Wheelock College Calls for Ending Violence against Women with Trafficking and Prostitution Conference

On Friday, July 11th Wheelock College will bring together activists, scholars, authors, journalists, NGO experts, and law enforcement officials for the conference “Ending Prostitution, Human Trafficking and Pornography: Putting Theory into Practice.”  This one day event, sponsored by the Wheelock College American Studies Department and Stop Porn Culture, will link theory with practice to explore the local, national and international realities of trafficking and prostitution, and strategies to end this violence against women.

Wheelock College is internationally renowned for taking seriously its mission “to improve the lives of children and families,” including expanding the notion of what a fair and just world would look like for children. 

“Wheelock is one of the few colleges in this country to have the courage to address one of the most serious public health issues of our time: the increasing hypersexualization of our culture,” said Wheelock President Jackie Jenkins-Scott. “We are proud to bring together leading activists, scholars, and other thought leaders to have these critical conversations as we work to improve the lives of children, youth and families.”

A report by the American Psychological Association on the sexualization of girls found that in a society saturated with images of hypersexuality, “girls internalize an observer’s perspective on their physical selves and learn to treat themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated for their appearance.” This internalization can lead to depression, anxiety, risky sexual behavior, eating disorders and low self-esteem. Similarly, when boys are exposed to hypersexual images, especially pornography, they also internalize a negative self-image, and are more likely to act out the violence they see.

Keynote speakers are renowned human rights lawyer and longtime feminist activist Norma Ramos and Vednita Carter, the founder of Breaking Free, one of the most successful survivor-led service NGOs advocating women’s rights and the end of systems of abuse and sexual exploitation. Other speakers:

·         Gail Dines: Professor of American Studies and Women’s Studies at Wheelock College, and President of Stop Porn Culture, an NGO raising awareness about the impact of pornography on the culture.

·         Victor Malarek: Award-winning journalist and author of multiple books including The Natashas, which examined the human trafficking in post-Soviet Eastern Bloc countries.

·         Cherie Jimenez: Director and founder of The Eva Center, a sex industry survivor service NGO that focuses on effective exit strategies.

·         Donna Gavin: Sergeant Detective and Commander of the Boston Police Human Trafficking Unit, and member of the Greater Boston Human Trafficking Task Force.

“As we continue to grapple with increasingly complex social problems, colleges need to lead the way in developing the next generation’s scholars, thought leaders, and practitioners,” said Dr. Gail Dines. “Wheelock, having long been a leader in the field, is once again at the helm of building intellectual and practical bridges between the academy and the community to tackle the hypersexualization of the culture.

Leading up to the conference, Dr. Gail Dines and Dr. Diane Levin, professor of Early Childhood, will offer the 21st annual Summer Institute on Media Literacy, Sexualization and Violence from July 7-10th. This summer institute draws participants from around the world, including professionals in teaching, public health, social work, law enforcement, and anti-violence service and advocacy. This year the Institute will convene a stellar group of professionals and activists—including pediatricians, lawyers, teachers, parents, and youth workers—to build a public health program dedicated to challenging predatory media industries and stopping the harms of a hypersexualized culture. Building on a grant that Dr. Gail Dines and her team received last year from the Centers for Disease Control, this year’s Institute will set out a framework for a nation-wide public health project.

·         For more details on the Institute and Conference, go to: stoppornculture.org

·         To read more about the Institute and Conference from Dr. Gail Dines, visit  http://blog.wheelock.edu/media-madness/