PFLAG DAYTON NEWSLETTER

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NEW CEASE SPOTLIGHT: An Athlete’s Silence. John-Michael Lander (An Athlete's Silence) discusses the exploitation that goes on behind the closed doors of professional sports groups and schools || Please read and share below

https://t.co/KIlVyTbaGY.

CEASE UK's VISON 

Our vision is to see a society where porn is no longer seen as harmless, recreational fun, but is recognised as violent, misogynistic and racist and damaging to society.

We want Britain to be a nation that recognises prostitution as exploitative and seeks to reduce demand and ultimately end the sex trade through the introduction of the Equality Model (or the ‘Nordic Model’).

We are fighting for a culture that recognises hypersexualisation, porn-culture and the sexual objectification of women as incompatible with true sex equality.

Ultimately, we want to help Britain to become a country whose national institutions stand up publicly against the sexual exploitation and abuse of the sex trade and sex industry.

CEASE UK's  AIMS

1. To expose the inherent harms and abuses of the commercial sex industry (e.g. porn, strip clubs) and the global sex trade (prostitution) and their destructive cultural influence.

2. To raise awareness of the links between all forms of sexual exploitation among key public sector bodies and charities.

3.To dismantle the commercial and cultural forces which fuel sexual exploitation and become an agent for systemic change.

4. To unify, strengthen and resource the sexual exploitation sector, in order to amplify a powerful, collective voice.

What do we mean by sexual exploitation?

Sexual exploitation is: “Any actual or attempted abuse of position of vulnerability, differential power or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.” 1 Closely related to this is sexual abuse, defined as: “Actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.”

Sexual exploitation encompasses a wide-range of sexual abuse or utilitarian sexual uses of persons, regardless of age. It includes sexual objectification, sexual violence, pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking and more.

It always involves:

• Differentiated Power: perpetrators of sexual exploitation abuse a position of differentiated power or trust in order to derive sexual gratification, financial gain or some form of advancement through the sexual abuse of individuals.
• Vulnerability: although sexual exploitation can affect anyone, its effects are felt disproportionately by those who on are socially and economically marginalised. Individual, familial and environmental risk factors are interconnected and often cumulative. 1
• Harm: sexual exploitation involves the abrogation of a person’s basic human rights, including their right to dignity, equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well-being. 1 Victims suffer acute harm and negative long-term consequences. 1  

The harmful effects of sexual exploitation are not limited to the victims: when the most vulnerable individuals in our society are robbed of the opportunity to thrive, living a life free from sexual harm, we all feel the effects.

We have a responsibility to fight back and to hold to account the multi-billion dollar industries that feed off exploitation and abuse.