The Fierce Freedom Podcast

Spotify, Ebay, Discord, Instagram - all these major corporations are featured on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation's "Dirty Dozen" list this year for facilitating, enabling, and even profiting from sexual abuse and exploitation.

To speak more on the history of this decade spanning initiative, and its many victories, we invited Lina Nealon, Vice President & Director of Corporate Advocacy for NCOSE.

Lina highlights some of these mainstream contributors of sexual exploitation and how consumers can easily take action to help hold them accountable and influence future policies.

If you'd like to learn more and help to ignite change within these global entities, check out the Dirty Dozen list this year by visiting: endsexualexploitation.org/dirtydozenlist-2023

Deepfake pornography is on the rise. In fact, a 2019 report showed that deepfake creation would double yearly and that 96% of existing deepfakes were nonconsensual pornography. (Fight the New Drug)

To dive deeper into this newer form of online exploitation, host Cat Morgan is joined by new podcast co-host, and broadcast veteran, Mark Halvorsen.

Together they'll also share some of the ways to approach this issue within your family, how to help curb this rise, and lastly what to do if you've been a victim of nonconsensual pornography.

If you've been a victim of deepfake pornography call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

On today's episode we're highlighting our friend Marlene Sorenson, who is the Co-Founder/Executive Director of Zeteo Community based in Madison WI. This is a non-profit organization working to provide housing, healing and hope for women who have been sexually exploited and their children.

Marlene shares about this journey to create a beautiful home of healing and restoration for survivors - which came from a God-given desire to give survivors of exploitation a healing community where they can dream and thrive.

To learn more or to partner with Zeteo Community financially you can check out their website:  zeteocommunity.org

Today’s episode continues our conversation with Shayla Beaumont, the Elevate|Uplift Coordinator for MIWSAC Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition.

Shayla shares more about best practices for engaging with this work and highlights the programming available through Elevate|Uplift to assist organizations serving survivors of sexual violence to change their practices and uphold the healing journey through a variety of learning opportunities

To learn more about the work Shayla is doing with Elevate|Uplift, check out their website here.

The BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) estimates there are 4,200 missing and murdered cases that have gone unsolved, most of these cases are women.  

To speak more about the disproportionately high rates of sexual violence and incarceration among native women and its roots in historical oppression, we invited Shayla Beaumont, who has advocated for those in human trafficking or domestic abuse for nearly a decade and now serves as the Elevate|Uplift Coordinator for MIWSAC Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition.

Shayla brings to light so many of the disparities modern Native peoples face and how frequently crimes against them by non-Native members go unchecked.

To learn more about the work Shayla is doing with Elevate|Uplift, check out their website here.

Oscar-winning film "Women Talking" is living up to its name by inciting thought-provoking conversation about abuses going on in isolated religious communities.

This episode is no exception, to delve more into the hard truths stirred up by this powerful film, we invited returning guest Hope Anne Dueck, Executive Director of A Better Way which often works with survivors of abuse from plain dress communities.

Hope Anne shares from her own professional and personal experiences growing up in a Mennonite community to explore its connections to real life events and what important takeaways we can take from such an impactful story.

Studies show that about 61% of adults surveyed across 25 states reported that they had experienced at least one type of adverse childhood experience (ACE).

All of us carry invisible traumas from childhood that greatly affect our life trajectory and can also lead to higher risk for substance abuse, depression, and lower life expectancy.

Despite this fact, there is hope. We invited Fierce Freedom Board Member and Doctor of Physical Therapy Jessie Podolak to highlight healing pathways of compassion towards these experiences within ourselves and subsequently helping others to counter these negative pulls.

To learn about these resources you can download Jessie's slide deck here. 

What is sextortion and why is it on the rise? We asked returning guest Dr. Justin Patchin, Co-Founder of the Cyberbullying Research Center to share about growing trends of sextortion - what has caused its rise and why kids make such common targets for predators. 

He also gives an overview of a new tool "Take It Down," aimed at helping victims of sextortion have their image taken down across various platforms and how he recommends families approach these kinds of tough topics through harm reduction and supportive practices.

To learn more about the work Justin is doing you can visit: cyberbullying.org

As part of our monthly series about porn and sexuality, we invited Laila Mickelwait, CEO of the Justice Defense Fund and Founder of #Traffickinghub Movement to talk more about her work to hold "mega trafficking" site Pornhub accountable and her work to help survivors of sex trafficking find justice.

In part II of this episode, Laila highlights her org The Justice Defense Fund which endeavors to bring justice to survivors of sex trafficking and child sexual abuse through an alliance of policy experts, lawmakers, attorneys, advocates, academics, and survivors in order to achieve success.

She also explains how we need to collectively increase risk and decrease profit for traffickers and buyers by pushing forward legislation and litigation that supports this and also continuing to spread awareness about porn sites that profit from blatant exploitation.

You can support Laila's work with the Justice Defense Fund here: justicedefensefund.org

To join this movement, you can sign the #Traffickinghub petition here: traffickinghub.com. You can also follow Laila on Twitter for any updates in the movement @lailamickelwait

During our monthly series talking about porn & sexuality, we are highlighting the collective work of several organizations and one woman in particular, who has relentlessly worked to expose the "mega trafficker" Pornhub, the most popular porn site in the world.

Laila Mickelwait, Founder of #Traffickinghub Movement has made global headlines for her work to sound the alarm against this porn site, and parent company MindGeek, which has profited billions through underage, non-consensual, and graphic pornography it has hosted for users on the site.

In part I of this episode, Laila breaks down the journey towards accountability of this site and the value of collaboration and persistence in this fight.

To join this movement, you can sign the #Traffickinghub petition here: traffickinghub.com

Whether you were raised to believe in hook up or purity culture, our attitudes towards sexuality can be incredibly varied, leading to a lot of confusion on how best to approach sex.

Our podcast guest, Evening Snow has authored a book, “Sex On Clearance”  that challenges readers to look beyond social norms that dictate how to view their sexuality by using research on how casual sex is impacting our bodies, brains, and our relationships. She also encourages parents to begin this conversation with kids early to create a comfortable and safe environment to bring their questions.

Evening hopes by sharing her own experiences in these chapters, others will feel confident in their worth while navigating romantic and sexual relationships.

To buy her book on Amazon go here: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Clearance-Tempted-Sacred-Marriage/dp/B0B5LK19HH

This month we're talking about porn and sexuality. To kick things off we invited Author and Sexual Therapist Andrew J. Bauman to share about his work with men, inviting them to embrace healthy and wholistic sexuality.

He shares about his journey of outgrowing pornography and what he wants men to know about repairing a spousal relationship in the wake of this kind of addiction. Mostly, Andrew's message is one of hope for those caught up in a life of addiction who are yearning for more.

Check out Andrew's blogs or published work by visiting: andrewjbauman.com

If you're looking for faith-based counseling and therapeutic resources through Andrew and his wife Christy, visit: christiancc.org

If there's one thing our podcast guest understands, it is finding ways to step out faithfully everyday. For decades, Terry Hildebrandt has stepped into opportunities that serve others and shine light on injustices like sex trafficking.

On this episode, Terry shares about how his work with the Salvation Army intersected with vulnerable populations and informed his personal, professional, and academic practices. He explains too how this knowledge of the child sex trade affected him as a parent, and what he hopes for future generations.

To learn more about some of the programming available for vulnerable populations, check out the Salvation Army's website here.

Regardless of your favorite steaming service, binging on documentaries and other depictions of lived experiences can be a fantastic way to bring awareness to the masses.

But are there potential harms to over consumption of these kinds of shows? To join the conversation we have Naomi Wright, Executive Director of beEmboldened Ministries.

Together, she and host Cat Morgan unpack their own experiences and what they learned are best practices to engage sustainably with this kind of binge-worthy content.

If you have been a victim of religious abuse or want to learn more about the work Naomi is doing with beEmboldened Ministries visit: beemboldened.com

Part II of our conversation with Rosie Cataldo, who works as a trauma-informed human trafficking consultant, prevention educator & healing conduit through her consulting service, Consult Rosie.

In today's episode Rosie gives advocates some strategies to create a "trauma barrier" for themselves and their clients, which include some de-escalation techniques and other methods of harm reduction when working with victims of crime.

If you'd like to bring Rosie in to consult with you or your team, you can visit her website or email consultrosie@gmail.com.

This is part I of our conversation with Rosie Cataldo who works as a trauma-informed human trafficking consultant, prevention educator & healing conduit through her consulting service, Consult Rosie.

In today's episode, Rosie shares about her first interaction with the world of sex trafficking and how it spurred her on to find her own role. She encourages us all to examine our own gifts which may lead us to finding a way to uniquely fill in the gaps within the anti-trafficking movement. 

One of those ways you can get involved is through a planking challenge she created to spread awareness about trafficking. 

Here's how you join the challenge!
1.) Post a photo or video of you planking.
2.) Share an action item: How you will come alongside this issue.
3.) Nominate a friend to participate.
4.) Tag @RosieCataldo, @fiercefreedomec &
@VeteransforChildRescue & we will share your post!

As many of us reflect on the past year, we likely have mixed emotions recounting both the ups and downs we have experienced.

Diane Bryant, spiritual director for Fierce Freedom guides listeners towards healthy practices for those of us seeking to engage prayerfully- in a sustainable way - with our own heartaches and the ones found in the world.

Our prayer event for the faith community will be held at The Valleybrook 410 Cafe (410 S. Barstow St. in Eau Claire WI) on Jan 11th, at 5:30 PM - we will gather for a time of music, reflection, prayer and testimony together.

Today's episode features guest Rachel Thomas, an author, speaker, educator, survivor of trafficking and member of the National Advisory Council of Human Trafficking.

Rachel shares some highlights from the The President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) as well as her how her unique story of trafficking and exploitation ultimately led her to creation of Ending the Game, a curriculum that works to reduce recidivism in trafficked victims by breaking bonds of attachment to traffickers and “The Game” lifestyle.

She also is debuting her new "Cool Aunt" video series geared towards educating youth and teens about "the life" and how they can keep themselves safe.

https://www.thecoolauntseries.com/

https://endingthegame.com/

Worldwide, an estimated 12 million girls are married every year before the age of 18 - this is nearly one girl every three seconds.

To speak more of her personal experience, we invited guest Samra Zafar, international and award-winning speaker, bestselling author and recognized among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.

Samra's book, A Good Wife: Escaping The Life I Never Chose, details her experience as a girl coming to Canada as a child bride.

She shares how her passion to be educated not only led her out of a life of bondage and abuse, but has given way to global influence on matters of child marriage as well as the insidious nature of emotional abuse.

This holiday season, check out some of our absolute favorite gift ideas from organizations that strive to value people and planet over profit.

1. Shema Apparel - Their collection of soft and livable clothing is all made with love in sewing centers in SE Asia that empower and employ the most vulnerable and survivors of human trafficking. Designed and created with our environment in mind.

Use promo code FIERCEFREEDOM20 from now until Nov 30th for 20% off anything in their store!

2. Equal Exchange - distributes organic, gourmet coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, avocados, cocoa, and chocolate bars produced by farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Use promo code FAIRFALL to get 10% off your order!

3. The Hivebox - A subscription box for families that facilitates conversations on justice from Stories Foundation

4. Eden Jewelry - Creates beautiful and unique pieces that carry stories of hope and courage into the world while empowering survivors. The profits from each of your purchases directly benefit the women in Eden’s comprehensive program to reach, rescue, and restore trafficking victims.

Sign up with your email and get 15% off your order.

5. Fierce Freedom - Check out our range of ethically-sourced, NEW gift ideas for the whole family. All proceeds go back to our mission to end modern-day slavery and to prevent trafficking in our community - each year we reach thousands from supporters like you.

Shop our store with the code FIERCE for 20% off until Dec 10th and check out our pop-up shopping event Dec 11th.