True Justice Work Isn't Just Outrage

True Justice Work Isn't Just Outrage

Injustice should make us outraged, but it matters how we react to it. Responding by wishing AIDS on a person or punctuating a tweet with hashtags like #burn and #die hardly advances the work of justice. This kind of approach only fuels our “outrage economy” and turns the internet into an online battlefield, escalating already volatile issues and dividing people even further.

Read More

Who Gets to be an Anti-Trafficking Activist?

Who Gets to be an Anti-Trafficking Activist?

Our limited definition of activism is problematic. It keeps some people out of engaging in important work because they don’t feel qualified enough—while keeping others imprisoned by it, demanding perfection and martyrdom of themselves and veering dangerously toward burnout and compassion fatigue.

Is there a place for celebrities and stay-at-home parents and business leaders and amateurs in the justice movement?

Read More

How Effective are Awareness Campaigns in the Fight against Human Trafficking?

How Effective are Awareness Campaigns in the Fight against Human Trafficking?

Compassion can be hard—and maybe that’s why we detach ourselves in the first place. I wonder if we limit ourselves to single-day awareness campaigns because it’s as much as we can handle. People who are learning about human trafficking for the first time are heartbroken and often can’t spare too much energy on it. Even veteran service providers are susceptible to compassion fatigue and burnout.

How do we approach these kinds of tough issues more sustainably, instead of expending all our energy at once?

Read More