Sometimes it feels like sex trafficking is such a huge, serious, widespread issue that one person is powerless to make a difference.
I know that feeling well.
Starting out as a defender in Philadelphia over 40 years ago, I met women victimized in the commercial sex industry. I met them in court, in the office, and most often, in jail. At first, like many new defenders, I assumed prostitution was a victimless crime, and that everything would be fine if nothing was criminalized.
Five years later, I became a supervisor in the unit that handled virtually every prostitution case in Philadelphia. By then I recognized all these women suffered from severe drug or alcohol addiction and/or mental health issues. Like everyone else in the system, I was mystified when drug and/or mental health treatment didn't seem to help.
In 1990, I spent six months preparing for a trial and interacting closely and confidentially with one of my clients. During that case, she disclosed she had been sexually abused as a child. When the abuse was uncovered, she was kicked out of her home.
I noticed this pattern time and again. I heard story after story from my clients about their childhood sexual abuse. Finally, I began to understand the reason my clients were unable to benefit from the treatment provided by the court - they needed specialized sexual trauma recovery therapy, and there was none to be had.
So here I was — I knew the problem. I even knew the solution. But I felt powerless to fix it.
Over the years, activists began making progress in raising awareness about sex trafficking, but I didn't become hopeful. Instead, I got angry because I thought these well-meaning people cared more about women in other countries than about women right here in their own community.
Finally, in 2007, I was blessed to meet four women religious who also saw how the system wasn’t working. But they didn’t feel defeated like I did. These women knew how to make things happen, and in short order with their help, holistic care for survivors of sex trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) became a reality at Dawn’s Place.
Today, with new approaches, women in Philly are no longer prosecuted for CSE, and they no longer cram the local jail cells. And for survivors wanting to exit ‘the Life’, Dawn's Place is there to provide a home with a specialized program to promote healing and independent living.
Luckily, you don’t need to feel powerless, like I did, now that there is a solution like Dawn's Place. You can fight CSE by supporting our dual mission of providing love and care to women recovering from the trauma of exploitation, as well as working to reduce the demand for commercial sex.
We’re kicking off our Fall Appeal earlier this year; as a matter of fact you may have already received a letter in your mailbox. If you want to join the fight against CSE, consider becoming a monthly donor. Whether it’s by credit card, by PayPal or by check, put Dawn’s Place between your electric bill and your water bill, in an amount that ends in three — $3, $13, $23, $53 — and make it clear you are doing three things:
Helping to provide love and care for survivors;
Working to reduce demand; and
Joining the fight to end the horror of sex trafficking and CSE.
United we can accomplish anything - join our army.
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