The Fierce Freedom Podcast

We were so honored to have a conversation with Rebecca Bender about what she wishes people could just "get" about trafficking, what gives her hope in the movement, and a word of encouragement for survivors seeking to exit this life. Rebecca will also share about changing the world through entertainment and storytelling in a NEW TV series she is Executive Producer of called Coercion. The series wil...

Today we're talking to Ashley Olson, who is the new CEO of Lev Apparel - which is a fashion brand that focuses on timeless designs made to end the cycle of poverty and human trafficking through hope, healing and restoration. Ashley shares about the origins of Lev Apparel and how they seek empower both creators of clothing to have a better life but also the consumer to have stylish apparel that fit...

Our guest Claudine O' Leary educates communities on how to effectively respond to youth and adults with life experience in the sex trades through harm reduction. Drawing from her own experience as a trafficked teen and several years of advocacy work, Claudine's latest venture is a FREE toolkit designed in conjunction with the WI Dept. of Children and Families to help care providers draw out streng...

Wondering how you can help Fierce Freedom with its mission of ending the cycle of human trafficking? It's simple really, your birthday! Joyce Orth, Donor Engagement Specialist at Fierce Freedom will share with individuals how easy and fun it can be to celebrate your big day by connecting loved ones with this cause, and how local businesses can join the party as well! The public is also invited to...

Our returning guest Rebecca Kotz points to specific moments of our history (e.g. the de-funding of social welfare systems) which have resulted in a system that relies heavily on the prison industrial complex and prostitution industrial complex systems. Rebecca asserts that the only way forward is dismantling these systems and uprooting harmful ideologies that inflict sexual violence on one group t...

Our returning guest Rebecca Kotz unpacks The Equality model, which aims to partially decriminalize prostitution, "shrinking the sex trade" and a step forward in ending sexual exploitation.  Rebecca says this goes beyond a policy change, but also involves identifying the ways victims are coerced into the sex trade and working to comprehensively cover those vulnerabilities. She shares the need for s...

For nearly 40 years, the Eau Claire  Area  Hmong Mutual Assistance Association , Inc has provided support and care for incoming Hmong refugees and immigrants as they seek to navigate the obstacles that accompany resettlement. To share more specifically about the programming offered at ECAHMAA, the history of the Hmong people, and the importance of serving this population through a culturally compe...

In what is being called by the UN the fastest growing refugee population in Europe since WWII, the war on Ukraine is leaving millions of Ukrainian refugees at a huge risk for exploitation. Hosts Cat and Matt will share some facts regarding the invasion and how it is causing a flood of sexual exploitation and potential for human trafficking in various forms to take place. They'll also share some wa...

What is reality even? Recent years have seen an increase in time spent within virtual spheres for both business and recreation. One facet of this more fully embodied internet use has been dubbed metaverse, which allows users a more immersive way to engage virtually. Our returning guest Dr. Justin Patchin returns to share about this new frontier and why so many are draw into the metaverse. As with...

In today's day and age, youth can be tormented round the clock through their devices, and some studies show this form of digital bullying is only on the rise.   What is cyberbullying exactly? To share more we invited Justin Patchin, UW-Eau Claire Professor of Criminal Justice and Co-Founder of the Cyberbullying Research Center who unpacks some of the ways youth and adults are victimized online. Ju...

Remedy Drive isn't just your average rock band, their music is interwoven with real stories of the international sex trade. Band front-man and lyricist David Zach speaks of the band's origins and how his passion was fanned into flame by the actions of other heroes from the abolitionist movement - leading him to assist in undercover sex trafficking stings with The Exodus Road and write lyrics that...

In the state of Wisconsin sexual assault of a minor is considered a felony, and the blame falls on the adult perpetrator... unless of course money changes hands. Adopting a safe harbor law would change all that in our state. We invited Executive Director of Fight to End Exploitation and fellow advocate for Safe Harbor Melania Brostowitz (she/her) to share what this bill (SB245) is proposing and ou...

Today Podcast Producer and Community Program Specialist for Fierce Freedom Cat Morgan will be on the other side of the... microphone (actually she just moved one chair to sit in the guest spot). Cat will share with Executive Director Jenny Almquist what she feels have been important lessons while doing this work for 4 years and some lifelong goals she wants to work towards in the next 40 years! If...

We arrest 5x the amount of juveniles in the US as any other country in the world. Each year we lock away youth for minor offenses which drain millions in taxes while providing no benefit to public safety. For the youth it is dangerous, non-rehabilitative and may likely become an on-ramp for further exploitation to occur. We'll unpack why research suggests that this is an ineffective, dangerous, an...

From the Tinder Swindler, Inventing Anna, and other popular shows, we learn how high-profile scammers use various means to steal millions every year. While it may seem far-fetched, these scams can happen to anyone in the form of elder financial exploitation, gift card, and romance scams. We invited Tesha Davis, Fierce Freedom Board Member and Branch Manager for Associated Bank to share more about...

When attempting to understand what perpetuates such crimes as sexual abuse and exploitation, especially against women, we may only want to think of the individual players involved. But could we be missing a key component? Our guest Rebecca Kotz asserts that if we want to see the tide of oppression change, we need to consider the deeply-entrenched systems in place which create ideal conditions for...

If you're someone who spends time with kids, you know it comes with its own set of challenges - which may leave you feeling frustrated, ill-equipped, and searching for answers.  Our guest Dana Parisi is a parent coach whose goal is to bring hope to parents by offering some advice that is both eye-opening and encouraging for those helping mold young minds. Dana offers her services to families and e...

Could hormone cycle awareness be a tool that helps with trafficking prevention and even promote healing for survivors? To share her thoughts, we invited Abby Maxon , an artist and somatic instructor whose passions lie in creating healthy conversations around our hormonal cycles and the natural rhythms of life. She will explain how she believes this may lead to not only combatting the root issues o...

We're celebrating our 100th episode with special guest Landon Dickeson, a clinical mental health counselor who explains the "magical" exchange that takes place when animals are invited into the healing journey of a sex trafficking survivor. This is a daily occurrence at Bob's House of Hope which is the first non-profit safe house in the country for male survivors of commercial sexual exploitation,...

When we think of the atrocities of human trafficking - we often ask the question " Where is God in all this? " The documentary Blind Eyes Opened seeks to both educate and inspire the faith community to respond to this question by joining the fight against modern-day-slavery. We invited the film's Executive Producer Geoff Rogers to share both the challenges and rewards he and his wife experienced o...

When it comes to brushing off haters, international pop singer Madilyn has become somewhat of an expert. In 2021, she famously performed an original song crafted from mean comments on America's Got Talent.  Madilyn shares encouragement for listeners based on overcoming her own personal hurdles, speaking about her heart for the vulnerable and abused and how it has inspired some of her original musi...

A silent partner is  any relative or close family friend who takes the abuser's side against the victim rather than confronting the abuser or attempting to rescue the victim from the abuser.  (Psychology Today). 1 in 10 children are abused before they reach their 18th birthday, 93% of the time it is someone the child knows personally. These alarming statistics reveal that many adults may know when...

In honor of #humantraffickingawarenessmonth we thought it would be fitting to look back on the first ever domestic trafficking case in the US which was first brought to trial back in 2006. We invited our special guest, former Police Captain Christopher McKee who worked on the case - also known as Operation Pandora's Box - to share the details and how working on it "changed him forever." If you'd l...

Have you ever noticed the toxicity of social media? So often, it is a tool to feed insecurity and constant comparison with others which may ultimately lead to exploitation of vulnerabilities. So, what if social media became a tool, used to help victims of abuse get help, or to prevent trafficking from happening altogether? To explain more about this, we invited Stephanie Page, Founder & Executive...

Stories of sexual assaults of college campuses is unfortunately more and more the norm these days - some reports suggest that every 21 hours , someone is raped on a college campus in the US, and 19 in 20 of these cases go unreported.  What about campus ministry organizations? Sadly, a recent piece details a case of forced sexual assault one member of campus ministry Young Life experienced by a stu...