Accused: Mike Bickle, Founder of Exodus Cry & Tim Ballard, Founder of Operation Underground Railroad
Too often pundits and politicians have claimed that adult consensual SWers are more concerned with making a living than with protecting children, or innocent victims of sexual exploitation.
The argument goes something like, “Sure, SESTA/FOSTA made it harder for sex workers, but think of the children!”
However, the longer I do this advocacy work, the clearer it becomes that many of those claiming to help are often perpetrators of sexual violence themselves. By scapegoating adult consensual sex workers, these “heroes” are able to cover up their own histories of preying on the vulnerable.
The real predators are not “pimps” or “pornagraphers” but people who preach against adult consensual sex work, making everything much more dangerous for us all.
We have not alleviated the suffering of a single victim of sexual exploitation through criminalization or censorship.
No one is more committed to ending violence in the sex trade than the people who work in it.
We do not have to choose between liberty or safety. The path to safety is through liberty, because decriminalizing SW is the only policy that reduces violence.
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Accused: Mike Bickle, founder of Exodus Cry — Last week another “anti-trafficking” organization founder was credibly accused of sexual abuse. Mike Bickle, the guy who founded Exodus Cry, an “anti trafficking organization” more committed to eradicating adult consensual sex work than helping exploited people, has been credibly accused by multiple women of s*xual abuse.
These accounts span decades of Bickle’s leadership at the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC), which is the parent organization of Exodus Cry. For background, the Daily Beast wrote an excellent piece about this organization and how they’ve contributed to the misinformation and moral panic fueling so much of the anti-porn and prostitution legislation over the last few years.
This marks the most recent high profile accusation within the religiously affiliated “anti-trafficking” community. I’m sure you’ll remember that Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad who was immortalized in the film Sound of Freedom, has also been ousted from his own organization after multiple women accused him of sexual assault.
Read More: Kaytlin Bailey’s op-ed about Sound of Freedom / Reason Magazine
Background: Inside Exodus Cry: The Shady Evangelical Group With Trump Ties Waging War on Pornhub / Daily Beast
Accusations: Tim Ballard, of ‘Sound of Freedom’ fame, accused of sexual misconduct / The New York Times
