May 31, 2022
Our returning guest Rebecca Kotz unpacks The Equality model, which aims to partially decriminalize prostitution, "shrinking the sex trade" and a step forward in ending sexual exploitation.
Rebecca says this goes beyond a policy change, but also involves identifying the ways victims are coerced into the sex trade and working to comprehensively cover those vulnerabilities. She shares the need for service providers to be trained well when working with victims as well and questions our reliance on the criminal/legal system as the primary path out of prostitution.
She also explains how social norms also need to shift as a majority of victims of sex trafficking receive little understanding or support once they are considered an adult, and therefore considered responsible for their actions by the public at large. In addition, she shares the need to end the demand for prostitution and, more broadly, the normalization of sexual coercion, objectification, and commodification.
If you'd like to learn more about the Equality Model, visit: www.equalitymodelus.org/
To learn about Minnesota's campaign for partial decriminalization, Safe Harbor for All, visit: www.sh4all.org/