The John School

Our team needed to be in two places at once yesterday; we had a few interviews scheduled in Los Angeles and we also had an invite to sit in on a "john school" in San Francisco.

By the votes of the majority, I was chosen to take a 9 pm flight out of LA on Friday to attend the school. I wasn't looking forward to a late night adventure on San Francisco's public transportation but it ended up not being as bad as I thought. The train (BART) was full of European travelers and our complete ignorance of San Francisco bonded us.

The john school was incredible. San Francisco has a re-education program for johns who are first time offenders. (If you don't know, the term "john" refers to the clients of prostitutes). Instead of slapping the johns with a bunch of punishments the idea is to educate them on the entire scope of prostitution-- how it feeds and funds exploitation and how it adds to the greater world of human trafficking.

The program is a great success. The number of guys going back out there doing the same thing drops dramatically.

It was a little weird for me to walk into a room full of johns. There were 21 of them there yesterday; some were Caucasian, some African-American, some Hispanic and some were foreigners. Some had been caught in bars lured by an undercover cop, some inferred that they were victims of their own sexual addictions and some had prowled the internet looking for a good time. They were old and young and every age in between.

What they all had in common was that they had been caught and were charged with agreeing to, or actually engaging in sexual acts in exchange for compensation or money.

At the beginning of the day the atmosphere in the room was a mix of shame and attitude. Their dark, dirty secret had been revealed to the world, exposed to the light of day and it made them uncomfortable. And yet, wasn't it their right to go to a prostitute? After all, she was out there asking for it. Wasn't this kind of behavior a sign of being a true man?

What surprised me the most was how the guys were treated. They weren't condemned and they weren't judged. Their actions obviously were but not who they were as people. There was a genuine atmosphere of helpfulness and a true desire to help these guys understand the damage their actions cause. The guys responded to that openness and really listened.

By the end of the day their attitude has shifted dramatically. There was much more of an understanding of the implications of their actions, for themselves (the dangers of STD’s and HIV, what happens if they are caught again) and for the women (exploitation, violence, depression). Will some of these guys go back out there and seek out prostitutes? No doubt they will. Will some never again engage in that sort of activity? Definitely. And that’s pretty awesome.

Stopping human trafficking by stopping demand is a pretty great way to go about it.

--Ro

Last minute in Las Vegas

Well sort of on a whim, we decided to hit up Las Vegas on our way back from Mexico to Los Angeles. Originally we had no plans of hitting up Nevada because we wanted to focus strictly on the west coast, but we just felt like it would be a good idea. After all, Las Vegas is "sin city". Ever wonder why "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"? Its because they don't want anyone else to find out.

We left Tijuana late at night immediately after an interview (the third of the day) and drove through the night to Nevada. It's incredible how loopy everyone gets in a van delirious with sleep deprivation and on a sugar high. I actually fell asleep for part of the time with the heater blowing air directly into my gaping mouth only to wake up with a sore throat! Sort of funny to everyone except me. :p

Anyhow, we woke up early in Las Vegas and hit up a few contacts. So of the "big fish" fell through because of short notice, but we got to talk to some really great people who work in trafficking prevention there.

About 15minutes after we got out of the car, a police officer pulls up, "You guys lost?". Turns out we had successfully found the "most dangerous corner" in all of LV. Man, we're good.
Spent the rest of the day interviewing and talking with folks. Got hassled by casino security; apparently they don't take too kindly to people filming their patrons. oops. Who knew. But the footage is safe and we got TONS of great info.

Aside from all the horrible stuff that is fueled by the atmosphere and attitude there, the strip really is an amazing place to see.

A Glimpse of Tijuana

Tijuana is a unique city. Perched on the very edge of Mexico the whole city seems smashed up against the tall fence that marks the US/Mexico border. It's unique in other ways too. In the "North Zone" (the red light district) young women line the streets their faces blank, their short skirts too short and their faces plastered with make-up.

Red light districts exist everywhere in the world but some are more obvious than others. Tijuana is the first place I've been where so many women line the streets. I've seen brothels, I've seen a few ladies here and there... but not so many all at once all on the same road.

A few nights ago we talked to three American men on the strip and asked them where we could find the youngest girls. "All the classy women work in these bars," they said pointing towards the bright neon lights of two high end bars. "They're older and they do it by choice. It's good money. The younger ladies, the underage ones, they're on the street."

When I asked they if they thought the girls wanted to be there he said, "Of course they do. They probably have family and kids somewhere and they need the money. If it wasn't for us they wouldn't be able to feed their kids. They wouldn't be able to make any money and they'd probably starve."

I clarified. So you're doing them a favor?
"Absolutely. We're helping them"

Right. Nice help. Then why don't you just give them your money and leave? Are you really so benevolent that you actually care about the fate of these women? Do you even know if she has kids or why she needs the money? And do you really thing they choose to prostitute themselves if they have to do it in order to feed their kids?

I didn't ask these questions but I wanted to. I also wanted to punch them all but I resisted. Instead I walked away saddened by the lies and excuses people tell themselves to justify their perversions and saddened by the lives these women lead standing on street corners late into the night waiting for cash.

West Coast Documentary Project

The time is upon us. Tomorrow we venture off into the wild. The Human Trafficking documentary that we've been planning is about to start.

For one month, our team of five will travel up the west coast from Mexico, through the US, and into Canada. We will be conducting interviews both of those who are tasked with raising awareness about human trafficking, but with individuals who deal in the enforcing of laws against it. We hope for the opportunity to talk with people who have been affected by it too. Human Trafficking is a huge issue in todays world with the US and Europe being the final destination for many victims.

We'll be following the trails of Human Trafficking up the west coast over the course of the next month and posting our adventure here. With cameras in tow and a fire under our feet, we trek the coast against human defeat!