Changing cultures is a long-term investment in making positive changes to legislation, education, and services in our oppressive systems to make them more equitable. Cultural change happens with the advent of technological innovation, contact with individuals who live, believe and think differently from different cultures, education and discovery of new concepts and inventions (Libre Texts, 2021). Within the anti-human trafficking field cultural change has been and can continue be initiated in three distinct areas of society:   

1. Social Media- The Polaris Project (2018) outlines eight steps companies can take in social media enterprises to help prevent human trafficking. 

   •  Call out human trafficking in terms of service and make clear prohibitions including examples about what are violations and consequences. 

   • Identify high risk users and business pages including creating algorithms for individuals that friend a lot of underage individuals that flag patterns. 

   • Use PhotoDNA and other photo hash systems that test to see if these individuals are on databases for child exploitation and sex ads, buyer boards ect…

   •  Implement innovative safety features for survivors to promote safety, and help them access services.

   • Use high tech solutions to offer assistance to survivors (AI identification)

   •  Use targeted ads for anti-trafficking orgs. 

   • Consult and collaborate with survivors and NGO professionals. 

   • Create easy and accessible reporting options.

2. Improved Sex Education:

•  Give accurate education about sex, not just prevention or protection methods but actual research based data and medical terminology. In this there should be education on consent and tearing down myths around sexuality and how it relates to pleasure, over-sexualization and gender roles (Bauer, Hämmerli & Leeners, 2020; Bodnar & Tornello, 2019).

•  Encourage caretakers to give their children age appropriate, non-shame-based education that is empowering to their child’s sexual identity development (Sheppard, 2020; Shin, Lee & Min, 2019 ). This also includes the need for caretakers to receive accurate education about how to prevent, and or, walk through issues where their child has been, or could experience, sexual abuse or exploitation (Rudolph, Zimmer-Gembeck, Shanley & Hawkins, 2018).

3. Addressing the roots of oppression and violence: 

• Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes: Steryotyping individuals based on their gender and sexual orientation leads to increased violence and fetishizing aspects of their sexuality (Remedios & Snyder, 2018). By addressing these stereotypes and deconstructing narratives that reinforce them we are combatting the victimization and violence that women, POC, and LGBTQIA+ individuals face on a daily basis. This calls for a reformation of how sex is communicated in media portrays, advertising and cultural narratives (Grollman, 2019; Hoskin, 2020).  

• Who is worth protecting? Within the anti-trafficking movement history there is a concept that certain individuals are more worth protecting than others. From it’s conception, the focus of forced prostitiution was focused on saving white women and children trapped in brothels and ignored the enslavement of black, brown and indigenous people groups. This is still a narrative that is communicated today through advertising campaigns and images that focus on young white girls as the victims and characterizing the perpetrators as POC (Hughes, 2013). Our perceptions need correction as to who is grossly impacted by human trafficking and how we understand pimping and prostitution (Grittner & Walsh, 2020; Fermin, 2018).  

We all have a part to play in helping to deconstruct harmful narratives. For most of us this means deconstructing what we have been taught about sexuality and our role in society. Not an easy task right? But we all have to start somewhere, and as each of us do this work, we are becoming a part of changing the culture around how sexuality is misused and abused. Empowered sexuality is one free of oppression, and dynamics of power and privilege. We all deserve to experience our sexuality without fear and shame. 

References

• Bauer, Max, Silvan Hämmerli, and Brigitte Leeners 2020. "Unmet Needs in Sex Education—What Adolescents Aim to Understand About Sexuality of the Other Sex." Journal of Adolescent Health 67(2): 245-252.

• Bodnar, Kaitlin, and Samantha L. Tornello. 2019. "Does sex education help everyone?: Sex education exposure and timing as predictors of sexual health among lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual young women." Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation 29(1): 8-26.

• Fermin, Lyndsey. 2018. “Prostitution, Procurement, and Power: Sex workers’ perceptions of pimps and madams.” The University of Texas at San Antonio, thesis. 

• Grittner, A. L., & Walsh, C. A. (2020). The Role of Social Stigma in the Lives of Female-Identified Sex Workers: A Scoping Review. Sexuality & Culture, 24(5), 1653-1682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09707-7. 

• Grollman, E.A. 2019. “Americans’ gender attitudes at the intersection of sexual orientation and gender.” Journal of homosexuality, 66(2): 141-172.

• Hoskin, R.A., 2020. " Femininity? It's the Aesthetic of Subordination": Examining Femmephobia, the Gender Binary, and Experiences of Oppression Among Sexual and Gender Minorities.” Archives of sexual behavior, 49(7).

• Hughes, Donna. 2013. “Combatting Sex Trafficking: A History.” Fair Observer.  https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/combating-sex-trafficking-history/.  

• Libre Texts. 2021. “Mechanisms of Cultural Change.” Social Science. Retrieved January 26, 2022.(https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Book%3A_Sociology_(Boundless)/03%3A_Culture/3.03%3A_Culture_and_Adaptation/3.3B%3A_Mechanisms_of_Cultural_Change). 

• Polaris Project. 2018. “Social Media Report.” Retrieved November 30, 2021. (https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/A-Roadmap-for-Systems-and-Industries-to-Prevent-and-Disrupt-Human-Trafficking-Social-Media.pdf). 

• Remedios, J.D. and Snyder, S.H. 2018. “Intersectional oppression: Multiple stigmatized identities and perceptions of invisibility, discrimination, and stereotyping.” Journal of Social Issues, 74(2): 265-281.

• Rudolph, Julia, Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck, Dianne C. Shanley, and Russell Hawkins. 2018. "Child sexual abuse prevention opportunities: Parenting, programs, and the reduction of risk." Child maltreatment 23 (1): 96-106.

• Sheppard, Joey. 2020. "America's Teen Sex Education: Can Parents Really Make a Difference?." The Journal of Student Leadership 3(2): 49-57.

• Shin, Hyewon, Jung Min Lee, and Ji Young Min. 2019."Sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, and perceptions and actualities of sex education among elementary school parents." Child Health Nursing Research 25(3): 312-323.