Bronwyn is a current senior at Scripps College in California. She is majoring in Politics with a focus in International Relations and Americans Politics, and is minoring in Philosphy. During high school, Bronwyn became interested in social justice and began to educate herself about women’s issues and the effects of horrific labor practices on communities of color. At Scripps College, her classes have focused on how global development affects human rights and understanding how to use human rights to create positive change. Bronwyn studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and took classes about gendered perspectives on human rights and humanitarian law and armed conflict. She is very adamant about continuing to educate herself on social justice issues and continuing to understand the intersection between different forms of oppression.
In March of 2020, PornHub drew national attention for publishing and profiting from videos of young girls being raped. In one instance, an unnamed 15-year-old girl was forced to appear in 58 pornographic videos before being rescued. In another case, after 14-year old Rose Kalimba was kidnapped and raped in her hometown, she caught word that her assault had published on PornHub for all to see. She emailed the pornography website numerous times over the course of a year, pleading to have the videos of her rape removed. It was not until she emailed PornHub posing as a lawyer that the videos were taken down.
PornHub profits from videos of rapes and sexual assaults by collecting ad revenue on uploaded content. PornHub allegedly checks all their content for child pornography, but cases like these show that it does not.
The market for child porn is growing and it is one of the fastest growing internet businesses. In 2001, it was estimated that there were approximately 100,000 child pornography websites. Since then, child pornography has taken off with websites like PornHub allowing anyone to upload videos.
In many cases, child sex trafficking victims are treated as criminals and prostitutes by the law. A famous example is that of Cyntoia Brown. At just 16-years-old, an older man picked her up to bought her for $150 and displayed threatening behavior toward her. When Cyntoia thought he was pulling a gun on her, she shot and killed the man. Despite her maintaining that she killed the man out of self-defense, she was sentenced to prison for murder.
In the United States, some states are implementing laws called Safe Harbor Laws to protect victims of child sex trafficking. These laws prevent the “prosecution [of] certain types of offenses because the child was induced or compelled to commit the offense or an established diversion program that affords a means for charges to be dismissed if the child completes a specialized services program.” However, not all states (or countries) have these laws. We must keep pushing for the end of child sex trafficking and advocate for victims to be treated with care. If we keep speaking out against child pornography, it will be impossible for others to ignore it.
Meet the Artist: Adrian Glasmyre is a double major in Digital Communications and Art at Lebanon Valley College. Since her freshman year, Adrian has been passionate about using her art to raise awareness on fast fashion and human rights. She is proud to create graphics that educate others on these important issues.
Sources:
https://time.com/5828724/cyntoia-brown-netflix-documentary/
