Why New Englanders Against Sexual Exploitation

Sex trafficking cases have been prosecuted in every New England state. Often traffickers and sex buyers cross state lines to commit this crime. Last year, the federal government convicted a pimp who sold women in MA and CT.  An unrelated trafficker was indicted for exploiting teenagers in RI and MA. A husband and wife couple were arrested in late 2018 after trafficking Chinese women in ME, NH and VT. Sex trafficking survivors Darlene Pawlik and Jasmin Grace of NH describes being sold to men in multiple New England states.

Traffickers lure vulnerable victims to meet demand, especially to serve markets where prostitution is normalized. And sex buyers travel to places where sexual exploitation is legal or decriminalized. 

When prostitution was legal in Rhode Island (1980-2009), sex buyers came from Massachusetts and other neighboring states to exploit prostituted people, especially women.   

To confront sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, we must work as a regional force. 

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Violence permeates the everyday experience of prostitution. Prostitution is so intertwined with exploitation, harm, and trauma, it can never be viewed as a conventional “business.” There is no such thing as “safe” prostitution. #SexWorkisNeither #EndExploitation