WEBINAR
A Call to Guys Part I: From Bystander to Standing With Sex Trade Survivors & Exited Voices
This webinar centers lived experience expert voices in a "call to guys" interested in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.
Moderated by Megan Lundstrom, co-founder and Director of Research at The Avery Center, a panel of exited individuals discuss what they wish all men knew about the commercial sex trade, and how to be an informed ally engaged in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation.
You can watch A Call to Guys Part II: Shifting the Conversation from ‘I have daughters’ to ‘I have sons’ here.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS & PANELISTS
Megan Lundstrom, M.A.
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH & THE AVERY CENTER CO-FOUNDER
Following my exit in 2012, and as my healing progressed, I felt compelled to begin sharing my experiences of being lured and trapped in the commercial sex industry. What I found as I began to share my story in my home town was that very few agencies were aware that these crimes were occurring in their community, and even fewer felt equipped to serve the complex needs of survivors like me. In 2014, I founded this organization in response to these unmet needs. Since then, we've offered countless training sessions, as well as direct services to survivors.
Andrea Heinz
PANELIST
Andrea Heinz is a Canadian feminist who writes and speaks about commercialized sex. After spending 7 years in the licensed adult industry as an Escort and brothel owner, she is now a sex trade abolitionist and Equality Model proponent. Andrea shares her journey and insight with students, professionals and the general public. She is happily married with three young children.
Jaimee Johnson
PANELIST
Jaimee Johnson is the CEO of Sisters of the Streets. She also holds the title of a motivational speaker, mentor, advocate, first responded, consultant, social media marketer, and curriculum creator. She is also an advocate for those who survived the industry and/or have been victims of sexual exploitation. Her passion is preventing exploitation within our communities which includes co-facilitating Point Loma University's prevention course: kNow MORE. In addition to personal experience, Jaimee has logged over 500 hours of training and educating individuals on the realities of sexual exploitation and how to identify and prevent it.
"Angie and Megan take the complex social issues facing our society today and translate them into bite-sized chunks for the rest of us. Their passion, vision and perspective is lively, insightful, professional and applicable. As a leader in the anti-trafficking work of our area, I can always count on them to bring timely answers to challenging problems, answers that invite me to think differently and with a clarity I'd not yet known. We would not be where we are in our work today without Angie and Megan."
Chris Bruno, LPC
Restoration Counseling
"I would like to give a Huge shout out to the Avery Center, Megan Lundstrom and Suleman Masood for their recent 3 hour training they provided to the New Jersey Coalition against Human trafficking. Anyone looking for professional and survivor informed training I would highly recommend using them. As the NJCAHT HT Consultant I wear many hats, one which constantly involves evaluating our needs as a Coalition. There’s a lot of research and responsibility that’s involved inviting the right survivor experts to the table. Although I also train, speak and advocate I don’t pretend to know everything since no one does. I welcome times where I could sit back and have my cup filled and learn from others too, this is how we grow. With that being said, I cannot thank Megan and Suleman enough through this entire process. Going back and forth with emails, for months asking questions and getting their recommendations they met all of our needs beyond any expectations. They certainly left our Coalition more survivor informed covering a multitude of areas. Thank you Megan and Suleman and thank you to the NJCAHT for entrusting me with being your consultant, I have the utmost respect for the NJC they really care about the issue of trafficking and always want to ensure that survivors are treated with dignity and respect."
Gina Cavallo
New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking
"The Avery Center is a wonderful organisation, right at the forefront of the fight against exploitation in the USA. Their approach, research, and commitment to building dedicated partnerships allows us to work together and build innovative projects powered by data and technology. Through global relationships, we can all achieve more than the sum of our parts."
Ruth Dearnley
Chief Executive, STOP THE TRAFFIK
"Breaking the phases into the categories of boyfriend pimp, CEO pimp, and CSE is a breakdown I would have never thought to apply but seems really crucial to our understanding. That has given me a lot of pause. This proves the importance of having individuals with lived [experience] as active participants (and ideally leaders) of the work...there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to develop more refined, nuanced, and targeted information."
The Avery Center
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