Sexual abuse and exploitation know no boundaries. Global governing bodies and corporations make decisions that cause ripple effects around the world, for better or worse.
Take the case of Camilla* for example.
Camilla is a 14-year-old girl in the United Kingdom. She was groomed by an older man online to send a sexually explicit videos of herself to him over Snapchat (an American owned worldwide social media company.)
This was exploitative and psychologically damaging enough, but tragically it only got worse. Months later when she went to school and saw classmates huddled together looking at their phones and giving her disgusted looks.
The sexually explicit video had been uploaded to one of the largest pornography websites in the world—run by a global pornography corporation that is based in Canada.
Her life was devastated.
Not only did she have to recover from being groomed into sending sexually exploitative content, and not only was she now bullied and ostracized for it, but she also knew that men around the world were watching her videos…
This is one of the countless cases where international and global institutions are facilitating and escalating abuse and sexual harm.
Here at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, we fight to make sure stories like Camilla’s don’t happen to anyone else. We know that sometimes, the strategic impact of global campaigns is higher than domestic-focused campaigns.
I know you are aware of these issues, and care about them deeply. You can’t hear the story of Camilla and not feel the need to take action, just like we can’t.
- Pornography is being normalized and promoted through mainstream multinational corporations and is being funneled into developing countries through technology give-aways.
- Pro-prostitution lobbyists are working around the world and in global bodies of power like the United Nations to either legalize or fully decriminalize prostitution, which research shows would result in increased sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, and they are funded by mega-donor organizations.
- And tragically, even when one sex trafficking victim is rescued, two more take their place in exploitation, because there has been no international plan to combat and prevent the root cause of the sex trafficking marketplace: sex buying (aka the demand).
It’s these very things that have led the National Center on Sexual Exploitation to intentionally broaden our reach beyond the United States.
And you’ve seen the work we can do globally!
Thanks to our partners like you, we know how to leverage our impact to not only help those here in the United States, but also across the world.
As a global movement is needed now more than ever, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation decided to launch its International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE).
This is not a new venture. It is scaling and expanding NCOSE’s existing expertise, connections, and global activities to be more efficient and deliberate.
It is a response to a need—to the reality that no other organization is leading the international approach to connect the dots between all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse and to guide unified coalition-based action to improve private and public policies.
Our Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach, Haley McNamara, moved to Cambridge, England to direct the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation a few weeks ago.
Sexual abuse & exploitation know no geographical boundaries. So neither should our advocacy!
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation!
I will direct ICOSE from England while continuing to serve as a VP at @ncose. pic.twitter.com/5IEtXUazsO
— Haley McNamara (@HaleyMcNamara) May 7, 2020
The International Centre on Sexual Exploitation is already accomplishing a great deal in these first few weeks.
- The #CESESummit already has speakers from 29 countries and thousands of attendees registered from 58 countries!
- Our joint international campaign #WakeUpInstagram has pushed Instagram to make significant changes towards a safer platform especially during COVID-19 while many kids are onlnine.
- We will tell you about a 3rd major project of ICOSE later today!
Thank you for partnering with us.
We believe in a world free from sexual abuse and exploitation. With your help, we are moving ever closer to that realization!
Please consider a financial contribution to help grow these efforts.
*name changed.
