World Without Exploitation

April 18, 2019

What's next for the movement to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation?

Now & Next: The 2019 World Without Exploitation Convening will bring together a national community of coalition members and allies to explore what’s new and what’s next in the movement to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation. With a four-part focus on direct service, legal advocacy, communications & storytelling, and trauma stewardship – and an extraordinary roster of panelists and speakers - Now & Next will be both aspirational and practical.

April 9, 2019

Take care.

How do we create a more effective, sustainable movement to end exploitation? With care.

March 25, 2019

How do we create lasting political and social change? By coming together.

Now & Next: The 2019 World Without Exploitation Convening will bring together a national community of coalition members and allies to explore what’s new and what’s next in the movement to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Now & Next will be both aspirational and practical, homing in on actionable ways to make our movement and our membership more effective.

February 19, 2019

Sometimes our pain is what makes us powerful.

Join us for a special staged reading of the theatrical adaptation of Lived Through This, the critically praised book by Anne K. Ream.

January 17, 2019

Building a better man.

What will it take to create a safer and more just world for women? Better men.

December 18, 2018

We’re creating a world where no one is bought, sold, or exploited. We can’t do it without you.

This year, World Without Exploitation - the national coalition to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation – created more change in more ways and places than ever before. What made that possible? The survivor leaders who inspire and drive our work. The 135+ member groups at the heart of our national network. And people like you.

November 27, 2018

Her story is our story.

Five decades after writer and activist Gloria Steinem began raising her voice for equality while championing the voices of others, her vision feels more urgent than ever. Gloria’s life’s work and philosophy on the necessity of conversation as a catalyst for change are both timely and necessary right now. Which is why GLORIA: A LIFE – a play written by Tony Award-nominee Emily Mann and directed by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus - is a must-see for WorldWE members and allies. On December 7th, please join WorldWE and Apne Aap for a special performance of this groundbreaking play, followed by an audience talk-back featuring actor and activist Ashley Judd.

August 17, 2018

Want to change the world? Start by changing the conversation.

t’s time to talk. About why, in 2018, millions of people across the globe are still being bought, sold, and exploited. About what the stories of survivors can teach us about the root causes of commercial sexual exploitation. And about how we can finally end the demand for prostituted or trafficked persons. Respectful, impassioned conversation is what our first-ever WorldWE Youth Summit was all about. Hosted at the Brooklyn Historical Society in July, this day long, youth-driven, survivor-centered event featured panel discussions, strategic storytelling workshops, and advocacy trainings for over 200 activists and artists, ages 16 – 28, seeking to engage more effectively in the fight to end exploitation.

June 28, 2018

Getting out.

“One is not born, but rather becomes a woman,” the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote in her 1949 classic, The Second Sex. Her book is a historical exploration of the ways female identity is shaped, a reminder that girls come into the world a blank slate, but don’t stay that way for very long. Brenda Myers-Powell, the founder of Dreamcatcher Foundation, an organization fighting sex trafficking in Chicago, has lived what de Beauvoir explores in print. She grew up on Chicago’s West Side, survived childhood sexual violence, and entered the sex trade at the age of 15. Twenty-four years later, Brenda finally had the courage - and the social and economic support necessary – to exit. “Most women don’t want to be in prostitution,” Brenda says. “Help them find options, and that can lead to a whole new life.”

May 4, 2018

Listen. Then Lobby.

How do we change federal law? We don’t start by lobbying. We start by listening. To survivors who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. To parents whose children’s lives have been irrevocably harmed by — and in some cases lost to — the online sex trade. And to the advocates, health care providers, and members of law enforcement who bear daily witness to the lasting damage done to those who have been bought and sold. The stories from survivor and movement allies served as the driving force behind World Without Exploitation’s fight for passage of FOSTA-SESTA. Three of those survivor leaders — Nikki Bell, Autumn Burris, and Marlene Carson — recently sat down with World Without Exploitation founding co-chair Rachel Foster, to talk about the diverse national coalition that fought for the passage of FOSTA-SESTA, how their personal stories inspired political change, and what’s next for our movement.