Exposing Cases of Sexual Abuse at the Hands of World Health Organization's Leading Medical Doctors and Uncovering the Largest Pornographer and Secret Owner of Pornhub
How this 75 year old retired lawyer is getting involved in the fight against trafficking
Good afternoon fellow activists,
As a bonus and because it’s too good not to share, check out Survivor and Author of Scars & Stilettos, Harmony Grillo, as she discusses “The Oldest Oppression in the Book” in her very own TEDx.
And without further ado, we hope you enjoy issue #51!
Click here to learn more about our “why”.
As always, thanks for being part of our growing community of activists and as a reminder, we love hearing from you! All feedback is welcome!
This Week’s..
ACTIVIST OF THE WEEK:
Simon John
Photo credit to: The Baptist Union
Let’s give honor to the steps every day people take to be active in the fight against trafficking, doing what they can to shine a light on this issue. You don’t have to attend university for human rights, work in law enforcement or start a non-profit to have a part in this movement. Take it from Simon John a 75 year old retired lawyer from Norfolk who is fundraising for Anti-Slavery International and who first cycled in 2018 when he completed the Prudential 100 Ride London through Bristol, Worcester Cathedral, Birmingham’s Volunteer Expo, the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, Manchester, Cumbria, Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond.
I feel passionate about these voiceless downtrodden brothers and sisters of ours. That's why I'm aiming to help raise awareness of the scourge of modern slavery, and of how our generations can end it together and restore dignity to those in suffering.
Way to go, Simon!👏
FOR YOUR EYES:
Hunt for the porn king: the secretive owner of Pornhub revealed
Internal emails reveal WHO knew of sex abuse claims in Congo
FOR YOUR EARS:
👉 If you enjoy staying informed about the stories, initiatives, and people within the counter human trafficking movement, share to tell others about it:
FOR YOUR EYES
Photo credit to: Tortoise Media
Hunt for the porn king: the secretive owner of Pornhub revealed: Investigative journalist for Tourtoise, Alexi Mostrous went on a hunt for the biggest pornographer and owner of the largest porn company, Bernd Bergmair. Surprisingly, though Pornhub makes an annual revenue of $450 million, not much could be found publicly about owner Bernd beyond a 20-year-old blurry picture from a uni alumni magazine.
👉 To hear the full story of how they found Bernd Bergmair – listen to the special podcast episode, Hunt for the Porn King, on Tortoisemedia.com.
Photo credit to: Council on Foreign Relations
How to Create a Breakthrough in the Fight Against Modern Slavery? Invest in the Economic Agency of Women and Girls: This post was written as part of the Council on Foreign Relations’ blog series on human trafficking, in which CFR fellows and other leading experts consider new approaches to improve U.S. and global efforts to curb trafficking and modern slavery. In this read it’s discussed that women and girls make up an astonishing 71 percent of the estimated 40.3 million people living in modern slavery and how societal inequalities and power imbalances contribute to that.
Photo credit to: Voice of America
Internal emails reveal WHO knew of sex abuse claims in Congo: Cases of sexual exploitation at the hands of the World Health Organization’s leading medical doctors on their nurses aides in northeastern Congo have begun coming to the surface. Many believe that the WHO has consistently acted with impunity when made aware of these cases which has further exacerbated the human rights violations.
In a confidential slide presentation in January 2020, WHO officials reported that an internal U.N. review of the Ebola response in Congo had found a need for “safe-guarding mechanisms for preventing sexual exploitation.” All staff were to complete training on harassment and other issues.
Photo credit to: Daily Mail
How Can I Best Talk to my Daughter (or Son) about Online Predators?: The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has launched the ‘Home Truths’ campaign, to help parents talk to their young/teenage sons and daughters about the dangers online. As part of the campaign, they developed an easy to remember “T.A.L.K” acronym for easy recall when the time is right to talk. Check out this article to learn more about what “Talk. Agree. Learn. Know.” means and how to implement it when it’s applicable to you!
FOR YOUR EARS:
Photo credit to: National Center on Sexual Exploitation
How to Work with Law Enforcement, with Dr. Stephany Powell: (podcast, 30 minutes) Dr. Sandy Morgan brings on Dr. Stephany Powell to discuss the role law enforcement and additional first responders can play in the fight against human trafficking. Stephany’s unique insight into the world of sexual exploitation and trafficking gained through her thirty years with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), coupled with her passion for education and her heart for community, make Dr. Powell an outstanding leader in the movement to end sexual exploitation.
Photo credit to: Youtube
Consider Before Consuming: What’s Going On With Pornhub? (podcast, 1 hour) Pornhub and its parent company Mindgeek have been under fire in the media since American journalist and Pulitzer Prize Winner Nicholas Kristof published an investigative opinion column in the NYT giving visibility to Pornhub’s questionable business practices. Podcast host, Garrett Jonsson, sits down with Fight the New Drug’s Editorial Director to look at the timeline beginning from December 4, 2020 to April 16, 2021 and what’s going on with Pornhub now.
COMING UP:
What do massage parlors have to do with pornography? Does pornography even happen in massage spas? Over the last year there has been compounding evidence that Pornhub, the largest porn-site in the world, has been complicit and profiting off of the exploitation and abuse of children and women. Sex trafficking and nonconsensual material run rampant on the platform, with very little hope for victims in having this online sexual abuse material removed. Please join us Monday May 24th as we address the intersection of massage spas and pornography.
👉Click here to register!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of Liberty Line, a weekly newsletter dedicated to providing you with the most pertinent information surrounding the stories, initiatives, and people within the counter human trafficking and sexual exploitation movement. To learn more about the The Liberty Coalition, visit: www.thelibertycoalition.com