Reaching Out

While in Moscow during the World Cup this past summer, we reached out to trafficked and sexually exploited women across the city. But, as the sex industry only exists due to male demand, we also reached out to sex buyers in hopes of inspiring change in their minds and hearts. We set up a fake ad online for a woman in prostitution and gathered the email addresses of many men...

“You don’t really look like you belong here. What are you doing here?” A man at the porn convention approached me and from our conversation I realized he assumed I was there as an adult performer. After I told him I wasn’t, he paused and looked closely at my face and then made that comment and asked me that question. What was I doing here? He was surprised to learn...

Header Photo: A female and male trafficker react after Russian police arrive at their apartment, where they were trafficking nine girls. Before I share this story, I want to acknowledge that the “we” in this article title refers not only to the Exodus Cry Outreach team, but also to the Russian NGO Alternativa, Russian journalists, law enforcement, and most importantly, the courageous exploited young women who reached out for help....

On a cool Atlanta night, our outreach van pulled into the parking lot of a dingy-curtained motel. A few team members slipped out and approached a young woman, perhaps just 18 or 19, standing by the motel door, her hair pulled back in a bun. They offered her a single pink rose—a hotline number was attached with twine—and spoke loving, encouraging words to her. I watched from the window as...

Anya is a 22-year-old white Russian girl offering all kinds of “erotic services” in Moscow, whose ad could be found on an international escorting website. During the World Cup, sex buyers (aka “Johns”) scoured the internet looking for women they could purchase nearby. Many came across Anya’s ad and sent her a text. Here are two actual text exchanges between Anya and prospective sex buyers. Chat #1 Chat #2 But...

The forests in and around Moscow have become “outdoor brothels” where sex buyers flock to each night. With prostitution being illegal in Russia, these locations provide a veil of separation from the more visible city environment. As we shared in a previous post, men will often drive up in their cars to a parked van in a remote forest location. This van will be filled with women, many of whom...

For the past several weeks our Director of Outreach and Intervention, Helen Taylor, has been leading a team in Moscow as they reach out to trafficked and exploited women across the city during the 2018 World Cup. Since the LuBlue: Love Russia campaign began, Helen and her team have worked with local churches to launch 24/7 prayer, train Russians in reaching the exploited, and lead outreach to women being sold...

A middle-aged Russian man drives along the outskirts of Moscow on a snowy night, the stench of vodka still on his breath. He spots a woman standing on the side of the road and immediately turns down that dark road. Driving past her he continues driving deep into the cold forest where the ambient light grows dim. His car pulls to a stop near a van with many faces peering...

The documentary film I Am Jane Doe depicts the great battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex trafficking on Backpage.com. Here are some facts about this compelling and timely film. 1. It’s about sex trafficking in the US While our own documentary Nefarious: Merchant of Souls investigated the sex trade world-wide, I Am Jane Doe—directed by Mary Mazzio and recently released...

“Yesterday is not today.” Those words circled through me as we drove towards Houston. I knew I was meant to be in this car moving towards the Justice Rally outreach. What I did not know was what I was walking into and how I would be changed. As a survivor of sex trafficking I live with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) every day. All survivors do. PTSD, basically, is when...