Thread by @Purple1Nana

An open letter (thread) to @ewarren Sen. Elizabeth Warren, candidate for president of 🇺🇸

1/As a teenager and young adult, I was a victim of sex trafficking and oppose your current stance on ”sex work.” Domestic violence, child sexual abuse and foster care preceded my entry into

2/sex trafficking, which took place in eight major U.S. cities, including Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver and New York.
I sustained physical and mental injuries that endure some 34 years later.
Through therapies, I pieced my life back together in my 20s, started a family,

3/earned a degree, and like you, Sen. Warren, as a single mom of two, forged a career in higher education. However, at the age of 46, my health had deteriorated to the point where I suffered a nervous and physical breakdown. It is urgent that we prevent others from such a fate.

4/It has taken far too long to develop a national policy to combat prostitution. We know that the sex trade, as it were, flourishes in environments conducive to human traffickers. The international pimp lobby—they earn billions—tout “health and safety” in an effort to

5/decriminalize themselves and the buying and selling of sex acts. But we know this only increases demand and fuels the problem.
Survivors worldwide are uniting behind a different approach. We support the #EqualityModel
It decriminalizes the prostituted, provides ample support

6/services to help those survivors exit, and makes buying human beings for sex an enforceable, criminal offense. When implemented correctly, it is proven to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking and, according to @nordicmodelnow has been adopted in Sweden, Norway, Iceland

7/Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Ireland, and most recently, Israel.
Senator, as both a survivor and lifelong Democrat, I implore you to #ListenToSurvivors
Many of us actively campaign to #EndDemand in the USA and are available to speak with you or a representative.