BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

I have had the pleasure of meeting & working with, in my domestic violence advocacy work - a number of former escorts and/or strippers. Most are quite intelligent having been drawn into a world they had no idea how to get out of. Almost all of them suffer from permanent, irreversible damage to their reproductive system. Almost all of those I know tell me while they didn't abuse alcohol or street drugs - they did abuse prescription drugs in order to deaden their emotional connection to the men they "serviced." Almost all had their pat "stories" to tell their clients to help sanitize the paid rape. All said to me they lied to their clients about how "great" they were or how much they enjoyed the session and what they did for a living. Almost all suffered from some form of poverty, and after leaving "the business" now have: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, mood and dissociative disorders as consequences of prostituti...

by Kirsten Powers It turns out that Craigslist is about a lot more than second-hand furniture or an apartment rental: Prosecutors charge that it's a prime part of the modern slave trade. The Web site has become one of the most effective (and free) tools for human traffickers to ply their hideous trade. Its former "erotic services" section has allegedly been a boon to the human scum who post children and women for sale. Incidents like the ones involving "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff and the New York radio reporter allegedly killed by a teenager who responded to a Craigslist ad are apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has referred to the Craigslist section then known as "erotic services" as an "Internet brothel." Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin accuses it of being a significant source of child prostitution in her city. In 2008, the attorneys general of 40 states charged that the site's "ero...

This book is about time! I just hope that law enforcement in North America will READ & HEED! from Abyss2Hope: The CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corp) News Sunday interview with Victor Malarek about his book " The Johns, Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It " highlights the dynamics of an industry, much of it run by organized crime. What he talks about has been talked about for years by women who are regularly dismissed as sex negative or prudes . Malarek rejects the notion that the prostitutes are the problem and holds men involved in any way (other than when they are prostituted) responsible instead. He rightfully points out that this industry is not about sexual needs, it is about power and control. This is what men are buying. Money gives them the feeling that they have the right to act out their need for power and control. When we understand this reality we can begin to focus on primary prevention of the harm done through sex trafficking, both international and domestic. It...

I couldn't agree more with Ms. McLennan. Despite her unashamed life as a high-end escort, I have to agree that the law SHOULD BE GOING AFTER THEIR CLIENTS. Hit the demand not the supply will probably work were the reverse has failed miserably. I despise double-standards. I had a lot of dealings with Spitzer's office of Attorney General in 2004, was impressed with them and campaigned for his run for Governor. He had a take-no-prisoners, "the law IS the law" style I liked. Why then is he getting a pass? Why aren't clients of high-price escorts sent to 'John School' and publicly shamed like the guys who frequent streetwalkers? Why the double standard? By NATALIE McLENNAN I'm not naive. I know life isn't always fair and justice isn't truly blind. Yet Eliot Spitzer getting off scot-free and US Attorney Michael J. Garcia's saying, "We have determined that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against Mr. Spitzer," tests...

Finally! Something I have been saying all along. Get rid of the demand, not the supply. I even said it to an aide of then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in 2004... and they were very pro the idea! Who knew? -- Eliot, it was the hypocrisy that did you in. Sweden's sex law: Get the customer Once a radical model, it's now under consideration by other countries Selling sex isn't illegal in Sweden, but buying is — a radical approach to prostitution that faced ridicule when it was introduced nine years ago. Now, while Americans are preoccupied with the downfall of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a prostitution scandal, some countries are considering emulating the Swedish model, which prosecutes the client but views the prostitute as an exploited victim. Officials say the changed approach has reduced the demand for prostitutes and reshaped attitudes toward the sex trade. "We don't have a problem with prostitutes. We have a problem with men who buy sex," said Kajsa ...

KNOCK 3 TIMES ON THE STALL DOOR IF YOU WANT ME Come on! We all KNEW this was coming, right? Either this guy's really on someone's hit list or horror-of-horrors, he's a closeted man. Maybe its because I live in Sodom on the Hudson but what's so bad about being gay? But, Larry, the bathrooms at the airport? Gay escorts? Paying so no one would tell on you? The same guy as Rev. Ted Haggart? And Larry, couldn't you have found more savory ways to get your trim? Perhaps Larry's wife gave him a verbal beat down at home and has him a pretty short leash these days. Maybe Larry is in some sort of serious denial. I don't know. I do know where there's smoke there's fire. I know what its like finding out about someone you really care about and then having them deny and deny. And I know how awful going to the police about it all is too. And then of course, the person says whoever found out - in this case the Idaho Statesman newspaper - is scorned or on a w...