MY
Biography
Hi there, I’m Laura, The Abolitionist! Welcome to my blog. I’m a Seattleite, seeking to end slavery throughout the United States. I’m a Combat Medic in the Army Reserves, I work full time as an Emergency Medical Technician in King County, and I’m a student for a degree in Criminal Justice. I hope my degree will afford me the knowledge to work within a task force designed to combat human trafficking. I started this blog to provide vetted information about the sex industry to those wanting to stay informed, get involved, and join me in the fight to end slavery.
The Fuel
Behind My Fight
The brothel was dimly lit and the sour smell of body odor lurked throughout. I was led, sandwiched between two Indian men, up a stained, carpeted staircase, in the hopes of meeting some of “their women”. I felt sickened by vulnerability as we neared the top floor, thinking I had made an error in judgment when I told them I had come alone. Just as visions of a life spent forcefully working for these two self-proclaimed pimps began to infiltrate my mind, we made it to Room 42. Upon entering the room, I immediately realized there was little I could do for the girl inside. Her immaturity, draped in a silk, see-through robe, was physically painful to me. But what was most conflicting, was feeling overwhelmed by the uncertainty of how I could help her. At that moment, I could offer her nothing but my empathy.
This is Sonagochi, Asia’s largest red-light district, and one of South Asia’s key human trafficking hubs. Located in Kolkata, India, Sonagachi is a place where 11,000 women and children line up, daily, ascribed a market value, and told their greatest asset lies between their thighs. I spent a sleepless night in Sonagachi, touring brothels, buying my way in to speak with prostitutes and interviewing peddlers. My night in Sonagachi put me on a quest to uncover this worldwide sex industry. Throughout three years of independent, international travel, I took every opportunity to educate myself about the sex trade. I interviewed “lady-boys”, as they call themselves, enslaved by bars throughout Thailand. I hung out in the backs of pubs in China, gambling with local men only to build relationships with the escorts accompanying them. I traveled west to speak with the call-girls in De Wallen, the legally protected red-light district of Amsterdam, viewing the difference legality makes in the safety of these workers. I witnessed sex work all throughout the world, much of which was backed by the sale and purchase of trafficked women and children.
