What motivated you to join the fight against human trafficking and get involved with the Exodus Cry organization?

I grew up in a household where my father was very attuned to human rights issues. As a child in the Middle East, in the midst of war, he had first-hand experience with human suffering and injustice. As a result, my father dedicated his own life to alleviating suffering. He became a general surgeon, who over the years, saved many lives. Growing up in a home where human rights’ issues were front and center, made it something that I decided I wanted to focus on. I was first introduced to the issue of sex trafficking over a decade ago. Since then, I have put all of my attention toward ending that particular injustice.

What do your day-to-day responsibilities entail?

As the founder of the viral #Traffickinghub campaign to shut down Pornhub and hold its executives accountable for aiding sex trafficking, my days have been completely consumed with helping the campaign move forward and gain momentum in order to accomplish the massive goal…The most intense part of running a campaign like this is hearing from victims who have recently, and in the past, been victimized on Pornhub both as children and adults. It is heartbreaking to hear their stories of abuse at the hands of Pornhub and how Pornhub has immortalized their trauma, but also keeps me motivated to put an end to Pornhub’s complicity in mass sex trafficking, assault, abuse, and rape.

How has leading such a large endeavor affected you personally?

It has been a whirlwind since the campaign went viral. I have been so grateful for all of the traction, support and momentum that we have gained toward the incredibly important goal of holding this mega-predator, Pornhub, and its parent company, Mindgeek, accountable for complicity in mass exploitation. Every advocate against trafficking hopes for the day when something they initiate takes off in such a widespread and viral way. No one could engineer a moment like this.

I don’t take that lightly. At this time, my entire life has become overtaken by the mission to shut down arguably the world’s largest purveyor of sexual violence—and I won’t stop until we prevail.

Do you think there is a link between porn addiction and sex trafficking?

Porn consumers fuel the demand that makes sex trafficking in pornography profitable for traffickers and organizations like Pornhub that enable and profit from the abuse. 

Without the demand, traffickers and those partnering with them like Pornhub, would go out of business. Anyone that cares about ending sex trafficking should stop using Pornhub or any Mindgeek-owned websites.

Some experts are warning the public that there’s been a surge in child sexual exploitation online and human trafficking during the COVID-19 crisis. Are you concerned about this? How is Exodus Cry attempting to address this issue?

Vulnerability of the victim is the factor that is present in all cases of sex trafficking. When vulnerability increases, such as with economic hardship, isolation, domesetic abuse, homelessness, etc., there is sure to be an increase in sex trafficking, which thrives on the abuse of vulnerability. Exodus Cry is seeking to combat and prevent commerical sexual exploitation by changing mindsets about the issue, changing laws that enable sex trafficking to flourish, and reaching out to those who are in situations of exploitation.

Right now, Exodus Cry is making a big impact by helping to take down Pornhub, which is the largest global criminal organization complicit in mass sex trafficking.