SURVIVOR-LED SOLUTIONS
What we envision.
We envision a world where no one is bought or sold. Our mission is to make it happen. With eyes wide open, we address the inequities that give rise to trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. We make survivor voices heard. We ensure they set the agenda. We equip young survivors with the resources they need to build their futures. Their grit and resolve fuels us each day to never give up the fight. It is the wisdom and strength of each individual survivor that powers this movement and it is our collective power that can end exploitation once and for all.
For our youth.
Young people of all genders are bought and sold for sex in our communities. Every day. In every community. They are deceived, manipulated and coerced into sex trafficking. Most frequently, starting in middle school.
Commercial sexual exploitation is gender-based violence. While all young people can be targets, in reality, girls of color are disproportionately victimized and trapped in the commercial sex industry by the racism and sexism rooted in our systems and institutions. At the same time, heterosexism and transnegativity in our culture puts youth who identify as LGBTQIA+ at disproportionate risk of exploitation. Youth who have experienced abuse and neglect in the child welfare system are also a vulnerable to being targeted by exploiters.
At My life My Choice, we provide a path to safety, stability and hope for all.
Pillars of progress.
Our plan rests on four pillars of progress. They will guide us to be the catalyst for survivor leadership and opportunity. As we dismantle harmful narratives and inspire action, we will change how vulnerable youth are seen, served and supported. We’re committed to doing everything we can to reach more youth in need and deepen our impact.
Be the catalyst for survivor leadership and opportunity.
We equip young survivors of sexual exploitation with the support, skills and resources they need to build their futures, find their voices and become leaders. To achieve this, we’ve developed a survivor-led, multidisciplinary team approach.
Through the lens of social justice, we provide mentoring, intensive case management, job readiness, leadership development, mental health services and community building to create more opportunities for recovery and success, such as better health, housing, education and job opportunities for young survivors.
Our survivor mentors are the heartbeat of My Life My Choice. Their knowledge, wisdom and strength have helped to establish, lead and maintain best practices both in Massachusetts and in communities across the country. Their extraordinary leadership has fueled a movement to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Shift the norms that enable the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
We are working hard to dismantle the cultural norms that allow any child or adult to be bought and sold. These norms are deeply embedded in our culture and enable complacency, justification or denial that trafficking exists in our communities. Through training, advocacy, community engagement and youth-led initiatives, we’re addressing the root causes and taking the necessary next steps to fight this insidious crime. In the process, we’ll expose and debunk the harmful belief that youth who get exploited must be “bad kids” who got themselves into bad situations.
Specifically, we need to address the disproportionate risk of exploitation for girls of color and LGBTQIA+ youth. This means calling out racism and the institutional nature of racial injustice, as well as taking a stand against heterosexism and transnegativity that endanger LGBTQIA+ youth.
We can’t stop there. We must dismantle the harmful gender stereotypes that often trivialize violence against girls and women. Too many men feel they’re justified in paying for sexual access to someone else’s body. Such toxic beliefs need to be flushed out of our systems once and for all. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is not someone else’s problem. It’s ours. We must stand together against this human rights abuse and reduce its widespread impact on the public health of our communities.
Influence the systems most impacting vulnerable youth.
Every trafficked youth has their own story. But their stories have common themes. Many of them have been involved with the child welfare system and have experienced neglect and abuse. Some get caught in the “trauma-to-prison” or “school-to-prison” trap and end up in the criminal justice system.
Despite their resilience and strength, trafficked youth are at high risk for significant physical and mental health issues, as well as poor educational outcomes. Moreover, many providers across these critical systems don’t have the training or awareness to detect the signs and respond.
We’re deepening our partnerships with child welfare, criminal justice, education and health care systems. We’re ramping up our training efforts and bringing survivor voices, up front and center, in policy reform and development. The momentum we’re building is paving the way for change at the local level, statewide and, ultimately, across the nation.
Increase capacity to reach more youth and deepen our impact.
Over the years, our proven, battle-tested model has served thousands of young people and supported hundreds of organizations working to end trafficking and sexual exploitation. Today, we’re a survivor-led, learning-focused, social justice-minded organization that’s known for leadership and innovation across the country.
Looking ahead, we are deepening our commitment to our core values and staff development, investing in racial equity work internally and advocating for it externally, and working to ensure equity and inclusion for LGBTQIA+ individuals. We will continue to strengthen our financial position and expand our impact through diverse funding streams, increasing capacity through new technologies and moving to a new permanent home, and by investing in the quality and efficacy of our programs through comprehensive evaluation and monitoring.
In the deepest, darkest days of my life I did not believe in myself, but with the help of my mentor at My Life My Choice, I got out of my own way and now I am a brand new person.
N, age 15
