Radical Nonjudgment in Survivor Advocacy: Harm Reduction in Practice
Channel: National Survivor Network
Date: 2023-02-24

For a long time, anti-trafficking work focused on the sex trades has prioritized ending sex work and exit from the sex trades as the only solutions, without recognition of how this approach replicates carceral harms, puts survivors into greater contact with law enforcement, doesn't account for root causes of exploitation, and messages sexual shame and stigma.

What if we practiced radical nonjudgment? What if we set aside our own personal feelings about sex work and met the person in front of us where they are, without stigma, without shame, without projecting our expectations of what they need or want onto them?

This panel will address:
- What do we mean by "radical nonjudgment"?
- What is harm reduction? What is it not?
- How do we bring an intersectional lens to the practice of harm reduction?
- Why is a harm reduction approach essential when working with people in commercial sex across the spectrum of agency, including trafficking survivors?

Moderated by Chris Ash, this panel brings together experts with a wealth of experience: Emi Koyama, Rose Kalemba, Sinnamon Love, and Chibundo Egwuatu.