynamics: •Benedictine Sisters of Chicago OH •Benedictine Sisters, •Sisters of Charity of Halifax Mother of God Monastery, SD •Sisters of Charity of the Exploitation for Profit •Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Incarnate Word, Houston : France: Scholastica, Atchison, KS •Sisters of Charity, Leavenworth, •Cenacle Sisters, N. Amer. Prov. KS ‘Bordello of Europe’ ‘ProstCost’ •Congregation of Notre Dame •Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, •Congregation of Sisters of KY In 2002, Germany decriminal- In 2014, St. Agnes •Sisters of Charity of New York ized , reportedly due the Euro- •Congregation of St. Joseph •Sisters of Christian Charity •Daughters of Charity, Mendham, NJ & Wilmette, IL to pressure by the sex trade lobby pean Com- Prov. of Los Altos Hills, CA •Sisters of the Good Shepherd and a few managers who mission •Daughters of Charity, •Sisters of the Holy Cross petitioned the government to de- offered for Prov. of St. Louise •Sisters of the Holy Family, velop safety standards and reduce the Mem- •Dominican Sisters of Adrian, MI Fremont, CA •Dominican Sisters of •Sisters of the Holy Names of the stigma and violence found in ber States Mission San Jose, CA Jesus and Mary the sex trade. This law effectively of the •Dominican Sisters of Peace •Sisters of the Humility of Mary rendered the prostitution industry European •Dominican Sisters of •Sisters of Mercy of the Americas a legitimate business. Union to San Rafael, CA •Sisters of Notre Dame, CA Prov. •Dominican Sisters of •Sisters of Notre Dame de Today, this experiment is failing. increase Sinsinawa, WI Namur, USA Violence, abuse and trauma have their •Dominican Sisters of Springfield, IL •Sisters of the Presentation, increased for prostituted women “national •Felician Sisters San Francisco, CA in Germany. Some 400,000 wom- wealth” by including the turnover •Franciscan Sisters, Little Falls, MN •Sisters of Providence, WA •Franciscan Sisters of Peace •Sisters of Providence of St. en are now in prostitution, the from prostitution in the calcula- •Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Vincent de Paul, Canada vast majority poor women from tion of their GDP. In France, the Adoration •Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, IA abroad, with a linked exponential National Institute for Statistics and •Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred •Sisters of St. Francis of spike in sex trafficking. Economic Studies (INSEE) refused Heart Colorado Springs •Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters •Sisters of St. Francis of the In December 2014 psychologist to implement the European request •Marianites of Holy Cross Providence of God and trauma expert Dr. Ingeborg and explained, rightly so, that pros- •Maryknoll Sisters •Sisters of St. Francis of Kraus started the German Psy- titution was not so much a “provi- •Missionary Sisters of the Redwood City chotraumatologists’ Mani- sion of freely consented services” Society of Mary •Sisters of St. Joseph of •Our Lady of Victory Missionary Carondelet, Los Angeles festo Against Prostitution, as an exploitation of people in the Sisters •Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, calling on the German govern- most precarious of situations. •Religious of the Sacred Heart USA & Canada Prov.s ment to repeal the 2002 law as a ‘ProstCost’, a study carried out of Mary •Sisters of St. Joseph of by the Mouvement du Nid-France Orange, CA •Religious Sisters of Charity and Psytel, also questions this •School Sisters of Notre Dame, •Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace Shalom North America •Society of the Divine Savior USA myth of prostitution as a vector of •School Sisters of St. Francis, PA •Society of the Holy Child Jesus, growth by providing an estimate •School Sisters of St. Francis of Amer. Prov. of the twofold economic and social •Society of the Sacred Heart, Christ the King burden which the prostitutional •Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary, St. Louis, MO USA Province •Ursuline Sisters of the Roman system imposes on its victims and •Sisters of Bon Secours USA Union, USA on society as a whole. •Sisters of Charity of the Blessed The Study’s calculation of the Virgin Mary economic and social cost of pros- (German: Stop the Sale of Sex.) Germany cont pg. 2 France cont pg. 4 Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9

the enemy from inside, from within Awareness their culture. With rape, women are not only deeply traumatized, they are dishonored by their communities CATW: What is the reality for prosti- and as a consequence often rejected tuted women? by their own families and by society. IK: Today, approximately 90% of This destroys the core social structures prostituted women in Germany come of a community. When I returned to from the poorest European countries, Germany, I also counseled women 2 especially Bulgaria and Romania. Most who were in or had left the sex trade. of these women do not speak German Learning about their life journeys, it Germany cont. from pg. 1 and do not know their rights. became clear that prostitution was, For its opening weekend, the Pussy- in all cases, a continuation of violent preventative measure against sexual club brothel chain in Stuttgart, offered experiences in their biographies. It violence and trauma. beer, bratwurst and an unlimited surprised me that even in peaceful This appeal states that prostitution is number of women for a flat rate of Germany, approximately half of the a humiliating, degrading act of vio- €69. Close to two thousand sex buyers female patients I treated had experi- lence, and a continuation of violence in were expected that night. The women, enced sexual violence as children. The these women’s life histories. There is psychological effects of sexual violence no “good prostitution.” This Manifesto on women, whether in war or in pros- also demands a law that holds men titution are clinically similar. Many (buyers of sex) responsible and asks rape victims of the Bosnian genocide for the introduction of criminalization were forced into prostitution. The only of sex purchasers. This Manifesto has real difference between a “rape camp” been signed by the most distinguished and a German brothel is that, in the German trauma experts. Highway billboard latter, money is changing hands. In an interview with CATW’s Execu- There are other parallels between the tive Director, Taina Bien-Aimé, Dr. mainly Romanian, broke down cry- experiences of Bosnian women who Ingeborg Kraus discussed her reasons ing realizing they would have to cope survived sexual violence and the reali- for starting the petition and the reality with so many men. Fortunately it was ties of as a re- of prostitution for women in Germany. closed later for human trafficking. sult of decriminalization. The vast ma- She also launched a Change.org peti- Since the law destroyed any ques- jority of prostituted women here come tion urging Chancellor Angela Merkel tioning of the harm men do while from disenfranchised countries. They to create a legal framework that will buying women for sex, the acts are are being been bought and trauma- outlaw the buying of sex and support becoming increasingly dangerous, vio- tized primarily by men with economic survivors. Excerpts from the interview lent and degrading. Buyers pick from and social power. Even the women follow: a long list of sexual acts, most of which who may know they are heading to a CATW: The media has recently could easily be defined as torture. brothel in Germany, often sacrificed labeled Germany the “Bordello of Eu- They are too graphic to describe here. by their own families to earn money, rope” when describing countrywide The have “gang-bang” floors cannot imagine the daily violence that mega-brothels. Are these a product of if a man wants to bring his friends awaits them. They are overwhelmingly the decriminalization of prostitution and nudist floors where women wear very young, 18 or 19 years old. When in Germany? only stiletto heels. Even a well-known they are too traumatized to continue, IK: Yes. The 2002 law is the most dominatrix and brothel owner in the traffickers typically send them back liberal in the world in , said that before the 2002 law home, and like so many women who that it eliminates any kind of regula- she sold sexual services to men, but survived sexual violence in conflict, tion. The law renders prostitution since the law, she has to sell sexual they are scorned by their own families “a job like any other job” and calls violence. These acts cause extremely and societies. Germany does not want the women “sex workers.” The same deep, enduring and traumatizing harm them either; they become women with argument is now being led by Amnesty to the women. destroyed lives and without a country, International. This was supposed CATW: How did you get involved? so to speak. to make the industry safer and less IK: For many years, I worked as a CATW: What role can the medical exploitative, but it hasn’t worked. Even psychologist specializing in trauma community play in addressing the the German federal police reported with victims of war rape in Bosnia. situation you are facing in Germany? that the sex trade and related human The goal of sexual violence in conflict IK: There is no “occupation” in the trafficking has become more organized and rape as a weapon of war is for and aggressive as a result. the victor to dominate by destroying Germany cont pg. 3 Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9 Awareness Germany: Time for Change Contrary to popular belief, with the popular discourse on the 2002 law exception of a short period of time in focuses on women’s ‘free choice’ rather the early 20th century, prostitution than the heavy involvement of orga- had actually been legal in Germany for nized crime in the industry. 3 more than 100 years previous to the “Geiz ist geil” is a phrase commonly passage of the 2002 prostitution law. used in German marketing campaigns, Germany cont. from pg. 2 The bill was put forth by the Social meaning “greed is hot.” The idea that Democratic Party of Germany and the the public should try to get everything world that causes as much harm as Greens and was supported by Ger- as cheaply as possible is transferred prostitution, so we have to stop think- many’s liberal Free Democratic Party, to the prostitution market as well. ing about it as a so-called ‘free’ choice. and the Party of Democratic Socialism. Women are sold as products. So, as Women are in the sex trade because of It was opposed only by the Conserva- products they must be as cheap as pos- lack of choice. Our group of German tives. sible. Brothel owners fall over them- trauma experts has developed a very Whereas, in the past, the ‘violation of selves trying to offer the best bargain. clear understanding that prostitution morality law’ meant that court cases If you go to by train, the first is violence. The striking asymmetry involving exploitation were dealt with thing you’ll see when you leave the of power and the potential for vio- as a breech of ethics, prostitution is no station are taxis featuring ads for the lence in the relationship between the longer considered a breach of ethics. brothel. In Berlin you might mediator (trafficker or pimp) and the Despite its old-fashioned name, the see a bus advertising for the woman generates a form of enslave- ‘violation of morality law’ has practi- brothel. On the highway you might ment and highly dependent relation- cally been the only way to challenge pass a truck or a motorway bridge ships. Some patients can experience exploitation or unethical business advertising brothels. (Photos) suicidal ideation, dissociative disor- transactions in areas not explicitly In re- ders, depression, posttraumatic stress regulated by laws — like extremely strict- disorders, anxiety, drug addictions and low pay, rent increases, or very high ed the list goes on. In our long years of interest rates. The areas psychotherapeutic experience, many of decision to exempt where my colleagues and I are now weary of prostitution from adver- trying to patch up an endless stream of this ‘morality’ law tising extremely damaged women. We must may have sounded is for- focus on working preventively as well. progressive, but bid- I managed to unify leading German it made exploit- den, moving advertis- trauma experts who all agree it is time ing women much ing pillars to start tackling the demand for pros- easier. are driven titution and enact the Nordic model In addition to through in Germany. I am also in contact with legalizing pimping, the Prostitution the cities, French and Danish psychotraumatolo- Act made it possible for prostituted or trucks, gists who share our point of view. I people to become regular employ- vans, and would like to see the medical commu- ees, subject to taxation and access to trolleys are nity in Europe coalesce on this issue. social benefits. Yet, of an estimated parked un- In 2015 we launched a Change.org 400,000-1,000,000 prostituted til enough petition (see pg. 8) to mobilize the people, only 44 have chosen to register residents complain. Then they are public. We can no longer sit back while as prostitutes and access benefits. moved to the next street. thousands of women (and some men) Then there’s the organized crime Documentaries and reports have be- are subjected to unimaginable pain factor. Groups like the Hells Angels, gun to tell the truth about the situation and suffering every day at the hands Mongols, Bandidos, United Tribuns in Germany. Even “sex work” lobbyists of exploiters and buyers until they are control prostitution and red light are saying the “German model” isn’t physically and mentally shattered. The districts. Hamburg and Frankfurt desirable. It is time for Germans to oaths we take as medical providers are in the hands of the Hells Angels, start feeling ashamed, not proud, of forbid us to remain silent. (http://www. whereas the United Tribuns control their situation. (From: Manuela Schon, huffingtonpost.com/taina-bienaime/germany- activist from Wiesbaden) wins-the-title-of_b_7446636.html) prostitution in Stuttgart and Villingen- Schwenningen. Despite that reality, Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9 Awareness

4 France Adopted Nordic Model France cont. from pg. 1 titution in France is based on two estimates found in the accompanying table. On April 6, 2016, the French National Assembly (FNA) recognized prostitu- Estimated Number of Estimated Economic and Social Costs tion as one of the worst forms of vio- Prostituted Persons in to Society – €1.6 billion Euro lence (including assault, rape, physical France and psychological torture) against 37,000 Direct medical costs €86M women and voted the criminalization (9,250 of whom are in (€12.9M hospitalization, €22.8M excessive of the purchase of sex. Under this law, touch with charitable consumption of medicine, €28.1M consul- prostituted women, children and men organizations.) tations, etc.) will not be criminalized. They will receive social support and benefits to 85% are women, 10% men, Direct non-medical costs €35M exit prostitution while men buying sex and 5% transgendered; (€18M police, €3M judiciary, will be fined and liable to prosecution. €14M prison administration) French law defines rape as “any act of penetration imposed on someone 62% solicit on the Internet; Costs of direct social benefits €58M by violence, surprise or coercion.” The 30% on the street; and (€7.2M housing, €48M social support, FNA acknowledges that buying access 8% indoors (massage €2.4M prevention, etc.) to a human body via a financial trans- parlors, bars, etc.) Costs of indirect social consequences action is inherently an act of coercion. €306M Prostitution harms all women (in (€22.8M homicides and suicides, €59M prostitution or not) by undermining placing of children, €19M production loss their emotional and physical wellbe- NOTE: due to imprisonment, etc.) ing, security, health, and fundamen- All data and calculations for this Human costs for prostituted persons tal rights as human beings, harming Study can be found at: society as a whole. https://prostcost.wordpress.com/ €311M en/ (€89M physical violence, €71M psychologi- The FNA recognized that prostitution http://www.psytel.eu/PSP_eng/ cal violence, €151M sexual violence, etc.) encourages the transnational traffick- index.php ing of women and children, as shown Costs linked to tax evasion on prosti- in Germany, Spain and New Zealand tution money €853M where underage and disenfranchised Based on hypotheses of the number of prostituted persons and types of prosti- women are imported by the thousands tution activity, there is a yearly turnover of a little over €3.2 billion, i.e. an aver- to meet the ever increasing demand of age income per prostituted person of approximately €85,700. sex buyers. Yet, every year, France falls €519-762M short in terms of tax revenues and Sex buyers are responsible for the national consumption. The money from prostitution clients (€3.2B) is mostly ever-increasing number of women and removed from the conventional economy circuit. None of these amounts are children brought into prostitution, reintroduced into the national consumption circuit or subjected to income tax. as well as the worst form of violence This money is partly “consumed” in France by pimps and prostituted persons, perpetrated against them. Their fo- but also partly sent abroad by these same people. Calculations estimate that the rums, where they evaluate their prey share exported by criminal rings amounts to at least 45% of the turnover. as goods, details explicitly the hatred, It is important to point out that if the clients of prostitution spent their money domination and violence they impose on any other activity, French society would save several hundred million Euro on women. per year in expenditures linked to the consequences of prostitution, while in- (https://ressourcesprostitution.wordpress. creasing its tax revenues by at least €853M. com/2016/04/06/france-has-adopted-the-nor- (https://prostcost.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/prostcost-vang-web2.pdf) dic-model-because-the-nordic-model-works/) Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9 Awareness

Reasons to Be Wary of 5 Amnesty International’s Prostitution Policy

On May 26, 2015 Amnesty Interna- ers. Consequently, pimps resort to Zealand found no such improvement. tional released its final policy of de- sex trafficking to keep their custom- In fact, because of the increase in criminalizing adult prostitution (http:// ers supplied with unrestricted sex. trafficking and worsening ‘work’ con- www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/ 2. It will reduce the quality of ditions, prostitutes’ health is likely to amnesty_policy_human_rights_of_sex_work- life for prostitutes and hinder be at even greater risk. ers_-_embargoed_-_final.pdf). In its report, efforts to provide protection 3. It ignores complicated is- Amnesty frames prostitution as ‘sex and improve health care. sues of consent in prostitution, work’, pimps as legitimate ‘sex busi- Amnesty argues that decriminalizing where most prostitutes are ness operators’ and johns as ‘custom- prostitution will reduce the stigma victims of exploitation. ers’. This approach to prostitution is in the industry, thereby improving Over the past several years, consent irresponsible and has been opposed by access to health care and allow- to sex has been a hot topic of debate more than 600 leading organizations ing prostitutes to get employment — but Amnesty largely ignores its and individuals in the women’s rights, contracts and form labor unions. But complexities. What counts as volun- human rights and anti human traffick- Amnesty’s assertions are not sup- tary prostitution is highly contested. ing fields. Following are five reasons ported by the weight of the evidence. We know that prostitutes are pre- why Amnesty’s policy is short-sighted. Prostitution’s decriminalization typi- dominantly from disadvantaged and 1. It will increase sex trafficking. cally has a race-to-the-bottom effect vulnerable communities. We know Under Amnesty’s approach, prosti- where prostitutes are pressured to that entry into prostitution is often tution would not be made legal and offer more for less. Prostitutes in preceded by prolonged and repeated then regulated. Instead it would be Germany, for instance, often put in trauma, that rape was the first sexual decriminalized, with limited govern- 18-hour days and live in the rooms experience of most prostitutes, and ment regulation or oversight. Pros- out of which they work — hardly a that a majority of prostitutes were titution has been decriminalized or healthy environment. Prostitutes victims of child sexual abuse. We legalized in several countries, and also end up offering a wider range of know that many sex traffickers groom the results have been clear ­– Sex risky services, including unprotected their victims, fostering romantic rela- trafficking and criminal activities sex, anal sex, group sex, and acting tionships with them before leveraging have increased or, at best, remained out torture or rape fantasies. In New those attachments into commercial constant. Amsterdam had to impose Zealand, women in brothels have re- exploitation. We also know women greater restrictions on its prostitu- ported that “men now demand more who enter into prostitution do so at a tion industry to deal with rising than ever for less than ever. And very young age. While exact numbers crime. Denmark, where prostitution because the trade is socially sanc- are impossible, several controversial was decriminalized in 1999, has four tioned, there is no incentive for the studies have put the average age of times as many sex-trafficking victims government to provide exit strategies entry between 12 and 14; others have as nearby Sweden, even though Swe- for those who want to get out of it. found that the majority entered prior den’s population is 40% larger. These women are trapped.” Attempts to 18, and an international study Studies of global databases found to form labor unions have failed in found that 47% entered before age 18. that decriminalizing drastically in- the Netherlands, and according to a Under the U.S. Trafficking Victims creases the demand for prostitution German government study, very few Protection Act, any minor — person by reducing the associated stigma prostitutes have employment con- under 18 — in prostitution is a victim and costs. For example, again in Den- tracts. All of this results in increased of sex trafficking. Yet in Amnesty’s mark, demand for prostitution rose exploitation and abuse of prostitutes. framework, regardless of a prosti- by 40% in a seven-year period after Amnesty also claims that decriminal- tute’s history of exploitation or age the law was changed. But the num- ization improves prostitutes’ access of entry into sex work, prostitution is bers of voluntary prostitutes cannot to health care. Yet studies by the match the rapid growth of consum- governments of Germany and New Amnesty’s Stance cont pg. 6 Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9

Sex Buyers, Sexual Coercion, Awareness and Prostitution-Harm Denial In a 2016 article Dr. Melissa Farley, a clinical psychologist and founder of the non-profit, Prostitution Research & Education, summarized what is being learned about sex buyers and In discussions with Amnesty, they the denial and rationalization that surrounds prostitution. Her research 6 frequently criticized restrictions on prostitution as paternalistic, as regu- conclusions: Amnesty’s Stance lating the private conduct of primari- • The truth about prostitution is often cont. from pg. 5 ly women. Yet it is Amnesty’s pro- concealed behind the lies, manipu- considered consensual from the day posal that moves sex from the private lations and distortions of sex trade she turns 18. to the public sphere. It is one thing pimps, managers and others who Amnesty’s relies on a troubling report to interfere in the private, personal profit from the business. The deeper by the United Nations Development actions of a person, and quite another truths about prostitution are revealed Programme Global Commission. The for the government to regulate the in survivors’ testimonies, as well as UNDP report is so radical that even public sale of goods and services. in research on the psychosocial and the sale of sex to feed a drug habit The government prohibits a wide psychobiological realities of prostitu- failed to raise any red flags: “Sex range of economic activity, and tion. work is not always a desperate or ir- groups like Amnesty usually advo- • At the root of prostitution, just like rational act; it is a realistic choice to cate for robust regulation because of other coercive systems, are dehu- sell sex – in order to support a family, concerns about labor-right violations, manization, objectification, sexism, an education or maybe a drug habit.” work conditions and abuse of work- racism, misogyny, lack of empathy/ 4. It will fuel a rape culture. ers. But in this case, Amnesty propos- pathological entitlement (pimps and Amnesty’s embrace of commercial es a decriminalization of an industry johns), domination, exploitation, and sex feeds rape culture by trivializing known to be highly dangerous, rife a level of chronic exposure to violence sex, weakening gender equality and with corruption and violence, fre- and degradation that destroys the treating sex as something that can quently if not by definition sexually personality and the spirit. be bought and sold. But sex is — and exploitative and at a high risk of sex • Prostitution cannot be made safe should be — treated differently from trafficking. Instead, Amnesty should by legalizing or decriminalizing it. other activities. It is a uniquely per- have adopted the Swedish or Nordic Prostitution needs to be completely sonal and private act. Rape is cat- model, which has had great suc- abolished. egorically worse than other forms of cess in reducing sex trafficking and • Prostitution is more like being assault precisely because it is a more prostitution, while also expanding the chronically sexually harassed, endan- intimate violation. The human rights services for victims of sexual exploita- gered, and raped, than working in a push against anti-sodomy laws was tion. fast food restaurant. Most women in also grounded in a belief that sexual Amnesty’s proposal perverts human- prostitution suffer from severe PTSD activity deserved special protection. rights and women’s-rights principles. and want to get out. Decriminalization of prostitution It sacrifices the concerns and welfares • Sex buyers are predators; they often will lead to bizarre (and morally of the vast majority of prostitutes, engage in coercive behavior, lack em- troubling) legal problems. If a client who are caught in an exploitative and pathy and have sexist attitudes that and prostitute reach an agreement brutal industry. As a result, Amnesty justify abuse of women. for services and the client “exceeds” has staked out a position that will • A solution exists. It is called the those agreed-upon services, is that be a boon to pimps and sex traffick- Swedish model and it has been theft of services or rape? If police are ers, and will do great damage to the adopted by a number of countries investigating the incident, should human rights of the men, women and including Sweden, Norway, Iceland, they, at first instance, treat it as a children caught in the sex industry. and Northern Ireland. The essence contract dispute or a sexual assault? (Sources for statistics can be found in the article: of the solution is: criminalization These problems are created by Am- http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/6- for johns and pimps; decriminaliza- nesty’s framework, in which sex is reasons-to-be-wary-of-amnestys-prostitution- tion for women, and the provision of policy-20160601) treated as just another commodity. Note: The Amnesty International USA interim resources, alternatives, safe houses, 5. It promotes a form of eco- executive director responded reconfirming Am- rehabilitation. nomic libertarianism, typically nesty’s position: http://www.rollingstone.com/ • Prostitution affects all of us, not anathema to the human rights politics/news/5-reasons-decriminalization- just those in it. (http://logosjournal. protects-sex-workers-rights-20160609 left. com/2016/farley-2/) Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9

Advocacy sex industry to normalize and main- stream the harms of prostitution — or pornography, a word whose origin is ‘female slave.’ From India to the United States, 7 Challenging Businesses: Cambodia to the United Kingdom, re- Get Out of Sex Exploitation search demonstrates that at the heart Verizon Wireless & Fios Cosmopolitan & of prostitution and pornography are experiences of violence, physical and While Verizon portrays itself as a the Porn Industry psychological harm, and unremitting mainstream Internet and telecom- Today’s Cosmopolitan Magazine is dehumanization. Gender and race in- munications company, it is also a not just about pushing sexual bound- equalities, incest, acute vulnerability, purveyor of hardcore pornography. aries. An abrupt shift occurred in 2012 poverty and other histories of oppres- Despite the fact that U.S. law (18 U.S. when Cosmo published a handful of sion are the pillars of the sex trade, Code Section 1468) prohibits distri- articles online glorifying the multi-bil- an industry fueled by the male de- bution of obscene matter by means lion dollar pornography and commer- mand for prostitution and pornogra- of a cable or subscription services on cial sexual exploitation industry. In phy. The International Labor Orga- television, Verizon peddles a wide 2013, the number of porn-related piec- nization estimates that illegal profits selection of hardcore pornography es jumped to around 50 and in 2014 from the sex trade reach $90 billion, titles via its television cable services. to 108 followed by another increase in earnings that almost exclusively wind As the titles below demonstrate, the 2015. The content ranges from urging up in the pockets of pimps, traffick- pornography offered by Verizon caters that sex education be taught by ‘porn ers and pornographers, not of the to sexual fantasies including sex with stars’ to in-depth interviews extolling women bought and sold for commer- babysitters, teens, gagging, incest, the virtues of the ‘sex trade.’ cial sex.” Cosmo never responded to school girls, and sex trafficking/prosti- Notably, an overwhelming number of the request. tution. Its pornography offerings also recent articles either link to or adver- Dr. Gail Dines identifies pornogra- conform to hate-­filled racial and sexist tise PornHub, a horrifically graphic phy as the public health crisis of the stereotypes. online pornography clearinghouse digital age. Her decades-long re- Verizon is complicit in trying to cover with offerings from teen rape to sexual search, along with her book and docu- the tracks of those who buy this mate- torture. PornHub released its own mentary, ‘Pornland: How the Porn rial. For nearly every pornographic report tallying over 4 trillion hours of Industry Has Hijacked our Sexuality,’ film offered, Verizon conveniently porn on its site in 2015, amounting to examines the devastating effects of a advertises that, “Movie titles do not 501,425 years worth of porn viewing pornified culture on our society. Boys appear on your bill.” This helps keep just for that year. Do supermarkets who learn of sex through ubiquitous spouses, partners, and parents in the and drugstore chains know they’re porn downloaded on their phones dark about pornography use by their selling pornography through Cosmo? and school iPads learn of domination spouses, partners, and children. Fur- Alarmed by these findings and instead of pleasure; violence instead ther ensuring its customers’ “conve- Cosmo’s aggressive promotion of of consent. Girls are left confounded nience,” Verizon makes pornography PornHub, leading New York City- by the resulting blurred lines between purchases “My Rewards+ Eligible.” based advocacy and direct services sexual pleasure and pain, desirability Verizon is now faced with a historic groups—A Call to Men, the Coalition and submission, achievement and opportunity to step into corporate Against Trafficking in Women, Nation- objectification. leadership among telecommunica- al Organization for Women-New York, We can end violence against women tions companies. By banning the sale Sanctuary for Families and the YWCA- and girls, eradicate sexual exploita- of hardcore pornography across its Brooklyn—wrote in December 2015 to tion, and ensure intimate and equal Fios networks, Verizon would become Cosmo’s editor-in-chief asking for a companionships, but not through a leader in the movement combating meeting with Cosmo’s editorial board. myriad shades of porn-infused the public health crisis of pornogra- An excerpt from that letter states, humiliation and degradation. (http:// phy and freeing the world from sexual endsexualexploitation.org/articles/an-evolu- “Women’s sexual liberation, Cosmo’s tion-from-selling-sex-to-selling-porn-cosmo- exploitation. underpinning, does not include either politan-joins-forces-with-the-porn-industry/) (http://endsexualexploitation.org/verizon/) ‘sex work”’— a term invented by the Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter 14/9 Toll-Free 24/7 Hotline National Human Trafficking Resource Center 1.888.3737.888 Text ‘Help’ at: BeFree Informative Web Sites: (233733) (Each contains information related to human trafficking) Prostitution Undermines Action Sexual Equality http://catwinternational.org/Content/ 8 Images/Article/643/attachment.pdf

Good Business Tell Germany Manuela Schon Article Practices: Stop Selling Sex! http://www.feministcurrent. com/2016/05/09/legalization-has- Thank the Wine Institute In Germany, convenience and frugal- turned-germany-into-the-bordello-of- The Wine Institute has a clear policy of ity are valued. Men can go to parking europe-we-should-be-ashamed/ respect for women and children in its garages for drive-in sex, or visit stalls Why the U.S. should follow Code of Advertising Standards: called ‘Verrichtungsbox’ (‘getting France and pass “Wine advertising shall not degrade, things done’ boxes). They can order the Nordic Model demean, or objectify the human women the way one would order a http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/18/ form, image or status of women, pizza with a mobile app produced in opinions/prostitution-nordic-model- men, or of any ethnic, minority, 2015. peters/index.html religious or other group or sexual orientation. Advertising shall not What Is the Nordic Model? exploit the human form, or feature http://www.rahabministry.ca/pdf/ sexually provocative images.” Nordic_Model_EN.pdf “Wine advertising shall not reinforce nor trivialize the problem of vio- lence in our society. Therefore, wine advertising shall not associate wine Countries that Have Adopted with abusive or violent relationships the ‘Nordic Model’ or situations.” Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, For the complete statement, go to: Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, http://www.wineinstitute.org/initiatives/ issuesandpolicy/adcode/details France, South Korea, Canada Countries Considering Write to Wine Institute Executives Taking Action to thank them for their foresight. Denmark, Latvia For addresses, go to: http://www.wineinstitute.org/ The sign reads ‘Geiz macht Geil’ - Tell Amnesty International ‘Greed makes you horny’ company/staff to Adopt the ‘Nordic Model’ To send an email, go to: Please join German psychotherapists Find contacts at: http://www.wineinstitute.org/contact and concerned citizens in their efforts http://www.amnestyusa.org/ to advocate for exploited women and about-us/contact-us girls. Ask Germany to repeal its 2002 Bad Business law that makes the exploitation of Practices: women a legal business by signing this Change.org petition at: Stop Trafficking!is dedicated exclu- Tell Verizon to Stop https://www.change.org/p/punish- sively to fostering an exchange of informa- the-buying-of-sex-abolish-prostitution tion among religious congregations, their Selling Porn and Violence friends and collaborating organizations, Write to: Verizon Wireless working to eliminate all forms of trafficking Internet Operations of human beings. “We have a long way to go, a Use the following web address to access One Verizon Way bitter fight ahead, and German back issues of Stop Trafficking! http:// Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 abolitionists cannot do it alone. www.stopenslavement.org/archives.htm See the Verizon Campaign at: We need third parties to say, ‘Are To contribute information, or make http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/ requests to be on the mailing list, please petition-calling-verizon-remove-porn-gets- you Germans completely nuts?’” contact: [email protected] thousands-signatures-single-day/ Manuela Schon, activist Editing and Layout: Jean Schafer, SDS