Today's episode is with Melanie Thompson, outreach and advocacy coordinator for the Coalition

Against Trafficking in Women. Melanie shares her experience of being trafficked at 12

and how it propelled her into activism.

She discusses the intersections of race, gender, and socioeconomic status in sex trafficking,

emphasizing its prevalence in the U.S. Melanie addresses misconceptions about platforms like

Onlyfans and the harmful stereotypes propagated by pornography. She advocates for

awareness, male allyship, and systematic change to combat sexual exploitation. Additionally,

Melanie provides resources for survivors interested in advocacy and encourages listeners to engage

in conversations that drive meaningful change. With that, let's jump into the conversation.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Consider Before Consuming.

Melanie, thank you so much for being here with us today.

I'm so excited to get to speak with you.

We were able to connect recently at

the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit. And I was so delighted to get to hear you speak

there. And I think our listeners will gain so much from getting to hear from you today. So

for our listeners, we are speaking with Melanie Thompson.

She is the outreach and advocacy coordinator for the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women.

And Melanie, to get started, can you share a bit about your journey and what led you to become

an activist at such a young age, especially?

Absolutely. And thank you so much for inviting me to this conversation.

So I actually was trafficked when I was 12 years old. I grew up in a domestic violence household

with an abusive parent. And there was alcoholism in the house. So I didn't really have the most

...