30 Days of Action – Action 5

It’s time to unlearn what you think you know about sex trafficking. While awareness about sex trafficking increases, attempts to identify trafficking and highlight potential risks occurs. As a result, data that may not be accurate and misleading stories are sometimes shared on social media. For instance, a seemingly viral Facebook post about possible trafficking in your community does not mean that there is an increase in trafficking activity. It is important that when numbers, statistics and stories are given, they are from reliable sources, especially from survivors themselves.

Lived experiences of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking exist on a spectrum of force, fraud and coercion. They are inseparable from other structural inequities such as poverty, lack of opportunity or former abuse linked to race, class, sexuality, gender identity, nationality and ability. It is critical to avoid generalizing these experiences and educate ourselves using resources that center survivors’ voices and experience.