I´ve said it once, I´ll say it again: It is easy (and good) to debunk trafficking posts that are outright conspiracy theories. I am also glad to see when groups that embellish and outright fabricate are held to account (now OUR, before Saved in America, etc.). 1/

It might be harder to face the fact that the mainstream anti-trafficking groups, many of the same that denounce all of the above, lightly or not so lightly peddle in debunked factoids, outdated or out-of-context stats, and outright evidence-free speculation about recent trends.2/

There is a direct financial incentive to aggrandize an issue and one´s role in solving it. The combination of a million choices over the years by 100s of anti-trafficking groups to lean towards sensationalism as a means to garner support and resources has come at a cost. 3/

It might have landed the whole field in what some people call the "rigor free zone." Choices to embellish in newsletters, posts and presentations have slowly alienated supporters / donors who are prone to put some critical thinking into claims, 4/

and it has made the field more reliant on supporters / donors who are less likely to scrutinize and might just hit Donate in response to a compelling anecdote.
5/

Some may have rationalized these choices as just a means to the end of securing resources for real work that can´t be shared in fundraising emails. But this does create conditions ripe for a group like OUR to sweep in without any shame about taking that formula to the extreme. 6/

The next time you read a mainstream anti-trafficking group take down OUR or its like, pay attention things they can´t call out because people who live in glass houses can´t throw stones. 7/

Pay attention and you might realize many groups are not really saying "hey, OUR, you are a fraud" -- they are actually saying "hey, when we use shocking imagery, misleading claims, +unearned comparisons to historical abolitionism to hit fundraising goals, we do it tastefully!" 8/

Some might resent the comparison because they´ll say there is a hard and easy line to draw between the "real" groups (those that actually work with people in question or better yet are led by them) and the "frauds." 9/

I´d say that the distinction between real service providers and the rest IS important, and more reason for those actually working in the field to avoid even slightly using sensationalism or fiction. 10/

If that pivot means real agencies doing good work lose the attention of donors who gravitate towards shock and awe, it might also mean the field re-earns sustainers who understand that to solve entrenched, deeply-rooted issues it takes evidence, humility, and time. 11/

Easy first steps for 2021: Stop saying "third largest criminal enterprise in the world" -- the person who claims to have originated that in a closed-door meeting 20 years ago already said it was a total guess! 12/

Watch out for the "average age of entry" stats... so many bad ones out there! And yeah, come on, calls to THE hotline (or your hotline, or any hotline) do not equal confirmed cases. Indicators of trafficking are not always trafficking. 13/

Not all child labor is child labor trafficking. A lot of child labor is not even illegal -- maybe it should be, but it´s not! Arrests and prosecutions trends do not say much about incidence or prevalence. The list goes on! 14/14