July 2022: Join The Con Versation

Let the Conversation begin

There have been numerous stories in the news of late that are more than ample to give one pause at best and feel alarmed at worst. One such story that is particularly alarming to any of us working on the prevention and protection of those being victimized by human traffickers is the repeal of California’s laws against loitering for the purpose of selling sex signed into law by Governor Newsom despite the passionate appeals of survivors of sex trafficked victim/survivors. This will only lead to diminished incentive for law enforcement to invest time, resources and funds to disrupt the commercial sex industry. This puts more children and vulnerable women and men at risk.

Another cause for concern is the upcoming stage production of Pretty Women which has been referenced by many survivors of sex trafficking as the film that helped groom them to be exploited more than any other. Romanticing the purchase and control over a human being by men willing to pay, does not bring us closer to equality and human dignity but puts a price on what is one of the most precious elements of being human.

As disturbing as these two stories are, there are great signs that the porn industry is cracking under the weight of public scrutiny of practices of making profits off the non-consentual production of pornography and normalizing incest and attaction to the vulnerable. Father-Con applauds the advances being made in undermining what has been described as the greatest unregulated social experiment in human history. Please don’t miss our upcoming film screening of Angie:Lost Girls a film by director Julia Verdin on July 27. This human trafficking film highlights areas of concern to every parent whose children are growing up in a world of unique and pervasive danger.

Patrick Erlandson, Founder: Father-Con, and See it. End it. Film & Arts Festival