The STOPLight

The STOPLight: Giving voice to prevention

To celebrate the privilege of sharing the voices of this movement to prevent exploitation, we are providing excerpts from articles previously published. If an article grabs your attention, click on the title and you will be directed to that article. We invite you to read the other articles from that issue while you are there!

Survivors' stories dispel myths surrounding prostitution

Fall 1990

These are the voices of survivors of prostitution. When we begin to listen we begin to understand. We start to see, as they see, the connections which bind up prostitution, child abuse, and rape under the name of violence, and we come to an understanding that these forms of violence are parameters of a world in which men's desires become women's reality.

Court-ordered treatment for johns

Spring 1991

A unique program has been developed for the treatment of men arrested for soliciting prostitution in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

Confronting child sacrifice in America

Fall 1991

Virtually all over the world, children are still being sacrificed in large numbers daily. The altars on which these kids are offered are Sex and Power.

A tour of the streets

April 1992

We serve homeless kids. For whatever reason, their family system has been shattered and they don't have the option of going home. There are tons of people willing to help our kids out on the streets. But the price the kids pay for that help, which is housing, clothing and food, is super high and usually involves sexual exploitation.

Saving young lives

November 1992

It's a real thrill to know how much we've helped these girls," says Frank Barnaba, "and how meaningful their lives have become." He can think of dozens of cases in which the lives of frightened, exploited young girls have been turned around. Today, he knows these former prostitutes as self-assured women; some married with children of their own, some in business ventures, and still others back in school.

"I am a survivor!"

June 1993

In 1990 I heard Al Erickson speak on the subject of truths about prostitution. I cried through most of the presentation because he was speaking in public that the church has to be a leader in helping those victimized by prostitution.

I knew I had to help him in some way. After conversing with him, I decided the best way I could help was to begin telling my own story of incest and prostitution. I am one of the victims he was speaking about. I am a survivor!

Through a survivor's eyes

August 1994

As a survivor of the strip industry, I have been subjected to numerous challenges to my claim that I am a survivor of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Are you man enough to read this?

August 1994

The sex industry would have us believe that being a "customer" (john) means we are real men and that the rules are fair to all involved. It connects being a real man with going to "gentlemen's clubs." It promotes the message that real men have the right to "adult entertainment" which hurts no one.

As one of the millions of men on this planet, I say this is plain and simple hogwash.

Mind control is real and effective

December 1994

Many people do not believe in mind control because they don't understand it. They think that the controlled person is just disobeying or rebelling against their parents and authority. But it does exist, and we must first understand mind control before we can deprogram the one whose mind is being controlled by someone else.

What is holding us back?

December 1994

How long can we in the church of Jesus Christ keep our heads in the sand without suffocating ourselves? What is keeping us from providing leadership and working hard so our youth won't be exploited?

Teen's eyes are opened

April 1995

I am writing this article to show a different point of view on the subject your newsletter expresses. The point of view is mine -- that of a young adult. This is probably one group people don't get much feedback from and, really, it's kids' futures that are mostly affected by this problem.

How does a regular guy become a john?

April 1995

Men might boast of scoring with a woman. Most men do not boast of using a person in prostitution. It is hardly something to be proud of. It is expensive. It compromises any ethical standards he might have -- like having a relationship of integrity with his wife and children and the outcome of their lives together. And it can be dangerous.

Community involvement is needed

August 1995

As a police officer, I had the task of enforcing laws against prostitution related crime. It was both a confusing and daunting task.

Unconnected lust: The way life is?

December 1995

Wherever we turn today, highly regarded and visible people in the media endorse and legitimize unconnected lust. Respected reporters, editors, and broadcasters condone, promote, and even celebrate unconnected lust as "the way life is."

Prevention begins with you and me

May 1996

For the past eleven years, I have been working to help people who feel helpless, oppressed, and powerless over their lives. They speak of feeling violated to the core of their being, their soul. The people I work with are survivors of sexual violence. Over the years, I have come in contact with people who were victimized by a form of sexual violence-prostitution.

Speaking up makes a difference

September 1996

"I've been thinking about our conversation... and I want you to know that I'll never go to one of "those places' again."

What a reporter -- and dad -- learned

December 1996

During August and September of this year, The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) ran a nine-part series called "The Child Sex Trade: Battling a Scourge." Al Erickson, director of Adults Saving Kids, was quoted in two of the articles, and Adults Saving Kids [then A-STOP] was listed as one of the organizations working on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Mark Clayton, a CSM staff reporter who was assigned to report on this problem in North America talks about doing the series.

Are you a father? Read this

December 1996

This article is written for every man who has ever fathered a child. It is not written to blame anyone. My intention is to help you fathers see the impact you have on the lives of your children.

Author enlightened by research

April 1997

Rita Nakashima Brock is co-author with Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite of Casting Stones, a multicultural and multiracial theological reflection on prostitution from a global perspective. Dr. Brock recently spoke with The STOP Light about researching and writing the book.

Prevention curriculum developed

December 1997

Having young people live their lives in [a healthy, safe] way is a vision of Adults Saving Kids. Wise as Serpents is a tool that will help us achieve that vision. The confirmation curriculum will be used with junior high youth who are at an age in which they are very vulnerable to peer pressure or to being recruited and exploited by the sex industry.

Young man, you have a life!

December 1997

Young man, you have a life. In it you can create joy -- or pain. Being a man means creating and building healthy relationships over a long period of time.

Ploys of pimps: A warning to all

April 1998

Mark is a former pimp. By way of warning, he reveals some of the tactics he used to get girls and young women into prostitution -- and keep them involved.

Are kids getting lost in cyberspace?

September 1998

There was a time in America when pornography was only available in old, run-down buildings-a person had to intentionally seek it. In the past, worry about abduction ended when we locked our doors at night. Today, the Internet sidewalk leads directly into our homes.

Bedbugs needed now!

September 1998

Adults Saving Kids wants to be your bedbug-like friend. In fact, this very issue of The STOPLight might bite you a few times.

Porn distributor earns new rating

December 1998

Bill is a pretty typical 51-year-old guy; he has a wife, four children, a home in the suburbs. But just 2 years ago, Bill was part owner of the largest telemarketing porn video distribution company in the United States. Bill tells why he left the adult video business...

Different dynamics: Boys in prostitution

December 1998

Prostitution is a complex issue surrounded by a confusion of emotions, stereotypes, and unknowns. Much has been researched and written about women in prostitution, and many programs have been developed and funded to help them get out. But what about boys and young men in prostitution? Who are they? Where do they come from? How do they get involved? Why do they do it? Who are their customers? Who is helping them to get out? What can be done to prevent it?

Sexual addiction: Definition, prevention

June 1999

Sexual addiction is an unmanageable or powerless pattern of acting out a sexual activity; it is a pathological relationship with sex. Like alcoholism, it's not defined by the kind of sexual activity, but is a pattern of behavior that generally gets worse over time (meaning the frequency increases), usually leading to destructive consequences.

Survivor pursues real recovery

October 1999

Heidi grew up in a small Minnesota town then went to college in Saint Paul. There she was recruited into prostitution. The next ten years of her life were spent in prostitution -- her pimp was her husband. After getting out, she went back to college and got a bachelor's degree. Here she talks about her complex and on-going recovery.

How can we grieve this tragedy?

October 1999

Can we find a way to grieve a recent tragedy? In early August news broke that a very large family-operated prostitution ring was busted with raids, indictments, and arrests in Minnesota and elsewhere.

Keeping kids safe -- and parents sane

December 1999

Book review of: Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (And Parents Sane) by Gavin de Becker. Gavin de Becker talks about things parents fear most for their children -- things like abusive babysitters, school safety, abductions, sexual predators, guns, violence, suicide, more.

In this book, his premise is that the more you know, the less you'll fear. His promise is "by the end of this book, you'll know more and be uncertain less; see more and deny less; accept more and hesitate less; act more and worry less."

Off to college

July 2000

Heidi was an honor student in her small-town high school. She went off to college in a big city, and while there, was date-raped. That experience along with other factors in her life made her vulnerable to the recruitment of a pimp who eventually got her into prostitution. Here she offers insight into what kids going off to college should be aware of.

Strip clubs: an insider's view

November 2000

David Sherman spent 14 years managing various strip clubs in the United States. Five years ago lie left that business and now tells others what really goes on in these clubs.

Fish netting for your kids

November 2000

In the early 1990's the concern of Adults Saving Kids was illegal pimping-how it enslaved young people and caused untold suffering in families... Today we are faced with a wholly different phenomenon in America: the right to cleverly and legally lead a young person (and older people as well) into traps which will devastate their lives.

Internet crimes against children

August 2001

This article is from an interview of Commander Rick Anderson of the St. Paul Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.

Building a wall of safety for kids

August 2001

We can, brick by brick, begin to teach, to converse, to pray, to use good materials, to befriend, to speak out, to find ways to prepare our young people for what is coming at them. We can work to make sure what is coming at them is healthy. We can love and honor the lives of young people around us and give our time on their behalf. Once we do, we will meet others who are ready to build the wall with us.

Special agent speaks out

July 2002

This is an interview with Ann Quinn-Robinson, a special agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). She investigates juvenile prostitution cases.

compiled by Amy Hartman