LETTER TO CATHOLIC BISHOPS AND SALVATION ARMY
Sex
Workers Anonymous (formerly Prostitutes
Anonymous)
(702)
468-4529 Telephone
September 5, 2015
Re: Life and Death Communication Issues
Catholic Bishops & Associates
Via Email
Salvation Army
Human Trafficking Division
Via Email
Hello:
For those of you who do not know me, my
name is Jody Williams. I was involved in the sex industry from the
late 1970's to the mid-1980's. During that time, I not only was a
victim of sex trafficking myself, but I also was witnessing many
different types of trafficking as well. As well as witnessing
trafficking – I was also witnessing people trying to leave these
various situations – only to find either nothing to help them or
even outright barriers in their way.
When I was arrested during a very high
profile scandal in 1984 I was dubbed the “High Tech Madam”
(www.hightechmadam.com) –
I found I was unable to mount a defense for myself because I was
viewed as a criminal by our legal system who had no way of
understanding I was being “forced”. I knew there was no point
in trying to explain my plight because I'd already seen Linda
Lovelace try to tell the world how she'd been forced to film the XXX
“Deep Throat” at the point of a gun in 1980.
She was not believed. What did happen
to Linda however was she got scooped up by the anti-porn people who
used her to try and teach people about the evils of porn rather than
trafficking. People would hold up pornography not made by
trafficking victims and used that to diffuse the real issue. The
issue wasn't about the evils of porn, or whether porn should be
outlawed. The issue was that she was forced – and our legal
system wasn't set up for anything like this to have found help to get
away.
I said to myself I would not repeat
that mistake when I set out to do something about this. Another
mistake I felt she made was she sold a book about her story called
“Ordeal”. People used that to discount her story – saying she
was “only trying to sell a book”. To try and keep the message on
point – I refused over $1,000,000 in book and movie offers after my
arrest which are offered someone like me after such a high profile
arrest. I also formed our group as a 12 step group – instead of a
nonprofit.
The point of the 12 step structure was
for many reasons. One major one was that we “have no opinion on
outside issues”. Meaning we would not get caught up in the whole
anti-pornography debate where we would get our message lost as Linda
had been through already. Because no hotline had been set up before
for us to call, and because the eyes of the law viewed us as
criminals – we set up the first hotline ever for people to call for
help, or to report trafficking without fear of being arrested as an
accomplice.
Why? Because the only people really
witnessing trafficking were also considered “criminals” in the
eyes of the law as well. Customers, or “johns”, are the ones who
know where the trafficking is happening. Only they can't call the
cops either because to admit they've seen this activity is also
incriminating themselves. To encourage calls from these “johns”
- we therefore promised complete confidentiality, and the assurance
we were not associated with the cops, in order to generate tips.
Why? Because in our experience, the
hard core victims of trafficking are not allowed to call for help.
They're usually kept locked up in a house. They are often not
taught English if they don't speak it. They are not told where they
are. They're not even left alone for two minutes. So the only
person who usually sees them, knows where they are, knows how to get
to them, knows how the security is set up – is the “john”. The
show “8 Minutes” on TV recently was inspired by the fact that to
get to these victims we've been staging rescues by sending in “johns”
in a sting operation to get the victims alone where we can then get
them out away from the traffickers out a back door, or a back window,
etc.
Our program took off like a shot. We
were the only game in town so to speak when we launched our campaign
in August of 1987. The only other program around besides us was two
– there was the Children of the Night hot line and house for teens.
There was also the Mary Magdalene residential shelter in Reseda,
California.
However, there were major problems with
just those two programs from my view. First, I couldn't go to
Children of the Night because I was of legal age. I also couldn't go
to the MMP because I was escaping men who were involved in heavy duty
trafficking in connection with Iran Contra. Men who were scared of
what I'd tell the police so they were trying to kill me. In other
words, it was not safe.
Case in point about why “traditional”
shelters and even “safe houses” are not properly set up for our
types of victims and what I was wanting our country to change was the
fact that shelters like the Mary Magdalene Project were not set up
properly for our needs is best illustrated by what happened to Margo
Compton. This was a woman married to her trafficker/pimp who also
was a Hell's Angel and Aryan with “connections”. She had two
small children by this man and again to run without telling him where
the children were would leave her open to kidnapping charges against
her. No shelter or law enforcement is going to deny him his legal
rights of visitation. So what to do?
She turned to another biker in the gang
for protection at first. All he did was pimp her at his strip club
for a while. When she threatened to leave - this man threatened to
pimp out her two twin daughters. Finally in desperation she turned
to the legal system thinking if she did prosecute her trafficker –
she'd be protected. They put her, and the two twins, into a “safe
house”. But they failed to understand that the modern day sex
trafficker isn't just some “Huggy Bear” pimp on a streetcorner.
The police have also REFUSED to allow me to fully train them in
how modern day pimps operate in this country.
So what happened? Read here about her
murder, and the murder of her two small children for yourself to see
what happened to her in exchange for her trusting the system -
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/When-Jailbirds-Sing-It-was-the-pure-savagery-of-3018647.php
Now when I was escaping trafficking – I didn't trust the system
and I survived. I also created a different kind of system for these
types of victims that works. You will not ever hear of any victim
who came to us for help being found murdered like this because we
haven't lost one yet. But yet when I've tried to open up dialogues
with your groups, and safe houses you fund, on how to set up help for
women like Margo - you shut me down every time. Which doesn't
hurt me – but it does them.
There were other issues with just the
MMP. No they weren't set up to help trafficking victims who would
have people looking for them, but they also didn't take in men
and/or transgenders. They had no outpatient program either, nor
would they take in anyone with drug problems or mental health issues.
In my experience, those fresh away from traffickers would be
suffering from usually both. They would have been kept on drugs by
their traffickers, and also be suffering from severe PTSD, as well as
things like Stockholm Syndrome, or even brainwashing.
I had seen that many traffickers
brainwash their victims. This would be very frustrating to police,
social workers, etc. because the victim would literally fight to
return to their captor. If their captor(s) had been arrested –
this victim would then go and recreate an almost identical situation.
This was where these victims got the
false reputation they “wanted it” that at that time had cops,
social workers, probation, etc., all throwing up their hands feeling
it was futile to try and pull us out of these trafficking situations.
They just couldn't understand why, usually within 72 hours, of being
freed – they would either return to the same house or they'd go and
find a new pimp, or even return to the same organization. Most
would refuse to testify against their pimps – further confusing the
system.
Remember, the system used to have some
of the same viewpoints about domestic violence back then also. Back
in the 70's and 80's many cops would refuse to even go on domestic
violence calls for the same reasons – the victim would even
sometimes attack the officer when they'd try to arrest the attacker,
refuse to press charges, etc. Some because they'd been brainwashed,
some because their abuser had blackmail against them, others because
they knew he'd just be released in a few hours and then would come
back for them if they did. There was also very little understanding
of the laws with respect to child custody and visitation being a
factor also.
In other words, I knew a 1000 Mary
Magdalene houses wasn't going to solve the problem. This country had
to change the way it responded to domestic violence, rape, and child
abuse if anything were to be different. It also had to change the
way it responded to sex trafficking also. The problem was our whole
country wasn't set up to handle sex trafficking because they didn't
even believe it existed anymore. I know because whenever one of us
would try and talk about what we were seeing, and what was happening
to us – they thought we were hallucinating. Now how are the legal
system, and the mental health system, as well as the drug treatment
system, going to help us if they thought we're “tripping” every
time we try and talk about what was going on.
I saw it in my own program in Narcotics
Anonymous. I was told “you're as sick as your secrets” and that
I'm supposed to “practice vigorous honesty”- but when I'd try and
talk about seeing women loaded onto diplomats' planes to be sold for
a drug or oil deal by our own CIA – I would have people ask me if
I'd gotten high. Especially when I started talking about how the CIA
had been working with people producing TV shows where it was actually
just a cover for sex trafficking.
I refer to a film that wasn't released
in 1987 about Chuck Barris in his book “Confessions of a Dangerous
Mind”. Yes he talks about being a CIA operative while producing
the “Dating Game” in the film. But what he left out was how the
show used itself as a cover to scout attractive single women. How
the “dates” were expanded into other countries as a cover for
transporting women. How women who appeared on the show were also
working for an escort service being co-ran by local cops. So you
can imagine what counselors or drug treatment centers would respond
when someone would try and talk about these things - they'd lock us
up for 72 hour observation!
I mean think about it back before
Chuck's film was released with me talking about the “Dating Game”
being a cover for CIA trafficking in women and you have an idea what
we were up against.
The only solution was the country had
to change. I had a “warehouse two blocks from the police station”
that I had been using as a “safe house”. When the police
arrested me however, they just assumed all our security was there to
run a brothel – not for security to hide trafficking victims. So
the only way I was going to be able to continue to help rescue others
was to set about getting the world to first of all believe us this
was real and happening and not some urban myth.
I had gone to the governor of
California back then explaining how I wanted to see these victims,
like myself, to stop being arrested and treated as criminals. We
needed to be able to call for help and not only be believed – but
also get help that was properly set up for us.
He told me that we would never see it
decriminalized – and that my best bet was to form a 12 step group.
Which was another reason we chose a 12 step structure – he told me
we could start out offering alternative sentencing to victims without
any special laws, or special courts – under the laws that AA had
already established. Thus Prostitutes Anonymous was born. So in
1987 when I stepped up on that first talk show stage – it was not
to tell my story or to sell a book, but to let people know we were
real, that victims could call our hotline until more people, and the
police believed us, get that help, and so victims could appeal to the
judge for an “alternative to sentencing” when they were arrested.
Our program took off like a shot. We
set up the first official alternative sentencing program in Los
Angeles by 1988 through then mayor Tom Bradley. By 1989, we got
asked to set up one in Allentown, Pennsylvania. By 1991, we got
asked to set up the first Canadian program which included a drop-in
crisis center in response to a serial killer that was targeting
prostitutes up there. By 1999, we had a chapter of our program in
every major city in the USA.
Since just about every Catholic Charity
and Salvation Army had prostitutes in a residential program – we
were holding our meetings there so these women didn't have to arrange
transportation. We did this as a courtesy to these centers, and so
they didn't have to arrange transport for 20 women at a whack. Our
members on the outside had cars – so they could come to the women
in your shelters easier than your women could come to an outside
meeting. So we agreed to meet at your shelters for years.
Were we successful? I'll cite just one
case that's public information now – Kathleen Mitchell of Dignity.
She wrote us from jail in 1989 after something like 50 arrests.
After her release, she took a PA meeting back into the jail. By
1991- she founded Dignity where she had weekly PA meetings in
Phoenix. Research done on her clients cite our program as what
turned them around. So yes – we are effective.
Did it all pay off? When the
Trafficking Act of 2000 passed giving us federal recognition – then
yes. Up until then, I had to pay for everything myself. Our 800 hot
line was at a time when I was paying $1.00 a minute, or $1000 a
month. I spent over $400,000 researching, writing and publishing our
“Recovery Guide” from members all over the world contributing.
I paid for all our printing, bought our safe houses, our outreach
vehicles, our commercials, etc. So yes it was important to get
federal recognition so I could start getting some help to pay those
bills. I had been assured by founders of other programs like AA and
NA – that it “would take about 15-20 years before you'd get
federal recognition – and then the sale of your book and your
donations would then start paying your overhead.” So yes, I had
been waiting for that day of federal recognition and the hope of
being financially self-sustaining once we got that federal
recognition. Many of the things we'd been having to pay for out of
pocket to launch this movement – we had now hope we could get the
government to pick up the tab on finally.
Little did I know what that really
meant when the Trafficking Act was passed. Because about April of
2000 – I start getting calls from all over the USA telling me “they
just kicked us out”. I'm like “what do you mean?” The chairs
of these meetings were telling me they were told their meetings
there in these facilities were shut down. Further, we were banned
from the property to even speak to our “sponsees”. Our
“sponsees” were banned from calling their sponsors – and we had
no idea why.
Our program was not only effective –
but they were accomplishing many jobs. Most major cities had our
members working at outreach. We had them sponsoring these women –
taking them to AA and NA meetings. Our meetings were being used as
“alternatives to sentencing”. They were running diversion
programs. They were staffing local hot lines. They were working
there as counselors. Our members were not only getting recovery –
but they were heavily involved in helping others as volunteers.
What was even more difficult to
understand was if our members were identified as such but worked
within these two programs – they were fired. Honestly, it forced
us to understand why “anonymity” was so important. Because of
what felt like a house cleaning or witch hunt – our members had to
start denying they were in SWA in order to simply keep their jobs.
We had worked for so many years for recognition - only now we were
being shamed right back into the woodwork again for some reason.
I honestly was so stressed by suddenly
having 1,000's of members calling wondering what was going on – I
had a major stroke in July of 2000. So there's a few years that are
a blur. I started seeing grant applications going out to hire people
to do jobs our members had been doing for free. So I remember trying
to appeal to some of the local SA's and CA's to hire our members back
to do jobs we were seeing advertised working with prostitutes –
only to hear “no”. It made no sense to me why someone in
recovery, with experience, would be fired only to hire total novices
who weren't even survivors.
By 2004, things got really crazy. I
didn't know for a long time why. With time, I learned about the
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act that was passed in
January of 2003 spoken about here on this link.
https://libtool.ulib.iupui.edu/myul/node/2872
I understand the intent of this – but when we were asked what our
“stance” was on things like prostitution, pornography, and HIV we
had to repeat that we have none. Just as Alcoholics Anonymous does
not address the alcohol industry, nor does Narcotics Anonymous
address the subject of medical marijuana – we officially can not
take any stance against, or for, anything with respect to
pornography, prostitution, HIV nor even abortion.
However, I'd like to point out that
this does not stop your groups from allowing your clients, or
congregation, from attending these programs. Only it's now
seriously affecting our program. We reorganized and continued to try
and operate. We found new meeting locations, and continued to do
what we do. Only now we're having new problems developing. We're
having women in your programs, housing, obtaining your services,
also coming to us for help. Only now the minute it's discovered
they're talking to our group – they're being cut off, kicked out,
rejected, from your programs. Why? We were being called a “group
of prostitutes” for one thing. That to me is like saying you won't
refer an alcoholic to an AA meeting because “they're just a bunch
of drunks”. But now this has turned into a situation where our
members are having to remain “anonymous” not only to work in the
field – but now to even receive services.
By the year 2007 – things are
completely out of hand. Since 1987, I've been able to find placement
within your programs for anyone leaving prostitution, whether
trafficked or not. I even got a visit from Adam Freer with the
Salvation Army asking me to lead ATLAS (the first Nevada sex
trafficking task force) in 2007. I agreed. He told me to my face
that I was the only one with as much “experience as you do” and
also that I was the only one willing to work in Nevada because of the
legal brothels.
Only to find that the Salvation Army
then took a $375,000 grant from Metro to “restructure” the
program I'd helped set up where EVERY prostitute arrested was
questioned, instead to one where the only victims “offered help
were those referred by Metro”. I even found out I was replaced in
the job by opening up the newspaper to read a school teacher was
taking the job with NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE. Further, when I reached out
to her after reading this article – she HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS.
Oh that's interesting. The Metro where
I've got members saying they're part of a trafficking ring that was
connected to Operation Dollhouse, the Crazy Horse Strip Club, Chris
Butler, Kemp Schiffer, just to name a few that came to light after
2007. All victims I couldn't help because Terri kept saying “Metro
had to refer them”. Now please explain why you put in a SCHOOL
TEACHER WITH NO EXPERIENCE who when I tried to bring her cases of
real trafficking in Nevada – BLEW ME OFF. Who when I came to her
with fresh information in the Jessie Foster case she BLEW ME OFF.
Who when I tried to go over her head to get help for victims in
Nevada that year I was then threatened by an FBI agent, ignored by
Terri Miller, and then banned from even attending trafficking
functions and trainings? A woman who did things like spend $80,000
on a billboard that didn't get one phone call – while turning down
my request for a translator to help me go into massage parlors like
Operation Dollhouse highlighted. Who wound up with ZERO CASES at
the end of the year I should add.
After she got done bad mouthing me –
by 2008, I'm now finding that MANY groups are refusing even calls
from us to place victims into programs. Like the day I had four
victims sitting in my house. One had rebelled against her pimp and
rose up and knocked him out. In fear they'd be arrested for
attacking him – they all ran to me for help. I don't offer
residential services, never have. I've always placed them somewhere.
But in this case– I'm now calling everyone saying “I have four
victims here on my couch and they need placement” and I'm being
blown off. Thinking it might be me – I had the victims themselves
call and they were ignored. Now I don't mean just the Salvation Army
or the Catholic Charities. I mean ANYONE we called – including the
“trafficking task force” and the lists of programs that are
supposed to be taking them in.
Why? I don't know. You tell me. By
now, our members have been rehired within your programs by not
revealing their membership in SWA. So I call them and ask what's
going on. Why is everyone not only returning my calls – but now
something else is happening. These groups are now giving interviews
saying “nothing exists”. Now that doesn't only deny our program
exists – it also denies programs like Children of the Night, and
even the Mary Magdalene Project. So this isn't personal.
What I was told was it had to do with
the Catholic Bishops. I was told that money was being given to these
programs that were ignoring us entirely on the condition that they
act like we didn't exist. When I asked why – I was told that it
was because of two factors. The first being that I don't stand in
the doorway blocking members from obtaining abortions, and the second
was because they believed the name of our program, which had been
changed in 1995 to Sex Workers Anonymous “legitimatized” the sex
industry as a career. That's like saying “Narcotics Anonymous”
legitimizes drug use. It's about as ridiculous too.
So things came to a head in 2007 over
the report Melissa Farley asked me to help her with. Up until then
the trafficking efforts had been focused on street prostitution.
However, sex trafficking exists within the legal parts of the sex
industry. It exists in strip clubs, it exists in porn sets, it
exists in webcam studios, massage parlors, and even the legal
brothels of Nevada. We had one woman specifically who was being
trafficked in a legal brothel owned by the Hells Angels who was
unable to access help for being a victim through the Salvation Army
for two reasons.
The first being that she was in a legal
brothel so she was considered as having given “consent”. The
second, because she had two small children with her pimp who she was
trying to, and the Vegas branch was not only 800 miles away – but
they wouldn't take her in with her two kids. So she came to us.
We were having a lot of problems with
trafficking in Nevada for a variety of reasons. Women were being
brought to Nevada from all over the country because the legal age is
15 years old. The Hells Angels owned the Shady Lady brothel.
Meaning there were women being brought in from all over the USA to go
to work there starting at 16 years of age. Melissa Farley had told
me we weren't going to get any help about it until we first proved
to the country it was real. For that reason, I got involved to help
her write “Trafficking in Nevada – Making the Connections” by
providing her with people we had been rescued from these brothels to
interview. No other group had recovering brothel prostitutes
they'd rescued because we were the only one working with them going
clear back to the 1980's.
Which is what I mean also when I say
there's all forms of trafficking going on in this country - some of
which is within the so called “legal” industries. The Hell's
Angels owned more than the Shady Lady. They also owned massage
parlors, escort services, porn production companies and even many
ADT Security Companies. If you'd like evidence of their involvement
in trafficking – I refer back to the case of Margo Compton.
Another woman who wasn't able to “just leave” because of having
two children by her husband who was one of the traffickers. They
can't go to a Salvation Army or Catholic Charity shelter to escape
because your shelters frankly aren't set up to deal with this kind of
heat. Your shelters are also not set up to deny legal visitation of
the kids if you were to admit them either.
So you can see some of our problems
being created by your groups, and groups being funded by the Catholic
Bishops, suddenly putting us on some kind of blacklist. But your
programs still found the need for 12 step meetings. Because after I
gave that press conference in 2007 – I get calls from the few
remaining places that were holding Prostitutes Anonymous meetings
under our original name. Like Dignity as one example. I get this
weird phone call from Cathy Bauer informing me they will no longer
be ordering books or materials for the resident Prostitutes Anonymous
meeting – nor will they be holding a meeting any longer. Okay –
that's their choice.
Only I keep hearing that the meeting is
going on by people who are attending them. I would call Cathy only
to have her deny it – and hang up on me. Prior to Catholic
Charities taking over Dignity – the staff had been begging me to
come train them. I was coming to Phoenix the year Catholic Charities
took over, and I'd wanted to meet you, so I offered to come and do so
free. I was denied.
But I kept hearing from people they
were going on but with a few weird changes. I'm hearing for example
the meetings are now being held using our old literature. For
another, the members are not being told I'm the founder, nor how to
reach the main office. Those who do know about me are told they
can't speak to me – and they're to deny these meetings. Further,
I'm hearing that our program is being completely distorted. I'm
also not hearing anyone recover after this happened either.
I'm hearing things like how
prostitution is being bashed, that porn is being bashed, and instead
of being called “members” - they're being called “trafficking
victims” even when they say they didn't have a pimp or were they
trafficked. It's so bad that I'm getting calls from women telling me
they want to attend our “real” program - only they're “afraid”
to the point of one woman who had anxiety attacks over what will
happen to her if she did.
Further, these meetings are appearing
now in grant applications you're submitting to federal sources. Okay
now we have a real problem. We've gone beyond kicking us out of your
programs. We've gone beyond kicking our members out of your
employment. We've gone beyond not returning our phone calls and
refusing to help us or anyone who even knows us. We've gone beyond
people telling us they're going to lose their jobs or their funding
if they speak to us. Now your programs are holding “faux”
meetings of ours and using your “faux” meetings as part of your
grant applications.
As if that's not enough insult to
injury – I'm hearing a basket is being passed at these meetings
only I'm not getting any accounting, let alone a portion. In AA, NA,
and other 12 step groups – there is a treasurer at these meetings.
Those reports are turned in monthly to the next level up until it
reaches the main world level. Whatever is left over after paying
their expenses is then forwarded to the world service office of these
programs. Only all of our financial flow has been cut off by this
whole thing.
In other words, our income has now been
completely cut off. We are not getting donations now. We're not
getting book orders, or orders for t-shirts, hats, keytags,
medallions, or other literature. We are now even having problems
holding meetings in the same towns you're holding these “faux”
meetings in.
It's so bad - we're even hearing of
fist fights breaking out. We're hearing those coming to our meetings
are being physically threatened by those going to “your”
meetings. Why? Because we're having people trying to start up new
SWA meetings only to be told “we already have a meeting in town”
like they're some kind of gang and we're on their turf.
When these members go to find out
what's going on – they're encountering someone saying they're
holding meetings in connection with your programs that are applying
for federal funds. They say they don't “even know who Jody
Williams is” and I'm hearing not only about fights breaking out and
prostitutes being threatened - but now I'm hearing about downright
physical attacks of our members.
By about 2009, a trend starts which is
escalating. Our members connected to our program are now having
people calling them up. They're being told that they need to stop
speaking to me, having anything to do with us here at the main
office, but instead they need to come over to “their” meetings
instead which are being held at programs you're funding. When these
people balk – they're told horrible stories that I'm “madaming
again” that I'm a “pimp” and a “trafficker”, and even an
“imposter”. In Chicago, more than one physical fight has
supposedly broken out by people insisting that “Brenda Myers-Powell
is the true founder” of the program. This is insane!
As our groups continue to try and meet
in peace – the stalking, harassment, and even now outright threats
escalates. By 2013, all of our members online are now being
stalked, harassed, and threatened. To protect ourselves – we had
no choice but to shut down our online forums, online chat rooms,
online meetings, online groups, and we've had to advise our members
not to even mention my name in a post. A few who think I'm
overreacting, go ahead and post they're in SWA or know me online.
Sure enough – within two days or so –
they get a email or call with some kind of threat or harassment.
They each are asked to “turn over copies of all the emails between
Jody and you” like I'm being investigated or something. One woman
had a book launch tanked. Another got chased out of every group she
belonged to online because she wouldn't “denounce” me or SWA.
Another woman who worked as a counselor at a jail was fired and
another woman who had been a social worker for 12 years got fired.
There are more stories than this - but it becomes clear that someone
is tracking anyone who even mentions my name, or SWA, and they're now
being threatened by a handful of people I can trace back to programs
that are funded by your programs.
By 2013, it's now extended to new
nonprofits that help trafficking victims. As new groups open – I
call them to see what they offer for our hotline. I introduce us and
ask questions about what they do. They're very nice to me when I
call. Within two days or so, I am told “please don't call here
again”. When I ask why – I've been told they've had their
funding threatened, their licensing threatened, and the ever popular
threat that they “will be shunned by the anti-trafficking
community”. A few will also throw in they've been told I'm
“pimping” or “trafficking” or one woman was even told I was
“running a child prostitution ring” currently. The rest make
some snotty remark to me about how “offensive” they find our name
of “Sex Workers Anonymous” and they won't even “speak to
someone who feels sex work is a career”. Which is NOT the meaning
of our name. We changed our name in '95 because adult filters
were blocking the word “prostitute” as well as search engines
when the internet was born.
Is this working? The groups I see
being cut off from our 29 years now of experience, and our pool of
recovering members, working with this community I see struggling.
Many struggle so badly they'll call me for help in deperation.
They're so glad to reach me and grateful when I start sharing
solutions. So grateful they mention to someone they're talking to me
and how I'm helping them. Only to then either be fired – or cut
me off in fear of being fired. Those not fired get the message –
don't call Jody. From what I'm hearing – they're not doing too
well at helping these victims without our help.
In desperation, the “faux” meetings
keep popping up. Only problem is that a copy of our outdated book by
itself does not a program make. Anymore than you can throw a
copy of the Big Book into a bar full of drunks and they're going to
magically get sober. It doesn't work. In fact, it turns into
a zoo. I know because again I'll get a call from someone saying
“help....”. Only the minute I try – they're shut up, fired,
shut down, or threatened by someone connected to you because they
called us for assistance.
The victims themselves in desperation
go online to try and find help. They find me. I help them. Then
what? How about the brave woman who helped me win the battle
against the brothels in Nevada? Not only did she leave her pimp with
her kids, but she helped us get the Shady Lady brothel shut down.
On top of that, the brothels were trying to expand into Las Vegas
using an illegal meeting of the Nevada legislature. She appeared at
that meeting by herself and told them the reality of what goes on at
the brothels. They voted against the brothels and they lost.
In retaliation – her power, phone,
TV, cable, were all cut off (like mine was after our 2007 press
conference). Her car was stolen and her home trashed. We help her
move out of state and set up a new life. By now, we have her working
from home, helping us do outreach, she's clean and out of all
prostitution for a few years now, her kids are doing well, and she's
in counseling. She notices the counselors are having other clients
who are prostitutes also. So she tries to tell them about SWA and
invites these other women to come to a meeting she wants to set up in
the new town she's living in. She asks to post a flyer for the
meeting at the center - only she's refused. She gives a copy of our
Recovery Guide to her counselor – who ignores it. When she asks
for help to find a meeting space for a SWA meeting and to invite the
other clients – she's literally kicked out of the center! In
other words, after achieving great recovery, and then reaching out to
help others - she's shunned!!!
She is not alone. By 2013, I'm now
getting more calls like this. I was working with a young woman in
Las Vegas who was also attending counseling at the mental health
center there. The day after she tells her counselor she's attending
our meetings – she's kicked out of not only the center – but even
out of the apartment they'd been providing her with. We had a
counselor who was working at a mental health center in San Jose,
California tell us practically every client there is a prostitute.
So she tells her boss she's going to let me run a meeting there I
agreed to do – she's fired. The same with a counselor at a jail
in Seattle. The minute she says she wants to bring a SWA meeting
into the jail because all of her clients are reporting they can't
talk about these issues at an NA or AA meeting – she's fired!
It's now extended to the media by 2013.
Noticing reporters keep writing stories like we don't exist -we
start contacting these same reporters to tell them that we do. They
get excited and interested. They come meet with us, meet our
members, see our work for themselves – and get worked up about
writing a great story about our work. Only the minute they go to
their editor – they're shut down. One reporter who had been on
the Review Journal for 15 years told me that I had been “black
listed for life”. Another reporter felt there should be an article
on our work very strongly – so he put together the story and went
to his publisher. After working there for 12 years he assured me he
“could get the story printed”. They turned him down. When the
photographer jumped in to support the story should be published as we
were the only program that would physically go and pick up women from
anywhere in Nevada, especially the brothels in our outreach RV we'd
shown them – they were both fired. By 2015, I had five
papers tell me if they even printed our name they'd be fired.
Because our members are having to now
stay virtually hidden in order to find work, and not be stalked and
threatened by people working in the trafficking field – it appears
we don't even exist. I'm now having more and more new members coming
in say “I can't find anything online about your group but you.”.
I'm now having reporters tell me “you don't exist online because
you have no followers”. It's now gotten to the point where we
can't even set up new meetings without running into these problems.
Now look – I can understand that
you've been working with this policy that's forbid government funding
of programs that don't specifically state they anti-porn and
anti-prostitution. I can understand you want to keep your members
separate from anyone who might recommend abortion. But two things
have happened – first is the lawsuit of ACLU vs. USCCB validating
that you can't separate trafficking victims from outside programs
they choose to seek help from in trying to protect them from abortion
mills. I personally am not for abortion. Personally, when we've had
members find out they're pregnant we've even had other members adopt
their babies. So while personally I am not for abortion – I have
to first obey the law. I also can't physically block every door.
Second, our program can not express an opinion on anything other than
what we do. Since we do not provide medical care – we can't
express an opinion either way on abortion because it's against our
traditions just as it is for AA and NA.
The other is the Supreme Court decision
in Agency for International Development vs. Alliance for Open Society
International where the court upheld that in the interest of “free
speech” one can not be forced to speak out against prostitution or
be considered “in support of trafficking”. No offense guys -
but I'm the founder of the modern day sex trafficking movement. Do
you really think I'm pro-sex work or in support of trafficking
simply because of the name of our program – or because I can't take
a public stance with our 12 step program on these issues? Again,
because these points of contention doesn't stop you from referring
and cooperating with AA and NA – I'm not seeing why you do with me.
When I fought back brothels from
expanding into California, and when I fought back the brothels from
expanding into Las Vegas – I didn't see any of your groups there.
But I don't hold that against you either. Nor did I take that to
mean you were “pro-brothels” either.
This has got to stop. I thought
honestly it would stop when the ACLU won their lawsuit. Instead, all
I'm seeing is a bunch of media and jockeying in retaliation. If
anything, the situation is getting even worse. I can't even sell our
Recovery Guide on Amazon because of this madness.
Why? Because now I'm getting
anti-trafficking groups all over the country trying to get their
hands on our book to set up more “faux” meetings without having
to register them through me like we're back in grade school or
something. I am now having to spend ½ of my time chasing these
groups down!
Our income has dried up because of this
entirely. The confusion is so bad that new members are afraid to
send me book orders because I'm not on Amazon, and because these
“faux” meetings are being set up in churches. They don't know
who to trust yet – so I'm stuck sending out free copies until we
can sort this out. I've even had people ask me to come speak at
their events – only to call me back a week later making up excuses
because of what they've heard from your people. This has got to
stop.
Especially as this problem grows. As
it expands to more and more young people - I've got more parents
calling for help. Just as AA has Alanon – we've created SWAN for
parents. I'm already having someone call us wanting to join SWAN –
until they find out it's a sister program to SWA. I don't even run
SWAN – but because it's connected - they're being shunned now
also? Further, I've got people who work with your agencies telling
me they're afraid to give SWAN referrals because they might get
fired? Really? Are you kidding me?
I've been speaking to some attorney's.
I've learned I have a lot of legal options. Not only for copyright
and trademark violation, but also for “economic interference” and
even “conspiracy to defraud the US government”. Harsh? When you
have programs applying for federal money by claiming you're running
“Prostitutes Anonymous” meetings that are in fact NOT only
operating without my consent for the use of the name, but also NOT
the program itself as designed, then you are yes in fact defrauding
your grant sources as well as those attending those meetings, and
donating money. Especially when a portion of their decision to
fund you is based on you holding Prostitutes Anonymous meetings!
Those meetings are more than just not
registered - they're NOT our meetings because of basic components
missing. Including the lack of our current Recovery Guide. Our
“official” program has been called Sex Workers Anonymous since
1995. The mere fact you called these meetings Prostitutes Anonymous
proves right there those meetings were not “official” and
therefore you were defrauding the grant donors as well as our office
since we never received any of the money from these meetings from the
donations generated from these meetings. We never even got the order
for the “starter kit” let alone our books. People coming to those
meetings were also told they were “Prostitutes Anonymous”
meetings when they donated. So they got defrauded also in my
opinion. Also, where's our money?
We have to come to the table to work
out some kind of cooperative agreement – or I'm going to sue. I'm
not going to tolerate any longer members of our program receiving
phone calls from people running “faux” meetings at your
facilities, or programs you fund, threatening to “kick the ass”
of our members who are legitimate members. I'm not going to tolerate
being exploited, ripped off, and people being defrauded in our name.
I'm not going to tolerate our members being fired, kicked out of
therapy, stalked, threatened, banned, shunned, or otherwise harassed
because you don't want our real meetings making your “faux”
meetings look bad.
Nor am I going to take any more
bashing in the media by your representatives acting like we don't
exist in the very movement we FOUNDED. All those years I was going
on TV and saying this was “real” in the 1980's, and getting
myself fired, and evicted, and laughed at for it – without those
years there wouldn't be this movement we're talking about. I did it
to get this program up and operational and right now the only person
causing us problems keeping operating aren't pimps BUT YOUR GROUPS.
Now I don't think any of this was your intent. But now I've traced
where all of this is coming from – well you and me need to sit down
and have a nice long talk about the future.
Frankly, when the Pope was inviting
other religions to come and talk to him about sex trafficking – I
thought my invitation was coming as the founder of the movement, the
first hotline, and the first program for adults within the USA, and
other countries.
But it didn't. Then I saw he hadn't
invited any survivors and realized mine wasn't coming. Okay fine. I
think my exclusion is quite symbolic of the basic problems right now
in this movement. You're excluding Bill Wilson and Alcoholics
Anonymous from helping alcoholics. It's not working. So that means
I'm now sending you this letter giving you until the end of September
to open up a dialogue with me about what's going to be done about
this – or I'm going to sue and going to the press.
Your choice.
Jody Williams
cc: President Obama
Pope
Polaris
Shared Hope
Exodus Cry
US Attorney Loretta Lynch
Hunt Foundation
United Nations
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