Ending Sexploitation

Did you know that mainstream companies you interact with every day may be facilitating sexual exploitation, or leaving children vulnerable to abuse or graphic content?   During this episode of the Ending Sexploitation podcast, Haley McNamara interviews Lina Nealon, Director of Corporate and Strategic Initiatives at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.   They discuss mainstream corporations...

Entities such as strip clubs, massage parlors, brothels, and pornography production companies exist around the world and are commonly referred to using innocuous terms such as "sex trade," "sex sector," and "commercial sex industry." However, what these entities really constitute is a global supply chain of organized sexual exploitation. Lisa Thompson, Vice President of Policy and Research at the...

The abuse of children is something we recognize as a horrific crime. But what happens when the abuser is a child themselves? This week we hear from Heidi Olson, a registered nurse who specializes in pediatrics and leads the team of forensic nurses at a large children's hospital in Kansas City, MO. This presentation will give real-life examples of unlikely juvenile sex offenders, their victims, and...

While this work is sometimes dark and depressing, we are so grateful to see many victories from 2018! Join us in looking back and recognizing the forward momentum our movement has, from corporate policy progress at Walmart and Comcast, to more state resolutions recognizing the harms of pornography, and more! Resources: Get involved and be a part of the 2019 victories by taking action at DirtyDozen...

Earlier this year,  Jayme Cross, a 13-year-old girl had been missing for months after a 21-year-old man murdered her parents, duct-taped her wrists and mouth, threw her in the back of his trunk, and drove away. Some 88 days after being abducted, Jayme was able to get out of the house, and run to get help from a woman out walking her dog. Perhaps few others have as clear of a perspective on this st...

Strip clubs are often seen as a harmless form of entertainment for men. And. While they are certainly everywhere from the sides of interstates to the heart of our nation's capital, and pull patrons from all walks of life, some of strip club's most routine patrons include military personnel. In fact, military bases are often surrounded by strip clubs in their area, and we've seen that they often ha...

What goes on in the mind of a sex buyer? People who buy sex are driving the market for prostitution and sex trafficking but we don't know enough about them. This question will be answered by Peter Qualliotine Co-Founder/Director, Men's Accountability, Organization for Prostitution Survivors who has both worked with sex buyers and reviewed online forums where sex buyers discuss their 'hobby" with o...

The American Society of Addiction Medicine states that addiction is a singular disorder—no matter the chemical or behavioral object of the addiction—that addiction manifests a specific set of signs and symptoms including escalation, impaired impulse control, and reduced emotional, social, and/or professional wellbeing. Does dependency on pornography meet these symptoms? Noah Church speaks on the n...

Haley Halverson, Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, provides an update on research, survivor testimonies, and legal battles regarding legal brothels in Nevada. This episode discusses how: 1) Even legal prostitution cannot get rid of sexual violence or sex trafficking within the regulated sex trade. 2) Dennis Hof and Harvey Weinstein have similar...

Dr. Sharon Cooper is a developmental and forensic pediatrician who evaluates and treats children who have been victims of all forms of abuse, though her primary area of expertise is that of sexual exploitation. At an event held by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in the U.S. Capitol, Dr. Cooper shared 3 ways adult pornography is harming children. Resources: Learn more about the harms of...

Whether you are a college student, know a college student, or just care about fighting sexual exploitation in ANY environment, this episode is filled with practical action steps to get you started. College students should be safe from sexual assault, and the factors that contribute to campus sexual assault must be recognized.  Campus sexual assault is often tied to issues like sporting events, sex...

Special guest Josh McDowell, an author, apologist, and founder of Josh McDowell Ministry, joins this podcast episode to address the current climate in the church regarding pornography. He provides advice for individuals, pastors, and churches about recovery from pornography. He weighs in on the debate about if church leaders should be fired when they confess an addiction to pornography. McDowell a...

Evidence supports the fact that child sexual abuse, prostitution, pornography, sex trafficking, sexual violence, etc., are not isolated phenomena occurring in a vacuum. Rather, these and other forms of sexual abuse and exploitation overlap and reinforce one another. Accordingly, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has developed  The Freedom From Sexploitation Agenda  to present Congress and...

Child sexual abuse is perhaps one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. As a result, people often avoid thinking or talking about it. But pushing such a serious problem under the rug might be doing more harm than good. Research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that approximately 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. So parents and conce...

Special guest Dr. John Foubert addresses an innovative program on college campuses. Dr. John Foubert is the national president of One in Four, professor at Oklahoma State University author of several books including most recently  How Pornography Harms . One In Four is a national nonprofit dedicated to sexual assault prevention, focusing on college campuses and military bases. This organization co...

Special guest, Dr. Gail Dines analyzes the big business behind porn. Dr. Gail Dines is a professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Wheelock College, where she is also chair of the American Studies department. Having researched and written about the porn industry for over twenty years, Dr. Dines is internationally acclaimed as the leading expert on how pornography shapes our identities, culture...

We live in an age where many consumers demand transparency from companies they trust. We want to know the working conditions of those who made our clothing, and if pesticides were used to grow our food. Now, thanks to The Dirty Dozen List, we can see which well-known entities promote and profit from forms of sexual exploitation.  No corporation should profit from or facilitate sexual exploitation....

Online library databases in many schools are piping pornographic and sexually explicit materials into children's lives. We were shocked when we discovered EBSCO, and other similar companies, that provide academic resources for grades K-12 are not filtering out sexually explicit content. Even innocent searches return results like links to hardcore pornography websites, stories normalizing student-t...

The unspoken truth is that Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue is not a triumph of female athleticism, agency, or empowerment. Instead, it is a descent into sexual objectification. Research sows that when someone is being objectified the objectifier is viewing them as if they do not possess a real, individual mind and as if they are less deserving of moral treatment.[1] Some claim that these exper...

The London Abused Women's Centre, Canada; Collective Shout, Australia; Culture Reframed, USA; and The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), USA have partnered to raise awareness that Fifty Shades of Grey - and it's latest film installment Fifty Shades Darker - normalizes domestic violence. The Fifty Shades trilogy follows wealthy and powerful businessman Christian Grey as he meets Anasta...

An Alabama child advocacy group called Palmer Place recently reported an increase in child-on-child sex abuse cases, and they believe it was brought on by a growing addiction to pornography among children. How can we better understand the phenomenon of children who sexually abuse other children, and how can we intervene? One 2015 study by Dr. Cathy Humphreys, and others, explored this question by...

Earlier this year, ESPLERP (Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project) filed suit in San Francisco District Court claiming that the state's prostitution laws were unconstitutional. The District Court rightly rejected ESPLERP's claims. Now ESPLERP is appealing the decision. Savanah Lawrence, NCOSE's Legal Fellow, shares about the  amicus brief  NCOSE submitted to the Ninth Circ...

Before we can begin to address "how" to talk to kids about pornography, it's important to understand "when" that conversation becomes relevant. Many parents might assume that a few years after puberty is the time to have this talk. However, in today's digital culture, studies show that many children are being exposed to pornography before puberty. "The talk" is no longer applicable in today's worl...

Amazon's online market is being used to facilitate sexual exploitation and predation. Not only does Amazon.com feature thousands of pornography-related items in numerous categories, but it is facilitating the sale and distribution of sexually explicit material that normalizes and encourages the objectification and exploitation of women and children. I'm especially shocked that Amazon.com is sellin...

(This episode is now working, thank you for your patience!) The holidays are often thought of as the most wonderful time of the year. However, for victims of domestic violence, the holidays can be a very dark and scary time. This kind of abuse (whether it's physical or sexual) is often more likely to occur when stress levels are high, and unfortunately holiday seasons bring their fair share of str...