When I got arrested recently, my copy of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villains by Alexandra Lutnick came along with me to jail. It’d be fair to blame me, as well as the boys in blue, but I think it’s unlikely that this is the last time this publication will see the inside… Continue reading Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims And Villains (2016)
Tag: trafficking
The Oakland Police Department isn’t an Anomaly
In just a few weeks’ time, an astonishing pattern of misconduct has been uncovered in the Oakland Police Department that might shock even our readers. At the center of the scandal is a teenage sex worker who goes by Celeste Guap. She alleges that at least three Oakland PD officers sexually exploited her when she was underage.… Continue reading The Oakland Police Department isn’t an Anomaly
Who’s The Victim: The Tragedy of Latesha Clay
Content warning: This piece contains general discussion of child sexual abuse. Reading about the plight of Latesha Clay, the child in Grand Rapids, MI sentenced to nine years in prison after being used as live bait in a robbery scheme, the thing that struck me was the use of the word “victim.” Of course, referring… Continue reading Who’s The Victim: The Tragedy of Latesha Clay
What The Rentboy Raid Tells Us About The Gendered Rhetoric Of Trafficking
Tuesday morning, Homeland Security and Brooklyn police raided the offices of Rentboy.com, arresting its CEO and several current and former workers, seizing six bank accounts, and freezing the website in what the U.S. Department of Justice’s press release bragged was a raid on the “largest online male escort service.” Coming right on the heels of… Continue reading What The Rentboy Raid Tells Us About The Gendered Rhetoric Of Trafficking
No Victim, No Problem: The JVTA In Practice
This year, Congress decided that the term “john sting” needed a rebrand. What, they wondered, would justify all the wasted resources and manpower under a veil of moral indignation? After they put their collective hive mind together, a new, shinier, more bureaucratic term emerged. John stings are now called federally funded anti-trafficking work. The change… Continue reading No Victim, No Problem: The JVTA In Practice