Glimpsing Eve

“Regardless of what religious tradition it is, whether Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish or Christian, the language of religious-based gender hierarchy sounds pretty much the same:  women be “quiet” and “submissive” and accept limited roles within the family, the church, and in society.  When Christians export this mode of thinking around the world, it becomes one more rationale for keeping women in a subordinate role in society, doing most of the work but not ever “owning” their own work and finding their own path in life.”

– Emily Nielsen Jones

The followig moving and powerful post is by brilliant Emily Nielsen-Jones, founder of the Imago Dei Fund.  She discusses the beauty and spiritual resilience of women in the face of violence and inequality.  Many sex trafficking survivors have felt judgment and exclusion by religious institutions, even though many of us seek (and often find) nourishment there, so I was very grateful to read this brave discussion.  It will inspire you!  Here’s an excerpt — you can read the entire beautiful post at Emily and her sister Julie’s blog The Women’s Liberty Bell:

As my global gender awareness continues to expand and grow, what I see in the mirror of our world is a wounded but beautiful face looking back at me.  Her name is Eve.

Who is Eve?  Not the literal, historical character some of us learned about in Sunday school, but rather who She represents in a universal, archetypal human sense: the “Mother of the Living”, the feminine face of God in our world, the collective embodiment of womankind as image-bearers of God.  Who is Eve?  I am Eve.  My daughter is Eve.  My sisters, my mother, aunts, girlfriends, female colleagues, sisters around the world, each a unique face of Eve in the world, each way more interesting than the “role” churches still teach us we should be and the body images sold to us by the media.

Eve… a female-shaped diamond with many facets… She that cannot be defined by anyone or anything externally… She knows her beauty & strength and offers it graciously to the world, even when it is undervalued & diminished…

….

Eve diminished: ”submissive”, victimized, “lesser than”, in her place at the margins of church and organizations, Eve hidden by a veil of shame and inferiority, Eve as scape goat and whipping girl at the hands of male pride and presumption.  I see this wounded face of Eve in the subtle wounds of women raised in the church, which continues to lag behind the rest of society in working toward gender equity, and in the more egregious wounds of girls and women around the world who are victims of gender-based violence. Women have come along way but still suffer a scale of the physical, sexual and psychological violence worldwide that is mind-numbing, a pandemic humanitarian crisis that crosses every social and economic class, every religion, race and ethnicity.

….

Eve rising up:  strong, empowered, self-actualized, very human and very female, in her full power and glory—God-like—a feminine face of God in our world, a passionate lover, a fierce protector, a compassionate pillar holding up more than “half the sky”, inspiring leader, creator, a healing presence in our world.  Eve no longer accepting an inferior place in society, defined by men, Eve rising up to take her full place in creating a better world where all human beings can live and flourish side-by-side. In many ways, as Eve rises up, all of humanity is elevated to a more civil, higher way of being, one in which power is not power over another, but power with, power to give and receive and offer one’s gifts to the world. Some of the most interesting, capable social activists that I have met this past year are women, women who are working in their sweet spot, living out their calling in the world, empowered by their imago dei to give power and dignity to others and to work toward the betterment of humanity, woman who mirror to me the feminine heart of God, the face of Eve, the Mother of the Living.

Read more of this beautiful post here at The Women’s Liberty Bell.

Related articles

• Behind Closed Doors:  Living in an Abusive Relationship (Surviving Prostitution and Addiction)
• Bridget Perrier, Survivor of Child Sex Trafficking, First Nations Educator and Co-Founder of www.sextrade101.com (Sex Trafficking Survivors United)
• The Sex Industry Sell Out:  I am a Human Being and I Deserve More (Sex Trafficking Survivors United)
• Enlisting Male Allies:  Stepping Up Together to Be the Change (Women’s Liberty Bell)
• Afghan Women Rally Against Gender-Based Violence (rferl.org)
• #India #1billionrising in vain -A woman who thrashed eve-teasers faces police charges #Vaw #WTFnews (kractivist.wordpress.com)

Brilliant 16 year old survivor tells us what helped her overcome sex trafficking

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 great support 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 I thank 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.

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• Stop Sex trafficking! (lethalblog.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)
• Scott puts a spotlight on sex trafficking victims in address (miamiherald.typepad.com)
• Sex Trafficking Statistics (missingheartspageofhopes.wordpress.com)

Sex Trafficking Survivors Worldwide Unite, Board to Meet in Washington DC

We believe when empowered survivors  are speaking the truth, the sex trade will truly begin to be dismantled

UNPRECEDENTED COLLABORATION OF SEX TRAFFICKING/PROSTITUTION SURVIVORS WORLDWIDE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The International Association of Sex Trafficking/Prostitution Survivors United is holding their inaugural board meeting in Washington, DC between October 17-21, 2012.  This historic meeting of some of the most experienced and effective survivor leaders in the Western Hemisphere and Europe will launch an unprecedented collaborative effort among sex trafficking/prostitution survivors worldwide.  Flying into the US capital from Canada, the USA, and Ireland to attend are:

Trisha Baptie, EVE, Educating Voices, Vancouver, BC

Vednita Carter, Breaking Free, Minneapolis, MN

Kristy Childs, Veronica’s Voice, Kansas City, MO and KS

Tina Frundt, Courtney’s House, Washington, DC

FreeIrishWoman, writer and activist, Dublin, Ireland

Cherie Jimenez, The EVA Center/Kim’s Project, Boston, MA

Stella Marr, Survivors Connect Network, Houston, TX

Bridget Perrier, http://www.sextrade101.com, Toronto, ON

Christine Stark, acclaimed writer and artist, Minneapolis, MN

For various reasons, most survivors have been working in relative isolation within the anti-trafficking movement.  We believe the time is right for us to join forces as survivor-activists to lend our expertise, our voices, our trauma-focused and empowerment aftercare programs, our stories of transformation, and our passion for social change to the larger work of creating a world free of sex trafficking, which is another word for prostitution.  Making distinctions between sex trafficking and prostitution is harmful and misleading.  It marginalize those that are trapped and suffering.

Our organization will raise funds for survivor-led programs helping women exit prostitution and recover from the extensive trauma.  We will continue educating the public on the reality of sex trafficking/prostitution from those who not only have survived it but are on the front lines with those that are still trapped and still not being recognized as victims.  Additionally, we will urge anti-trafficking organizations to empower survivors by opening doors and funding opportunities, recognizing the expertise that we bring to this movement, and hiring survivor leaders.  Our work will connect survivors, strengthen our voices and put us at the heart of the anti-trafficking movement where we belong.

We’ll also advocate for funds for services to help the victims of prostitution/trafficking and continue to grow our survivors network, while developing a speakers and writers group to help get more survivor voices into the public consciousness.  This combination of raising funds, networking survivors and expanding the voices of survivors will lead to more survivor empowerment, and ultimately more resources to help girls and women exit and recover.

About the International Association of Sex Trafficking Survivors Survivors United

(AKA Prostitution)

The International Association of Sex Trafficking Survivors United (AKA Prostitution)  is a fledging soon-to-be nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting the energy, efforts and voices of sex trafficking/prostitution survivors everywhere while making their work sustainable so we can end sex trafficking/prostitution in our lifetime.  We believe when empowered survivors that have had extensive time in “the Life” understand their experiences and are speaking the truth, along with those that support survivors, the sex trade will truly begin to be dismantled.

Already with 60 members, 25 of whom are running their own effective nonprofit organizations, our coalition provides more services to victims while educating the public  than any single anti-sex trafficking NGO in the USA and Canada.  Additionally, we operate a private network that provides community and support for survivors.  All members of our organization are abolitionists who agree that to end trafficking/prostitution we must address demand and focus on providing more choices and empowering recovery services for the victims.

The International Association of Sex Trafficking/Prostitution Survivors United is the organization that has grown out of Survivors Connect Network.  We hope to take our activism to the next level of empowerment via survivor-led programs being funded as a coalition and creating a communications bureau where we advocate that survivors are paid for speaking engagements and educational work so their activism is sustainable.  The network will remain  as important as ever.

Related articles

• 52 Trafficking/Prostitution Survivors Vote to Support Irish Survivor Abolitionists’ Efforts (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)
• Child Prostitution, Adult Prostitution, and the Obscure In-Between (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)
• Rep. Carolyn Maloney: We Insist on Your Dignity (huffingtonpost.com)
• 52 Trafficking/Prostitution Survivors Vote to Support Irish Survivor Abolitionists’ Efforts (survivorsconnect.wordpress.com)
• Child Prostitution, Adult Prostitution, and the Obscure In-Between (survivorsconnect.wordpress.com)

Pimps Posing as “Sex Worker Activists”

Well meaning people think most “sex workers activist” organizations/unions speak for women in prostitution. They are mistaken. A shocking number of these “sex worker” organizations were started by women and men who are admitted pimps and madams, or have been convicted of pimping, pandering, or conspiracy to promote prostitution. These people call themselves ‘sex workers’ but it’s a ruse. It’s an unacceptable conflict of interest. These organizations and their ‘partners’ and affiliates cannot be allowed to speak for women in prostitution or collect funds on their behalf. Any NGO, university, college or nonprofit organization that engages with these pimp-affiliated organizations or their partners is assisting them in this misrepresentation.   I’m sure there are some well-meaning people trying to good within these groups.   But with pimp founders and leaders,  these groups mostly advocate  on behalf of the predators who profit off of sexual exploitation; they rarely  help women in prostitution.

A pimp is someone who makes money from another’s prostitution. A madam is a female pimp. Whether they call themselves managers, brothel owners, escort agency owners — they are all pimps. As a survivor of ten years of trafficking/prostitution, I have a right to use this word. If someone poisons another in cold blood, it doesn’t matter if they call themselves a life extinguisher or claim they’re an innovative longevity re-allocation businesswoman. They’re still a murderer. A pimp is still a pimp, no matter what name they peddle.

But pimps don’t like that word. So these founders and leaders of ‘sex worker activist’ organizations say they’re sex workers. They appropriate the identity of those they exploit. It’s a bit like a plantation owner in blackface pretending to be one of the slaves they oppress. They’re trying to steal our survivor voices.

Douglas Fox, the main ‘activist’ at the International Union of Sex Workers, claims to be a male sex worker. But he and his partner John Dottery were featured as the owners of a large UK escort agency in the British documentary ‘The Escort Agency.’ On a website he co-edits Fox states his partner owns an escort agency and argues ridiculously that pimps are ‘sex workers.’ He also states ” The fact that paedophiles produce and distribute and earn money from selling sex may make them sex workers.”

The first so-called ‘sex worker activist’ group in the United States was Whores, Housewives and Others (WHO) which eventually became COYOTE. It was founded by Margo St. James, who like Douglas Fox claimed to be a prostitute when she was actually a pimp. She’s admitted to being convicted of running a disorderly house – a brothel – in 1962.

The Sex Workers’ Outreach Project USA (SWOP USA) was founded by Robyn Few the year after she pled guilty to conspiracy to promote prostitution via a multistate prostitution ring, a federal felony.   This means that like St. James, Few was also convicted of  charge related to pimping.  As a survivor of ten years of prostitution myself, I would never feel safe around male or female pimp (madam).  Most women in prostitution wouldn’t. Thus  organizations like SWOP USA  can’t speak for us. Few calls herself a ‘sex worker’ most of the time so the conflict of interest isn’t obvious. But the SWOP website makes a point of acknowledging her conviction. Why? Because pimps across the country are using SWOP to connect with Johns while they recruit vulnerable young women. This isn’t activism, it’s marketing while lobbying for pimp interests.

SWOP USA and COYOTE aren’t  the only ‘sex worker activist’ organizations founded by a female pimp. The Erotic Service Providers Union is led by Maxine Doogan who was convicted of running an escort service. Like Robyn Few, Maxine Doogan poses as a ‘sex worker. She claims that legislation which helps pimps is good for women in prostitution. Terri Jean Bedford, who was widely represented in the Canadian media as an advocate of women in prostitution, was convicted of running a brothel. So she’s also a pimp.

Executive Director of COYOTE/ Los Angeles Norma Jean Almodovar was convicted of pandering while she was working as a cop. As such she is part of a long tradition of police officers involved in the prostitution of other women. It’s an unholy alliance that sends women in prostitution the message they can’t get out and they can’t get help. Like Robyn Few, Norma Jean Almodovar calls herself a ‘sex worker,’ but details the pandering conviction on her nonprofit organization website.

Now when a survivor of trafficking/prostitution such as myself happens to bring up this conflict of interest, the parties in question react as if viciously attacked. But there’s nothing personal about saying someone has a conflict of interest. It’s a statement of existing conditions not a vendetta. The majority stockholders of Walmart can’t speak for the company’s minimum wage employees because what benefits those stakeholders may be bad for the workers. But in the ‘sex worker activist’ movement, pimps pretend to be workers when in fact they are management — the ones in control.

No wonder SWOP -USA, COYOTE, The Erotic Services Providers’ Union, the International Union of Sex Workers as well as their partners and affiliates which include the Desiree Alliance, the Red Umbrella Project, and Prostitutes of New York (PONY) support policies that protect pimps rather than women in prostitution. PONY actually claims to “reach out” to Madam members.   I’m sure there are well-meaning people not connected with pimping trying to good within these groups.

We trafficking/prostitution survivors have had enough.   We’re going to start calling out the NGOS, universities, and academics who tacitly support and encourage these pimp-led groups. The concept of fruit of the poisonous tree applies here. Any organization that partners or collaborates with these groups is tainted by association They can’t speak for us or collect funds on our behalf.

To be clear:  There is a position in a pimp-led ‘family’ called a “bottom bitch.”  These women are subject to brutal violence and end up ‘assisting’ the pimp.  These women are victims in a tragic domestic violence situation, not pimps.   But there’s a world of difference between a ‘bottom bitch” and a madam running a brothel or  escort service, who is usually associated with organized crime and can enforce any threat.

Related articles

• Nevada’s Legal Brothels Are Coercive Too (survivorsconnect.wordpress.com)
• Trafficked: Sex Slaves Seduced and Sold (bbc.co.uk)
• Former Montreal sex workers outraged by Ontario brothel ruling (vancouversun.com)
• Part 2 – More Pimps Posing as Sexworker Activists (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)
• Part 2 – More Pimps Posing as Sexworker Activists & the Bedford Case (survivorsconnect.wordpress.com)
• Our bonds are just too strong for you (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)
• How the Sex Industry Threatens Survivors Speaking Out While Pimps Pose as Sexworker Activists (secretlifeofamanhattancallgirl.wordpress.com)

The Sneaky Language of the Pro Sex Work Lobby

Reblogged from secretdiaryofadublincallgirl:

I received this comment earlier and let it become public just to show people how persuasive his argument could be interpreted. This will be the only pro sex work lobby comment that I'll let hang around, I just wanted to show you how they will use language that seems to be about caring and support and all the rest, but all that shite only applies to…

Read more… 1,167 more words

From the brilliant "Dublin call girl"