Liberty Line: Lawsuits, Investigations, and Public Outcry: The End of Pornhub?
Sign petition to hold Pornhub accountable and remove videos of rape, child sexual abuse, and violence against women.
Good morning Activists,
We’ve been doing quite a bit of brainstorming as the rebirth of a new year approaches. There will always be room for improvement and with that in mind, we aim to be the best resource of information around the topic of human trafficking and sexual exploitation we can be. This newsletter is for YOU and we’d like to ask for your feedback by answering the below questions sent to us via email at thelibertycoalition219@gmail.com or by via this google form HERE.
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All feedback is welcome and we thank you for yours!
Let’s take action together
In last weeks newsletter we featured a story written by 2 time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Nicholas Kristof. The story spoke of a survivor named Serena Fleites who’s exploitation was posted and monetized by Pornhub. After reading the write-up, many expressed a desire to make a contributions towards Serena. Because of the generosity of those individuals, Serena’s circumstance has changed drastically.
👉 If you’d like to join in donating, you can find her GoFundMe account here.
A petition by Knock Out Abuse West in Los Angeles to SHUT DOWN PORNHUB FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN has received over 500 signatures! The organization is asking that all videos that promote violence, rape, incest, and child abuse be removed immediately. Please help get this cause even more recognition.
👉 Sign the petition, here!
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..
ACTIVIST OF THE WEEK:
Raju Nepali
As a survivor of domestic violence and activist against sexual abuse and exploitation, Raju Napali has worked in India rescuing trafficked children for the past 13 years. Once a pastor in in Nepal, Raju shifted his life aim to anti trafficking efforts after he found out that a friend of his was being trafficked by her own husband in a brothel in Pune, India. After coming to her aid, Raju began to educate himself on this issue and organized awareness camps. In 2007 he founded an NGO called Duars Express Mail, a center dedicated to search and rescue operations of missing and trafficked persons. In 2015, Nepali also began a WhatsApp group where activist and agencies coordinate rescue efforts and share information on missing persons.
“There are sources, transits and destinations. The WhatsApp group has helped link people working in all three, bringing about better coordination.” By Nepali’s estimates, in the last five years, the WhatsApp group has helped various NGOs and government agencies to trace and rescue over 500 missing children, many of them trafficked, from all over the country.”
👉 Read more about his work here.
FOR YOUR EYES:
Pornhub Sued for $52 Million in Damages by 40 Victims of GirlsDoPorn Sex-Trafficking Operation
Opinion: It's a Sign of a Broken System When Only Credit Card Firms Can Force Pornhub to Change
Jeffrey Epstein Ex-Associate Jean-Luc Brunel Held Over Sex Crime Claims
U.N. Warns Child Labor, Trafficking on The Rise in Troubled Mali
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FOR YOUR EYES:
Pornhub Sued for $52 Million in Damages by 40 Victims of GirlsDoPorn Sex-Trafficking Operation: Mindgeek, the Toronto based parent company of Pornhub, is now being sued by 40 women who say it profited from a sex-trafficking operation by a content partner, Michael Pratt. Last year, Pratt was arrested by the FBI after leading a sex trafficking operation through the site, Girls Do Porn which was featured multiple times on Pornhub even after his arrest.
“The complaint said the videos remained on the Pornhub website and other sites owned by Mindgeek even after the sex-trafficking charges were filed, with some visible as recently as December 12. It presents claims from some of the women that Pornhub failed to take down videos after they were reported and the victims had pleaded with the company to remove them.”
👉 Since the lawsuit and the investigations by Visa and MasterCard, Pornhub swiftly deleted nearly 20 million videos, nearly 70% of its content. Read more about it here.
Opinion: It's a Sign of a Broken System When Only Credit Card Firms Can Force Pornhub to Change: In this op-ed for the Guardian, Professor John Naughton explains why we should be concerned that the only checks on Big Tech come from credit card companies. This is following the announcement that Mastercard, Visa, and Discover will cut financial ties with Pornhub following a New York Times article exposing the extent of child sexual abuse and illegal rape content on Pornhub.
👉 For context, read the New York Times article here.
“Satisfaction with the fact that MindGeek was pressured into deleting all the abusive material that had made it on to Pornhub needs to be tinged by the fact that it was a pair of payment-processing monopolies that pulled the switch.”
Jeffrey Epstein Ex-Associate Jean-Luc Brunel Held Over Sex Crime Claims: Former French modeling agent and Jeffrey Epstein associate, Jean-Luc Brunel was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of rape, assault, and human trafficking.
“US prosecutors have accused Mr Brunel - a close friend of Epstein - of procuring young girls for him. French police last year raided the offices of Karin Models, an agency founded by Mr Brunel, as well as Epstein's flat near the Arc de Triomphe. On Wednesday Mr Brunel was taken into custody at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Senegal, media reports say.”
U.N. Warns Child Labor, Trafficking on The Rise in Troubled Mali: The UNHCR found that both COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing political conflict in Mali have resulted in an increase of child forces labor in mines and in the military. Read about this human rights crisis and spread awareness!
“Millions of children were out of school for about six months due to the coronavirus pandemic in Mali, where security is worsening as militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have gained ground, making swathes of the country ungovernable. In August, frustration over insecurity, corruption and economic hardship led to Mali’s second coup in eight years.”
Denmark Toughens Rape Law to Include Sex Without Consent: On Thursday, Denmark finally criminalized sex without explicit consent. Previously, the law required alleged victims to provide evidence that there was force or that they could not fend off the assault.
“Denmark regularly leads indexes on gender equality and access to justice. Its sexual assault laws already criminalized marital rape, and the legal definition of rape includes acts other than sexual intercourse. Nevertheless, Danish women’s organizations have accused law enforcement and the justice system of failing to protect victims.”
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