Key takeaways from Building The World We Want Conference
“We’ve come a long way, we have a long way to go.”
From June 4-6, survivors, advocates, policymakers, and experts gathered in Washington, D.C. for World Without Exploitation’s Building A World We Want conference.
What a gift it was to join advocates and leaders from across the country. For three days, we listened, learned, and stood in solidarity—being reminded once again that collective action is the only way forward. We echo the charge spoken by speaker after speaker, "the moment is now."
Here are key takeaways.
Education, Awareness and the Power of Story
Throughout the conference, speakers emphasized that education is the foundation of change. Advocates called for widespread training for:
Law enforcement, prosecutors, and jurors
Policymakers and business owners
Transportation workers, journalists, and community members
There was a unified cry to amplify survivor voices to humanize this issue and advocate for laws that curb demand and protect victims. As many presenters stated, “We must put a face and a name to this issue to make it personal.”
Dismantling the “Empowered Sex Worker” Narrative
Survivors and advocates rejected the term “sex worker” as misleading, noting that it normalizes and legitimizes exploitation, and is harmful to the majority of people caught in the sex industry.
In a powerful moment, actress and activist Ashley Judd declared:
“A mouth, a vagina, and an anus is not a workplace.”
Audra Doody, Co-CEO of the Safe Exit Initiative, stated:
“If I wanted to have sex with you, you wouldn’t have to pay me.”
Rights4Girls summarized it poignantly: “Prostitution is not the oldest profession, it’s the oldest oppression.”
OnlyFans and Digital Deception
Panelists spoke extensively about the dangers of platforms like OnlyFans and sugaring websites. Dahlia Locke, Co-Chair of the World Without Exploitation Youth Coalition, shared:
“Now, all you need to be exploited is your phone, and all you need to exploit is your phone.”
She noted how social media glamorizes exploitation, presenting OnlyFans and sugaring as paths to wealth and empowerment while concealing the realities of abuse, grooming, and deep-rooted trauma. Brooke Urick described sugaring as “soft prostitution” and revealed manipulative tactics by sugaring websites to recruit young women, including false promises of reality shows and incentives for students with .edu emails.
Panelists warned that such platforms create a dangerous culture of sexualized self-worth and self-objectification sold as empowerment, with devastating consequences for youth.
“It’s so easy to get in [to the life,] and so hard to get out.”
— Yasmeen Waheed, CEO, Survivors Inspire Solutions (SIS)
The Porn to Purchasing Pipeline
Experts highlighted a growing trajectory: buyers begin with pornography, progress to purchasing content on platforms like OnlyFans, and eventually escalate to buying sex in person. Because OnlyFans content is labeled “self-generated,” it gives buyers a false green light, fueling the myth that women want to be sexualized and consumed, normalizing exploitation. They also warned that sex buyers are getting younger and younger, groomed by a culture that normalizes sexual commodification and exploitation.
The Survivor Model Is Not An Option—It’s A Necessity
Movement leaders such as Yasmin Vafa (Rights4Girls), Audra Doody (Safe Exit initiative), Megan Griffin (NCOSE), and Stephany Powell (former police sergeant and SME) spoke about the necessity of the Survivor Model and advocated for incremental steps, such as
Safe-harbor laws
Diversion programs
Buyer bills
They emphasized that anti-demand policies are key to preventing “back-door decriminalization.”
Legislative Wins and the Path Forward
Key legislative updates included
Full decriminalization efforts defeated in 11 states as of June 2025
Take It Down Act (May 19, 2025) – requires online platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery within 48 hours upon victim request
Pending legislation to watch
Several federal bills are currently under consideration as of July 2025:
Trafficking Survivor Relief Act (TSRA) – Allows survivors to vacate nonviolent federal convictions resulting from their exploitation
Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) – Requires online platforms to protect minors from harmful content and addictive design features
SHIELD Act – Criminalizes the distribution of intimate images without consent, including deepfakes
DEFIANCE Act – Allows victims of AI-generated sexual deepfakes to sue creators or distributors
Class Action Lawsuit Against PornHub
A class-action lawsuit is underway against MindGeek (Pornhub’s parent company). Individuals who were minors when appearing in content uploaded to their sites may be eligible for compensation. Visit mindgeekclassactionlitigation.com/home for details.
A Charge for Collaboration and Change
Advocates issued a clear call to action:
Use your voice.
Join coalitions.
Call your legislators.
Elevate survivor voices.
Show up and speak out—keep the conversation about this issue alive. This movement demands collaboration across every sphere of influence.
Speaker after speaker echoed the charge,
“The moment [for this issue] is now.”