For Pride Month this year, instead of incorporating the rainbow flag into our logo, we thought it would be better to advocate for real change. We often forget that the first Pride was not a parade; it was a riot. On Saturday, June 28, 1969, LGBTQ+ persons took to the streets after police in New […]
Trafficking, whether for labor or sexual exploitation, is a form of human slavery. By necessity, traffickers always use violence, fraud, or coercion to subjugate their prey — because there is no such thing as consensual slavery — and often enough, after days, months, and years of trauma, the violence becomes so engrained in the minds […]
They say a lie travels halfway around the world before the truth can even lace up its shoes. Right now, there’s a persistent one still circling around: “Legalizing prostitution is better for everyone involved — with government regulation, sex workers are safer, and sex trafficking becomes a thing of the past.” And yet, if you […]
Earlier this month, Backpage.com lost its appeal to have the presiding judge removed from their case about enabling rampant sex trafficking. The 9th Circuit Court refused to compel Judge Susan Brnovich, whose husband is Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, to step aside. The Backpage executives, notably James Larkin and Michael Lacey — both of whom […]
Zephaniah “Zephi” Trevino is being charged for a murder she did not commit in Dallas. Her sex trafficker, Philip Baldenegro, has already confessed to pulling the trigger, but the justice system refuses to acknowledge Zephi as a victim. At the age of 16, Baldenegro trafficked Zephi by originally posing as her boyfriend. Before long, he […]
Arizona Gives Day, which is coming up on April 6th, is a special time for our community. Each year, Arizonans take the time to give donations to more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations that help our state thrive. Presented by FirstBank, the ninth annual Arizona Gives Day is going to be a bright spot in a […]
This month, two women in Springfield, Massachusetts, pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to traffic a “stable” of women addicted to heroin. The victims were recruited from the women’s jail in nearby Chicopee and paid in heroin. This is only one of dozens of stories you might find in recent news. The regular and […]
Arizona Governor Ducey has signed HB 2116 which means civil action can now be pursued by Human or Sex Trafficked survivors. HB 2116 is highly supported by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich who says it will allow victims of Human and Sex Trafficking to take civil action against their perpetrators, and anyone else who contributes […]
New York state lawmakers are considering new Nordic style legislation that would seek to protect survivors of sex trafficking while punishing the people who exploit them. The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act, introduced by Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, with input from survivors and their advocates, would decriminalize prostitution in New York […]
The theory is when someone buys a product listed for thousands of dollars, theorists seem to believe that the person somehow indicates a desire to purchase a child whose name is also the product name. This would be done, some have suggested, by entering a promo code, selecting a specific delivery method or being a Wayfair Professional account holder.