Goal, Aim, & Approach

The Goal: To replicate and build upon the successful approach to CSE developed in Seattle/ King County in communities throughout the US.

The Aim: Modeling Equality seeks to shift norms and transform culture. 

The aim of modeling equality is to promote policies and practices along a spectrum of prevention and across levels of social ecology to address CSE that are consistent with the principles that Equality Model legislation is based upon. The project itself is not about legislation. Part of the power of Equality Model legislation in countries that have passed it has been the shifting of social norms. It is a complement to Equality Model Legislation that focuses on advocating for the development of policies and practices rather than legislation.

The Approach: We advocate for and co-create cultures of mutuality that are create environments where exploitation can't thrive.

operationalizing the Equality Model to end Commercial Sexual Exploitation. 

The Equality Model is often erroneously viewed as solely a criminal legal response to prostitution that:

1. Decriminalizes prostitution for those who are exploited and

2. Criminalizes sex buying, pimping and trafficking

While this is an aspect of Equality Model legislation, there is a lot more to it than the criminal legal aspects of the approach. We can view the Equality Model as a framework for understanding and addressing CSE as a practice of Gender-Based Violence. When we do this, actions, interventions, policies and practices emerge that are different than when we address it as Human Trafficking.