Let's talk about sex trafficking, child abuse, and sex work in the time of COVID: a thread, written by a survivor of child sex trafficking.

When Hurricane Sandy happened in 2012, I was being trafficked in a brothel. I was 11 years old.
We had quotas we had to meet each day. If we didn't, we'd get beaten, or weren't allowed back inside til we made up for it.
He made us go out in the storm until he couldn't anymore.

Since we couldn't work in person, he forced us into camming. More porn, more streams, and with high demand, the stuff we had to do was even more extreme than usual. Hurtcore, BDSM, anal.
The CP community was blowing up because all the kids were home from school.

This meant it was even harder to get noticed amidst the sea of CP content all the pedos were pumping out; they all had the same idea as my pimp about profiting off the crisis.
So we moved more mainstream: Tumblr, Backpage, Pornhub, Dark Scandals.

We weren't just selling pictures and videos: the content we shared also served as advertisements for once the storm was over. Bookings on Backpage and requests for streams blew up.

Some of the most painful, violent dates I ever had were in the weeks after Sandy. Guys were anxious and pent-up after spending the week inside getting off to porn without access to their usual relief: us.
Right now, people have been pent up for months.

Right now, sex workers & sex trafficking victims' lives are at risk, as pimps & poverty force victims & SWers to keep working amidst the outbreak.
Even more SWers are turning to camming to support themselves.
Even more kids are trapped with their abusers, just like I was in 2012.

The same day that Pornhub announced it would be giving free premium subscriptions to Italy, videos of me being raped as a toddler were uploaded to Pornhub.
It took days, multiple reports, frantic emails, & threats of legal action for them to be taken down.

A month or two later, the same videos were uploaded again. This time, it took two weeks for the FBI and NCMEC to force Pornhub to remove the videos after they refused to do so. The video of me being violently raped as a 9-year-old had over 20 thousand views.

PH's traffic is through the roof right now because of COVID.
I get it: you're bored, anxious, & horny. There's nothing wrong w/porn or masturbation.
But people need to be aware of the increased risk of kids being trafficked, & vulnerable SWers being exploited by these porn sites.

Pay for your porn. Try to get your porn directly from the models as opposed to third party platforms like Pornhub who take most of the pay. Keep an eye out for videos of "teens" who look just a bit too young, or adults who look just a bit too drunk to consent.

Report any child pornography you may see to the authorities (links below).
Most kids aren't being trafficked in brothels like I was. They're having anger taken out on them by parents who are stressed & exhausted. They're being molested by family members; coerced by online creeps.

Educate your kids on how to stay safe online. Check in with friends who have kids, or any young people you may know.
Reports of child abuse have dropped, because most reports come from adults: teachers, doctors who notice something is wrong. Be vigilant.

Donate to COVID relief funds, especially ones supporting SWers. The lack of relief is a huge reason so many SWers are either forced online or continue to work in-person. It also means that SWers screwed over by platforms like OnlyFans or PH can't just quit & lose their income.

Be informed and be aware. Listen to survivors and sex workers when they tell you what they need. Ask what you can do to help. If something seems wrong, don't wait for someone else to do the right thing or think it's not your problem: look closer, ask questions, call for help.

Links for reporting child pornography:
NCMEC: http://report.cybertip.org 
C3P: http://cybertip.ca 
IWF: http://report.iwf.org.uk 
Twitter: https://help.twitter.com/forms/cse 

Child abuse hotlines:
US/CA: http://childhelp.org/hotline 
UK: http://nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/report
AUS: http://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/cfca-resource-sheet/reporting-child-abuse-and-neglect
List of international child abuse hotlines: http://childhelplineinternational.org/child-helplines/child-helpline-network
Domestic violence hotline: http://www.thehotline.org 
Rape/incest hotline: http://rainn.org 

SW relief funds:
UK: http://gf.me/u/ymknqa 
US (NYC): http://gf.me/u/yjskkm 
US (DC): http://gf.me/u/ymkv8g 
CAN: http://maggiesto.org/covid19 

Best Practices for COVID-19 Risk Reduction for FSSWers: http://docs.google.com/document/d/1vuX-1ml5dynv5XfTr7Dxm-tHjixHhoAltsRSKKYvf1k