Check out their website www.exoduscry.com They are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
I posted some additional information and links to films in the Modules Tab of your Canvas course.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Guest Speaker From Exodus Cry
On Tuesday the class heard a passionate presentation from Helen Taylor of Exodus Cry, a Kansas City based organization that works to get women and children out of the sex trade. Helen is also an artist, who uses her work to bring attention to these issues There is a short documentary about her "In Her Shoes"
art stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaYMdlw8_AY&t=2s
Check out their website www.exoduscry.com They are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
I posted some additional information and links to films in the Modules Tab of your Canvas course.
Check out their website www.exoduscry.com They are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
I posted some additional information and links to films in the Modules Tab of your Canvas course.
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Hope House Contributions
The spring 2019 Gender Media class voted to give donations to Hope House, a local domestic violence shelter. Thanks for participating in t...
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Students presented about various gender and LGBTQ issues around the world. This gave us a lot to think about in terms of issues and situ...
Helen opened my eyes that sex trafficking is not just prostitution but it is also stripping and pornography. once she explained why it was very clear on how the effects of stripping and the adults film industry had the same effects on women who were in the sex trafficking ring, i finally saw the connection and was really surprised but at the same time is made sense. i feel her artwork helps the public see what is really going on that how immoral this issue is. i think she also did a great job of explaining how so many people sweep this problem under the rug or say its a choice to go into these fields and i agree with Helen. i strongly agree that ignoring these problems will make them worse and people are refusing to do something about it. id like to do a community service project/outreach project to help raise awareness that these women are in a vicious cycle and they don't choose to go into this lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteHelen opened my eyes that prostitution was so big. I knew that it was a problem overseas. I will never go to a strip club anyways I never had the urge to go to a strip club and how that can be considered prostitution is crazy. I looked at brothels and porn as prostitution because they are being paid to have sex. I also knew that some prostitution goes on in some areas in Kansas city out on the streets. I think it was odd that there are 48 rules to the pimp game and that they consider it a game. Horror field is the same way with these horror factor haunted houses as looking at it as a game, they tortured people to their breaking point until they have to leave and those people are scared for life so it wouldn't surprise me that prostitutes are treated the same way. The myths about prostitution really opened my eye. I knew that young girls would watch porn and want to do those actions to a guy. People in the past have tried to do something like that to me and I told them to get out of my house so I would figure that it happens to kids to the father or mother. I have always been a conservative living among individuals I hardly knew because they all watched porn and I didn't and I can tell you first hand those people do have different look at sex in general. I feel really bad for the girls in porn now I didn't before because I thought they wanted it for the fun a lot of girls act like that. I do believe that prostitution should be looked at as a serious crime along with very many things that gives people trauma based on what people do to an individual.
ReplyDeleteWithin the first five minutes of listening to Helen speak I knew she was so passionate about what she was doing. As she continued talking about prostitution, pornography, and sex trafficking you could just tell that she was not going down without a fight. She wanted to right an injustice and save so many women. I hope one day I can find a career I'm that passionate about.
ReplyDeleteHer story about wanting to give a woman a rose and show her that she is beautiful both on the inside and out, that she has a purpose in this world, and that she is worthy of love and compassion. I also, want to show people that their past does not define them and that they are capable of greatness despite the struggles and challenges they have faced. No one is ever too far gone.
There were two main parts that struck me the most about Helen’s speech. The first was the myth that prostitution was a choice and it was somehow empowering women and the second was her artwork about the women’s shoes. Helen pointed out that the word choice may have a different definition when it comes to prostitution. The “choice” could be either become homeless or become a prostitute, that could be their only choice. There is also nothing empowering about being raped, assaulted, or exposed to diseases. Despite these horrible myths about prostitution, Helen makes a beautiful work of art with so much meaning behind it. How she uses the women’s high heels as a representation of the chains that they carry is thought provoking and inspiring. Those high heels were a representation of their old life that they have left behind.
I really enjoyed listening to Helen speak and can’t wait to watch the documentaries she talked about at the beginning of class.
Paige R
After watching the film Nefarious: Merchant Bodies I realized how sex trafficking is a global problem. The film investigated sex trafficking in countries around the world and how it is different in each country. I learned that sex trafficking is a big problem in Eastern European countries. It was shocking to learn that girls families sell them to the traffickers. I understand that the families were in poverty and it was about their only way to make money, but it is not humane to sell someone for their body, especially your own daughter. At one point the film mentioned that in Cambodia 80-90% of girls are sold by their families. That statistic was astounding to me, I do not understand how the government has not stepped up and put a stop to that epidemic. The film also focused on how it is easy to think that women chose the lifestyle that they live, especially in the legal brothels. But, that is rarely the case. Women are usually either kidnapped, sold into the slavery, or there by manipulation. Even in the legal brothels the women are usually sold there by traffickers or their families. If people weren't too busy judging the women in these situations, then maybe it would be easier to end sex trafficking.
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to the issue of sex trafficking in my youth group during middle and early high school. I was able to volunteer at exodus cry and grasp a better understanding of the issue worldwide. As I grew out of youth group, I stopped volunteering. Hearing Helen speak in class rekindled the fire and passion I had to help. I have watched nefarious and am currently watching liberated and plan on attempting to have the film shown on campus to raise awareness. This issue of sex trafficking continues to heavy my heart. I am a firm believer of raising women up to feel beautiful and confident in their bodies, allowing them to have respect and high morals. on the flip side I believe men should be raised knowing their worth as well on top of knowing how to respect themselves and women. I think both sides of sex trafficking should be provided with resources to recover from either prostitution or an addiction. I absolutely loved Helen's visual aid of the shoes and that being the representation of being set free and able to walk into a new life. I hope change only continues and one day human trafficking will be abolished. From here on out I hope to continue volunteering and making any difference I can.
ReplyDeletePeyton Milstead
Helen's speech and passion for this subject is incredible. Before hearing her speak, I had little to no knowledge of the lives prostitutes and those who are sex trafficked and the horrible things that were being done to the victims. As she continued her speech I grew more and more aware of stereotypes and myths that I had adopted in my ignorance. For example, I thought that women (and men) who were prostitutes were there by their own choice. But then I learned that often prostitution was the only way for some individuals to avoid being homeless or other desperate situations. I Also learned that prostitutes and people who are sex trafficked are subjected to forms of torture, and have critical levels of PTSD- as high as post-war veterans who experienced traumatic things in combat. And when porn is involved, the person getting paid may be threatened with no pay or worse if they don't consent on camera to do the acts. Porn is directly related to prostitution and sex trafficking. Helen stresses that women trapped in the sex industry need to know they are valuable and loved, because they are constantly surrounded by people who just want to take advantage, abuse, and threaten them. That is why, when she goes into hubs of sex trafficking and prostitution, she comes with gifts and a message of love and hope without passing judgement or shaming the victims she comes in contact with. I admire how strong Helen is in her faith in God as she goes into dangerous situations and shows His love to the people. This is the kind of person I want to be.
ReplyDelete-Ellie M.
I found Helen Taylor’s informative lecture to be pretty intriguing and thorough. Much of the information she touched on I have been exposed to before but she introduced new pathways of thought into my mind on the issues she spoke of. Taylor spoke of “legalized prostitution” and pointed out the flaws and discrepancies in the system by sharing that much of the prostitutes are not citizens of the countries they are in and also about how much coercion, persuasion, and manipulation are often used in these sexual work environments. I appreciate the way she described what she thought of the connection between modeling, the entertainment industry, and the porn industry in relation to sex trafficking. How she pinpointed the fact that legitimate work should have benefits whether it be job security, ensured safety, health benefits, maternity leave, or reasonable hours and that prostitution did not harbor those positives. I also appreciated how she talked about consent and how easily people can be manipulated into legal compliance by manipulative figures. She talked about the book Pimpology I think it was called or whatever the book was about a man describing the best way to pimp and manipulate the subjects who were providing sexual labor. I found the existence of that book to be a little surprising but after thinking about it relative to everything she was lecturing about, I quickly felt naive. Taylor’s lecture was packed with valuable information and was very passionate and compelling. I found the way she ended on a positive note with hope for the future and unification between genders to be a good ending.
ReplyDelete- Murielle M.
I didn’t attend class, but I watched the movie the exodus cry. I liked the movie because it was very informational and went into great detail. On the other hand, it was very sad and at a certain point I felt like a sense of hopelessness as if can you really put an end something this big? What makes it even harder is that places like Amsterdam is trying to control it by making it legal which is a terrible idea. I feel like it just feeds an addiction and when that void can’t be filled at some point costumers tend to up the scale to fill it. Even though its legal in Amsterdam most of the girls or women are not in the business because they want to be. They are either forced into it, mentally tricked, or another angle. I really liked when they acted it out in the beginning and tried to give us a first person view of how everything goes down. It gives me a better understanding of how everything goes down and its terrible. When I found out that people were really going up to parents and asking to buy their kids and parents were really selling them knowing what that child is going to go through it disgusting. Joshua Dyson
ReplyDeleteI was very interested into what Helen had to say. It really opened my eyes to a lot and showed me that this is a huge problem we have in the world. The lecture was very informative and she had a good point in which sex trafficking is modern day slavery. I had never thought there were so many ways prostitution could happen and how men are using these women. Its crazy to me to think that these women are living a life or death situation and its honestly really scary to think about. Helen and her team do things at a risky level and it takes a lot of courage to do what they do. I could tell she was so passionate about what she does and she knew that when she was only 16. I thought the lecture was packed with a full amount of information so that anybody who was curious, they could listen to Helen and get a better understanding of what happens in the world. There are so many places where sex trafficking happens and we don't even know about. Helen and her team are working hard to improve the world and make it a better place one step at a time. I thought the work she is doing with the shoes is a very powerful thing and it really shows that these women are trapped in these shoes and once they are set free there shoes are gone and they get to buy whatever pair of shoes they want. I always watched pretty women when
ReplyDeleteI was little and thought "wow she's beautiful" or "she's living the life" but all her glory started on the streets by being a prostitute. My eyes were opened once hearing from Helen and its a sad thing knowing these women are trapped in certain situations. These women are at a high risk of everything in life but they are having to perform in order not to be dead the next day. Its not a choice that these women take its a do or die type of job and its scary knowing its the rest of there life. What Helen and her team are trying to do is help these women with whatever they need and take care of them and help guide them to a better place.
Helen’s speech was very inciteful being that this is a topic that I have not been exposed to very often. I was not aware of the intricacies of sex trafficking and how it was exactly related to the sex industry as whole, I was a under the impression that they were two distinct things that weren’t related. I was unaware of how much coercion is involved with sex industry and how consent may be given on camera but in reality they have been coerced into being taped to say that. This dynamic makes it hard to look at the sex industry as a legitimate business for all parties involved. This idea of the sex industry not being a legitimate industry was touched on by the speaker as being a myth. I was also shocked by the fact legal prostitution is far from “clean” as the workers are often not provided any additional protection in comparison to preforming illegally. Helen also shed light on how different countries attempted to make prostitution legal and how these systems helped or harmed sex workers. These systems in place made me realize that often justice was not met for the real victims of sex trafficking.
ReplyDelete-Dylan Carnahan
Helen Taylor's speech really showed how much people may not know about sex trafficking. Her first story really shows how much she loves trying to help girls get out of this horrible industry. She always said how she wants to show the girls that they are beautiful and that there is always going to be somebody there for them when they want to get out of this industry. I never knew how bad these memories could be. Helen said that these memories could be as bad as a soldier has after he gets back from war. Many of the girls that Helen talked to said they either tried to commit suicide and got saved or even got thoughts about suicide. Many of these women that are in this industry have come into it in many different ways. The sad part is some of the girls that go through these horrible things can be as young as 15 years old.
ReplyDelete-Tayler Metzger
I was very moved by the speaker's presentation over sex trafficking, especially when she talked about how she got started getting involved with that kind of work. She told a story about her strolling through London as she shopped, when suddenly being in a completely different area and scenery than where she had previously been a few moments later. She talked of there being sex shops and peep shows, and how she saw a woman whom she couldn't help but feel the need to give a rose to because she wanted the women to know her worth. She also talked about some myths surrounding sex trafficking and prostitution. For example, she talked about how society paints that lifestyle as glamorous, and many people still view it as a way to find fortune and as a way to make all their dreams come true, when in reality the conditions these women face are far worse than any job because they have no rights. One of the most shocking things she talked about was how Exodus Cry’s film crew caught a porn film producer saying that he wanted to capture the pain and the barrier being broken on a girls face on camera. Another thing that shocked me was when she talked about how women who work in strip clubs often feel like they are reenacting the abuse by flipping the tables, because the women are taking the mens money but the men are not allowed to touch her, so in a way the women feels like she has more control. All in all I loved the presentation and learned alot from it. I would gladly sit through it again.
ReplyDelete-Lexi Clary
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ReplyDeleteHelen’s presentation was very informative and a huge eye opener towards my own thoughts on where all sex trafficking existed. Her arguments towards the myths of sex trafficking and statistics of those involved and harmed was a huge help to my own understanding. I think her work with Exodus Cry is very important and I’m sure in over 10 years she has seen a lot in her work. I thought it was interesting that she brought up the Nordic Equality Model to represent that there are better solutions to outlaw and try to control sex trafficking. Furthermore, I agreed with her argument because a lot of people, women primarily, get caught up as victims in some way to this trade that never wished to be involved in the first place, while others may have joined to better their lives and soon wanted to back out too but became stuck. It was devastating to hear that the mortality rate, I recall with these sex slaves, has increased 60 times in recent studies. Sadly, I’m not surprised due to the massive exposure of unhealthy conditions, disease, violence, and drugs. The last interested thing I wrote down was that during major events, like the super bowl, trafficking is more active in that designated area. My assumption is that tourists come from all over the world; the focus is shifted towards the game and preparations for the event. Scary enough, I can easily imagine increased abductions and trafficking in this instance.
ReplyDeleteD Doss
I appreciate Helen Taylor for coming to our class to speak about sex trafficking. Her speech was very informative and quite emotional to me. I believe we all knew that sex trafficking was a thing but the way she explained it and spoke about it, personally gave me a different perspective on the topic. I was aware that girls are taken when they're younger from different areas of the world and forced into sex trafficking. I had researched this topic before but it still blows my mind these things happen. It is horrible that these women are manipulated and forced into sex trafficking. When she mentioned that book that a pimp wrote and how he had thanked the abusers of these women for doing the dirty work, that shocked me. It's difficult to believe that there are people with that mentality among us.
ReplyDeleteSomething that caught my attention was the passion that Ms. Taylor has about this issue. The way she spoke about wanting to give those girls roses made me emotional. I feel like she is the light at the end of each of those women's tunnel. She is fighting for justice for these women. I have mad respect for her and her good heart. Her passion has helped so many women. I truly appreciate her speaking to us.
My biggest take away from the guest speaker was that sex trafficking is much more prominent than I had originally thought. Sex trafficking is not something that I often think about when I think about crime. It seems as if though the media fails to cover this subject. I feel like if the media made a bigger deal about sex trafficking crimes then some light would be shed on this illegal industry. Another thing that I learned was that a lot of women get tricked into the sex trade through drug use or modeling advertisements. I would think that an advertisement in a paper or online would be safe since most advertising is highly regulated. Obviously that is not the case.
ReplyDeleteWhat really caught me off guard was how common the sex trade is in other countries. It seems like every country has to deal with this to an extent. Helen has been to many different countries around the world and has helped girls basically everywhere. I knew sex trafficking was a thing and it happens everywhere but I had no idea how much the industry is thriving. It is disgusting.
I feel terrible for anyone that is stuck in the human sex trade. They are treated like objects and it is so sad. Helen and the rest of Exodus Cry is doing God's work.
Ryon Holmes
ReplyDeleteHaving the speaker from Exodus Cry, I felt a lot of relative points coming from her that related to me cause coming from a city were pimping and prostitution is a big thing thats going on. And not only is it big thing but not putting myself in that bracket but some of my friends I hang with are pimps, there's two kinds of pimping going back home there are the women that are out walking the streets and there is the women that are in strip clubs, the second way is not as risky as having women walk the street just because it's in the club and more low profile but hanging with them it's easy for me to spot whos doing what. But I thought the speaker brought many good points in how the women think and how pimps think which are things i've heard all before. Pimps do look for the women that are already at their lowest or are broken and feel like they can be that missing piece for them. But when they portray that to the women and they take their guidance with what they say, the pimps use that as a debt they have to pay for helping them come up. And the reason with pimps beating girls, it's all apart of the game and what each woman signs up for, a pimp will beat his girls for various reasons, being out of pocket, not bringing home money, or to keep them in check. Being out of pocket is when a prostitute is not obeying the rules of her pimp, she is not maintaining her self, entertaining other pimps, entertaining another man if he's not talking about the fee. But I could go on and on about the lifestyle but i really enjoyed her coming in and talking about her program.
Helen’s presentation was very informative and a huge eye opener towards my previous thoughts on sex trafficking. Her arguments against the myths of sex trafficking and stats of those involved and harmed, were from the heart, as she talked so passionately about them, which I feel made her presentation even more touching and eye opening. I completely agreed with all of her arguments, because a lot of people, mostly women get caught up as victims in this "business," that never wished to be involved, while others may have joined to better their lives, and became stuck in the system. In one of my other classes we are reading a book called, "Renting Lacy," and its about a women who tells the story of a 12 year old girl who has become caught up in prostitution, because she is so in love with her pimp. One chapter was about her first night being pimped out, and she wasn't even worried about having to forcibly have sex with another man, the only thing she could think about was that her pimp was going to allow her to sleep in the same bad as him when she was finished. That just lets me know how naive and young most of the girls who get caught up in this. I was very surprised when she said that people use big sporting events, and things that like to bring "their" girls to, to make more money. I was unaware that this was hapening. I am glad that I got to hear Helen's presentation, as she was so passionate about her work and I too hope that one day I can put myself into something so important and be able to share it with the world as she does. I think her work with Exodus Cry is very important, and I pray that she continues with her amazing work.
ReplyDelete-Kayvona Bragg
I think she did an amazing job. Helen kept me intrigued from start to finish and I don't think that has ever happened before. She spoke with so much passion you could tell that she works in this profession for a reason. Listening to her story made me realize how sheltered I am and that I am blessed to be in a stable household, able to attend a private university and not have to worry where my next meal will come from. The most interesting thing that stood out to me was when she said 1 to 1.5 million men in Germany buy women for sex everyday and that 50% of the people she works with has been in the sex industry before. You don't really think about how sick people can be and it happens right in front of our eyes. This is definitely a form of slavery and needs to be stopped, however solving every case is impossible. I appreciate her time, respect, and what she does. She is a brave person and I hope she continues to strive and impact people and their lives.
ReplyDeleteJeremi Barnes
Listening to Helen's speech about what she does and hearing her speak about the human trafficking that is going on in the world was very empowering. After her speech, I had the urge to watch both of the films she mentioned and it just made me see how cruel this sort of thing is. In the Liberated documentary, there were some explicit things that happened and it did anger me seeing these college boys taking advantage of the girls, but it was also wrong for some of girls to actually let themselves be treated the way they were in the film. I found it disgusting. I usually avoid hearing or seeing things like this, but after listening to the speech it made me realize that I need to see and know about these sort of issues, that way I can spread the word and help out too. To be honest, I did not think this issue was as bad as Helen explained and I can tell by the way she spoke, it really impacts her. I can not imagine the fear these women go through. I do not understand how twisted the mentality of some people are and how they have the power to do these horrible things to these women. I am glad that there are people like Helen who are trying to stop these sort of acts.
ReplyDelete