Sex Trafficking Survivors United

After 17 years being trafficked in prostitution she went blind while pregnant: Extraordinary survivor writer Christine McDonald

stellamarr — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:57:39 +0000

Christine McDonald was trafficked in prostitution for 17 years. Then she went blind while she was pregnant. She has written a bold, brave book about her heartbreaking experiences, which include giving birth in shackles. She was suffering from an undiagnosed disability which played a role in vulnerability to being trafficked. She has written an amazing page turner of a book: Cry Purple.

She will inspire you! Her writing is an extraordinary testament to the nightmare of prostitution and the beauty and resilience of her spirit.

Here is an excerpt:

While I was walking along, keeping a lookout for a spigot, I saw some beautiful flowers in a yard behind a fence. Knowing that the owners must have had a water hose around somewhere—and drawn by the flowers—I climbed over the fence. I walked over and began picking some of the flowers of each color: a red one, a blue one, a yellow one, and a few purple ones. The purple seemed so calm, so peaceful and rich.

As I was picking them, a man came out from the house with a phone in his hands. He yelled with an accent.

“Get away!” he said. “I’m calling the police! Get away from my house!”

“I’m sorry,” I said, and headed for the gate, with the man still yelling at me about my trespassing in his yard and picking his flowers. I still had them in my hand, and I dropped them by the fence as I exited the yard. I turned as he yelled once again that he was calling the police.

“I’m homeless,” I said.

Then it hit me that I was barefoot, that I was standing in the cool of the grass, and that his flowers were beautiful.

“I don’t see much beautiful stuff,” I said, and then I started walking again. — Excerpt from the book Cry Purple.

Read more about Christine at her great webpage www.crypurple.com

Order Christine’s book here: http://crypurple.wordpress.com/get-a-signed-copy-of-cry-purple/

Or order from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Cry-Purple-Christine-McDonald/dp/1482053616

Brilliant 16 year old survivor tells us what helped her overcome sex trafficking (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)
Escort service owner charged with human trafficking (whas11.com)
Charges in human trafficking of teen females (sunnewsnetwork.ca)
Ottawa teen prostitution trial to see victim interview (cbc.ca)

Said Over and Over and Over Again

stellamarr — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:44:48 +0000

Reblogged from rmott62:

I have writing this blog for so long, several years - and I feel I have say too much over and over and over and over again.

I am now mentally exhausted, and like many amazing exited women have come to wonder if we just communicating with a brick wall.

Yes, most who read me would named themselves as abolitionists - but do you truly hear and honour exited women.

16 Year Old Sex Trafficking Survivor Tells How Courtney’s House Helped Her Overcome

stellamarr — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:31:05 +0000

I just read a powerful piece by a 16-year old sex-trafficking survivor named Linda She’s writing about what helped her overcome sex trafficking: Courtney’s House and it’s founder, my dear friend and sister survivor Tina Frundt. Linda is brilliant — look at how wonderfully she writes! She’s going places. This makes me so happy I just had to share it with you. This young lady has endured more terrible things than most people experience in a life time, and she’s transformed it into strength and grace. She’s trying to get people to vote for Tina for the Diane Von Furstenberg awards, so Courtney’s house can win $50,000 to help more survivors. Please join me in reading Linda’s beautiful words and celebrating her big voice. Please vote for Tina Frundt, one of the most trusted and beloved survivor advocates in the world.

BY: LINDA AGE 16YRS

Not everybody knows what some teens go through nowadays. Sex trafficking happens because of various reasons. We as teens want the warmth of a loving family and protective parents. If we don’t get what we were born to deserve we look for love and affection from others, but some people take that for granted because as a young child we are easily manipulated.

Thanks to women like Tina Frundt there is so much support given to young girls & boys that have experienced sex trafficking. Tina Frundt has a program that is named Courtney’s House. This is a greatsupport system because whatever you need they are there! And if you need to talk, someone is always available. Tina has dedicated her life to this cause to help sex trafficking survivors out in the streets. Having the help of somebody who lived the same thing you went through is important to help guide you, because there is so much to understand. Understanding each other brings a big bond between Tina and the rest of the girls & boys.

I am very happy that I came to Courtney’s House and realized that there was nothing to be afraid of. I was afraid to live my own life, and I was very anti-social in a way because I was so used to keeping my guard up all the time. Being trafficked impacted me so greatly that all I cared about was money and getting the day over with. Things seemed endless to me every day of my life. I didn’t want to give myself up, and I was afraid to get arrested or killed. I became part of Courtney’s House after everything not just because the program was there; I also felt lonely and thought that nobody ever experienced what I had been through. But thanks to supportive people helping me find Courtney’s House, I was able to become part of the family.

Ever since then, my life changed drastically and it feels so good to talk freely about things that went wrong. Even from this day it still hurts within me, but Ithank God he put TINA in my life because she is a wonderful woman that I look up to. She will ALWAYS inspire me; things in life aren’t impossible when you have people supporting you always!! These are words purely from the bottom of my heart!!

SO PLEASE VOTE FOR TINA, BECAUSE THAT MEANS YOU ARE HELPING SURVIVORS LIKE ME!! HTTP://DVFAWARDS.COM/

Read this wonderful post here.

Stop Sex trafficking! (lethalblog.wordpress.com)
Skim of “Enslaved in America: Sex Trafficking in the United States”. (alyshafodor12.wordpress.com)
In the Booth with Ruth – Stella Marr, Sex Trafficking Survivor, Anti-Sex Trafficking Activist and Advocate, Executive Director and Founding Member of Sex Trafficking Survivors United (Survivors Connect) (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)
Sex Trafficking Statistics (missingheartspageofhopes.wordpress.com)
Silent Prisoners: Teen Sex Trafficking (psychologytoday.com)
U.S. Sex trafficking victims are mostly American kids (utsandiego.com)
Sex trafficking in Denver (denverpost.com)

Being Alive is a Trigger Warning

stellamarr — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:07:48 +0000

Reblogged from rmott62:

I do not and will never again use trigger warnings.

I do so out respect and love for my readers, for I assume they are adults who can and will how and what they choose to read.

I never will treat my readers as victims who are unable to stop reading or to use the off switch. So I find the whole concept of trigger warnings deeply offensive to my readers.

In the Booth with Ruth - Christine Stark, Child Trafficking Survivor, Award Winning Writer and Visual Artist

stellamarr — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:56:16 +0000

Reblogged from Ruth Jacobs:

How did you become involved in supporting the abolition of prostitution?

Various family members sold me in a prostitution and pornography ring throughout my childhood and teen years. I always wanted to get away from them but since I knew what happened to kids who ended up on the street, I never ran away. I figured my best chance at survival was to stay home and get away by going to college.

Stella Marr Interviewed by Activist Ruth Jacobs

stellamarr — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:05:58 +0000

Reblogged from http://ruthjacobs.co.uk/2013/01/29/stella-marr-sex-trafficking-survivor-anti-sex-trafficking-activist-advocate-executive-director-founding-member-sex-trafficking-survivors-united-survivors-connect-interview/

How did you become involved in the movement against sex trafficking and sexual exploitation?

I was trafficked in prostitution in New York City for nearly ten years, from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Two of my friends from the life were murdered. My beautiful friend, April, died of suicide because the madam she’d called promised to send help then did nothing. April died waiting – to me it feels like another murder. My best friend Gabriel, who’d been trafficked from age sixteen, died of AIDS at age twenty-four. His family kicked him out when they found out he was sick, so he had to spend his last days living with a john who made him buy life insurance with the john as beneficiary. I fill with tears when I think of it.

The public needs to understand that prostitution is sex trafficking. The term ‘sex trafficking’ reflects an awakening to the truth about the realities of prostitution – that it is sexually violent, coercive, degrading, and involves fraud, deception and the abuse of power. In other words, the circumstances of prostitution are those of sex trafficking. The only reason the public doesn’t always recognize this is that there’s a strange assumption that if someone is in prostitution – it’s OK to commit these crimes against her. It’s the ultimate victim blaming. The UN general assembly agrees – their definition of sex trafficking describes prostitution:

(a) ”Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation…

(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used.

What draws you to support people who are trafficked and sexually exploited?

Ralph Ellison wrote, “We are one, and we become many. This is not prophecy, but description.”

After being trafficked in prostitution, you feel linked to all the others who’ve been there. You want them to be okay. You are no longer merely yourself; you are part of a whole. It’s a tremendous blessing. It’s why so many survivor activists and advocates are working in the anti-trafficking movement. As survivors, one of our greatest resources is our warmth and our deep care for our sisters and brothers. Now we are empowering ourselves and each other, the next step is to help make our work sustainable through funding.

Researchers have found that survivors of sex trafficking/prostitution suffer from the same amount of trauma as the victims of state-sponsored torture; this is no surprise to those of us who’ve been there. People who’ve been through this kind of devastation need help, support and services. Recovery is possible. Many of us who’ve come through it are now leading passionate, meaningful lives. Most survivors I know are warriors.

Read the rest of the interview at Ruth’s wonderful blog

In the Booth with Ruth - DublinCallGirl

stellamarr — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 23:18:56 +0000

Reblogged from Ruth Jacobs:

How did you become involved in supporting the abolition of prostitution?

I worked as an escort for nearly five years from my early twenties. During this time I was very open minded about the whole thing, and very much on the side of it being empowering and a confidence booster. The effects it left me with I still struggle with every day.

In the Booth with Ruth - Rebecca Mott, Exited Prostituted Woman and Abolitionist

stellamarr — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 23:18:35 +0000

Reblogged from Ruth Jacobs:

How did you become involved in supporting the abolition of prostitution?

I first started campaigning for abolition of prostitution after the murders of several prostitutes in Ipswich. That was very triggering for me, but at the time, I was unclear why. I was very angry, incessant with rage, for it seemed that the media is, and was, only interested in the murders of the prostituted when it is in connection with the sensation of a serial killer.

In the Booth with Ruth - Holly Austin Smith, Survivor of Child Trafficking and Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate, Speaker and Author

stellamarr — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 23:15:39 +0000

Reblogged from Ruth Jacobs:

How did you become involved in the movement against sex trafficking and sexual exploitation?

It was on a Friday or Saturday night in 2009 that I found myself home alone with the television remote. Ben, my fiancé, was out with a friend, and I was pouring wine and baking brownies to celebrate having the apartment to myself. I’d been working long hours at my full-time job, and I needed a night in.

Bridget Perrier, Survivor of Child Trafficking and First Nations Educator & Co-Founder of Sextrade101

stellamarr — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:56:09 +0000

It is so great when I see a victim turn into a survivor – it is, to me, like watching my child walk for the first time. I do this for the survivors and to prevent those from having to do the unthinkable. We need to understand that this is not a ‘choice’ and that little girls don’t aspire to service a multitude of different men.

Reblogged from http://ruthjacobs.co.uk/2013/01/20/bridget-perrier-survivor-child-trafficking-first-nations-educator-co-founder-sextrade101-interview/

How did you become involved in the movement against human trafficking?

The reason why I became a part of the movement is because of my past as a child survivor and as a First Nations voice. I saw that for First Nations women there was very little representation in the movement. I also used my experience as a trafficked child. I was exploited at a very young age and felt that all the adults, professional and family, did a lot of nothing to help me, and in some ways, they made it worse. I was tired of being looked down on and blamed by society.

In Canada, there are so many First Nations girls who get caught up in the cycle of exploitation – we are seeing them enslaved as young as eleven years of age. Also there are an extremely high number of murdered and missing First Nations women; it is estimated in the amount of 3000. It is more likely if you are First Nations to be effected by colonialism.

I was also upset with the recent charter challenge in the legalization for prostitution. I truly believe that human trafficking and prostitution go hand and hand. I believe as a First Nations woman that I need to be a strong voice and role model for my people, especially our girls.

What draws you to support and advocate for people enslaved by traffickers?

I think it is my own experiences that help me to be able to support enslaved women. I also feel that I have a much deeper understanding of the psychological and social aspect of trafficking and exploitation. I am sick of those who feel they can help a survivor but end up being contradicting and causing more damage than good. It is so great when I see a victim turn into a survivor – it is, to me, like watching my child walk for the first time. I do this for the survivors and to prevent those from having to do the unthinkable. We need to understand that this is not a ‘choice’ and that little girls don’t aspire to service a multitude of different men.

What does your work involve?

My work involves education, advocacy and bringing changes to legislation. We, at Sextrade101, are the only activism group run by experiential women in Canada. We are working alongside police and legislators so we can truly and honestly educate and dispel the myths, such as that this is a ‘choice’. We must look at what our communities’ roles are too in dealing with trafficking and traffickers.

Read the rest of this fantastic interview at http://ruthjacobs.co.uk/2013/01/20/bridget-perrier-survivor-child-trafficking-first-nations-educator-co-founder-sextrade101-interview/

Sex Trafficking Survivors United

After 17 years being trafficked in prostitution she went blind while pregnant: Extraordinary survivor writer Christine McDonald

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Said Over and Over and Over Again

16 Year Old Sex Trafficking Survivor Tells How Courtney’s House Helped Her Overcome

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Being Alive is a Trigger Warning

In the Booth with Ruth - Christine Stark, Child Trafficking Survivor, Award Winning Writer and Visual Artist

Stella Marr Interviewed by Activist Ruth Jacobs

In the Booth with Ruth - DublinCallGirl

In the Booth with Ruth - Rebecca Mott, Exited Prostituted Woman and Abolitionist

In the Booth with Ruth - Holly Austin Smith, Survivor of Child Trafficking and Anti-Human Trafficking Advocate, Speaker and Author

Bridget Perrier, Survivor of Child Trafficking and First Nations Educator & Co-Founder of Sextrade101