News & Media

By: EJ Dickson April 6, 2020

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic’s high unemployment, some people are turning to online sex work, to the chagrin of longtime performers.

At the start of last month, Buffy Montgomery, 35, was a massage therapist by day, and a professional mermaid (officially, an “underwater performer”) by night. By the end of the month, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fort Lauderdale native was neither. “It literally was one minute I had a lot of work, and the next minute I had nothing,” she says.

Rolling Stone / Read Full Article

April 2, 2020

WASHINGTON — Across the country, children have shifted to virtual learning which results in significantly more time spent online. In order to protect them, the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) reminds families that the agency has a variety of tools available on its iGuardian webpage to keep children safe while using the internet.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement / Read Full Article

By: Gracie Bonds Staples April 2, 2020

There’s a song that says the freaks come out at night.

Well, that was never more true than right now as the coronavirus continues its spread across America and beyond. The only difference is these pedophiles are working 24/7 to take advantage of these dark times as more children than ever are on the internet.

AJC News / Read Full Article

By: Haley McNamara March 30, 2020

Everyone knows that Coronavirus (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. As a result, it is straining international economies, health care systems, educational institutions and more. So, it is no surprise that the Coronavirus is also guaranteed to negatively impact victims of commercialized sexual exploitation-sex trafficking/prostitution.

Town Hall / Read Full Article

By: Zdravko Ljubas March 30, 2020

An online petition urging the US Department of Justice to shut down porn site PornHub for hosting videos of sex trafficking victims has reached on Monday nearly 600,000 signatures after the website made its premium content free during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Critics of the porn site claim that PornHub’s move is an attempt to silence complaints about videos featuring sex trafficking victims, according to Reuters.

“With nearly one billion people in lockdown across the world because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important that we lend a hand and provide them with an enjoyable way to pass the time,” PornHub Vice President Corey Price said in a statement.

OCCRP / Read Full Article

By: Rochelle Keyhan March 28, 2020

As a former prosecutor of sex traffickers, I know that the 79,000 victims in Texas born and raised in America are not protected against COVID-19, nor are their clients. This unchecked potential spread of the virus will be curbed by the prosecution of sex traffickers, a far more difficult case to prove than simple prostitution.

The Dallas Morning News / Read Full Article

By: Amber Milne March 27, 2020

LONDON: An offer by one of the world’s biggest porn sites to stream its top service for free was condemned by critics as a move to exploit the coronavirus crisis and silence complaints that videos on its platform featured sex trafficking victims.

Pornhub, a streaming platform for sexual content, has come under fire for allegedly failing to remove images and videos of child rape and sexual abuse on the site — claims it denies.

The Star / Read Full Article

By: Glenn Puit March 27, 2020

A Las Vegas man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to solicit a child for prostitution.

An arrest report for Mario Hernandez-Molina, 25, said he was arrested after a man engaged in a lengthy

The Las Vegas Review-Journal / Read Full Article

By: Cristian Eduardo & Shobana March 27, 2020

It’s okay to feel how you feel

It is important to talk about how trauma can manifest in different ways, and there is no shame, blame or guilt for being triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are feeling this way, know that you are not alone. Many survivors are feeling similarly. It is ok if you can identify with any of these feelings. In many ways, it makes sense after the experiences you have lived through

Sanctuary for Families / Read Full Article

By: Jamie Grierson March 26, 2020

The number of modern slavery offenses recorded by police has increased by more than 50% in a year, figures reveal, as the UK government published a plan to tackle the crime in its own supply chains.

Police recorded 5,144 modern slavery offenses in the year ending March 2019, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows, a 51% rise over the previous 12 months, when 3,412 were recorded.

The Guardian / Read Full Article