Why people become radical extremists and how to help them
New research sheds light on the indoctrination process of radical extremist groups.
08 April, 2021
Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
- A new study features interviews with 24 former extremists on the radicalization process.
- Financial instability, online propaganda, and reorienting events that caused them to "snap" are leading causes of indoctrination.
- The research team offers potential solutions, including exposure to diverse ideas during childhood and a tamping down of polarization and media sensationalism.
<p>Researchers are continuing to unpack the reasons why extremists stormed the Capitol on January 6. Political scientist Robert Pape hypothesized that answers could be found in increasingly desperate economic conditions—the distance between the wealthiest and everyone else has <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/6-facts-about-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s/" target="_blank">never been so stark in America</a>. As he dug into the data, however, a different story emerged. </p><p>The insurrectionists, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/06/capitol-insurrection-arrests-cpost-analysis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">he found</a>, were predominantly from areas that feared immigrants and minorities are taking away rights and opportunities from white people. As Pape <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/politics/capitol-riot-study.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told the <em>NY Times</em></a>, </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"If you look back in history, there has always been a series of far-right extremist movements responding to new waves of immigration to the United States or to movements for civil rights by minority groups. [The Capitol insurrectionists] are mainly middle-class to upper-middle-class whites who are worried that, as social changes occur around them, they will see a decline in their status in the future."</p><p>Pape isn't the only researcher contemplating the path from aggrievement to insurrection. A <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1071-1.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new study</a>, published by the RAND Corporation, takes a detailed look at the indoctrination process through interviews with white nationalists, Islamic extremists, and their family members and friends. </p><p>The researchers set out with a basic set of questions to better understand the radicalization process in the hopes of developing prevention and intervention measures. </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>What factors lead individuals to join violent extremist organizations? </li><li>How and why do extremists become deradicalized, leave their organizations, change their minds, and in some cases join the fight against radicalism? </li><li>What can we do better to assist those who have been radicalized and prevent extremist organizations from recruiting new members? </li></ul><p>After poring over existing research, the team conducted 36 interviews, consisting of 24 former extremists, 10 family members, and two friends. Most of the subjects were active in this millennium, with six only active before the year 2000. </p><p>The researchers discovered three major background characteristics that led people to become extremists. (1) Financial instability: In 22 cases, financial instability was key, with seven former extremists claiming this as the main reason they joined an extremist organization. (2) Mental health issues: In 17 cases, overwhelming anger predominated, but PTSD, trauma, substance abuse, and depression around physical issues also played a role. (3) Social factors: Marginalization, victimization, and stigmatization were mentioned in 16 cases. </p><p>Often, these background characteristics weren't enough. In over half the cases, there was a "reorienting event," that is, a moment that "broke" them, such as being rejected from the military, experiencing long-term unemployment, or enduring a friend's suicide. Propaganda was involved in 22 cases, predominantly through social media but also through books and music. Another factor was direct and indirect recruitment, with indirect recruitment being much more common. In other words, the individuals sought to join extremists groups. Social bonds played a role in 14 cases, including "graduating" from one organization to a more extreme group.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNjAzMTExMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTQ3MTY3NX0.NCbZBnI6VCJ1dLOIeN5qmmybpWBHHlMmSmg5YgEJlj8/img.jpg?width=980" id="1ac2b" width="4032" height="2688" data-rm-shortcode-id="bde6214516f750f61682b249ee410e99" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption..." spellcheck="false">A Proud Boy member is armed with a gun labeled "Zombie Killer" as members and supporters of Patriot Prayer gather in Esther Short Park for a memorial for member Aaron J. Danielson in Vancouver, Washington on September 5, 2020. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Credit: Allison Dinner / AFP via Getty Images</small></p><p><br></p><h2>How to help extremists</h2><p>Why do extremists quit? The most common reasons for leaving are feelings of disillusionment and burnout. Members grew disappointed by the failed promises of leaders or noticed hypocrisy among the ranks. Over half of the individuals were involved in failed deradicalization efforts, however, showing the resilience of these organizations even when family members and friends try to intervene. </p><p>The good news is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. An extremist isn't a lost cause. The team lists important steps for helping extremists leave hate groups as well as for preventing people from being seduced in the first place. The researchers' recommendations include: </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Exposure to diverse ideas, especially during childhood</li><li>The development of critical thinking skills</li><li>Participation in prosocial activities that promote positive behaviors and inclusiveness</li><li>Exposure to different racial and cultural groups</li><li>Addressing marginalization more broadly</li><li>A tamping down of polarization and media sensationalism</li><li>Better access to mental health treatment </li><li>Targeted outreach and support for military veterans</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>The researchers note that this is a small study sample, so further work is necessary. Yet, these interviews offer a starting point for understanding the true scope of the problem. The reasons people become extremists are complex and multivariate. Preventing extremism therefore requires a holistic approach that addresses topics such as childhood education, poverty, mental health, ethnic and racial animosity, and the prevalence of propaganda.</p><p>--</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. His most recent book is</em> "<em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KRVMP2M?pf_rd_r=MDJW43337675SZ0X00FH&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy</a>."</em></p><p><em><br></em></p>
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Bellingcat is transforming investigative journalism with open-sourced information
The independent news collective is teaching a new generation of journalists and citizens to spot the stories in plain sight.
12 March, 2021
Credit: Adobe Stock
<p>On July 17, 2014, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28357880" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Malaysia Airlines Flight 17</a> (MH17) was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The attack occurred in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists and seemed the result of a surface-to-air missile. Everyone on board was killed. </p><p>The event triggered public outrage and an international season of the blame game. Western Europe, led by the U.S. and Ukraine, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/world/europe/malaysian-airliner-ukraine.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pointed fingers at Russia</a>, while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-mh17-evidence-ukraine-behind-2014-plane-crash-2018-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russia tried to pin the blame on Ukraine</a>, going so far as to claim a Ukrainian military jet tailed the commercial aircraft immediately before the disaster.</p><p>Later that year, <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/app/uploads/2014/11/Origin-of-the-Separatists-Buk-A-Bellingcat-Investigation1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an investigative team put out a report</a> linking the pro-Russian separatists to the Buk-M1 missile launcher likely responsible for the tragedy. The team compiled photos, satellite imagery, and video evidence to follow a missile transport from Donetsk to Snizhne immediately before the downing of the aircraft. They then confirmed the transport leaving the area later, sans one missile.</p><p>This report was not filed by an NGO or a legacy news organization like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, nor did the team have access to insider or classified information. Its authors were a small, independent collective of researchers and citizen journalists called Bellingcat, and their information came from social media posts, Google Maps satellite imagery, and videos uploaded to YouTube. In other words, the facts were out in the open for anyone to see. Bellingcat simply knew where to look.</p>
Following the data
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTgxNTcwMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTQ2OTMzOX0.eH3ohur8vdt_Y1j77p4x3cjxy8rMTPbHSYb9QaIjGnc/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C6%2C0%2C254&height=700" id="fb90b" width="1245" height="700" data-rm-shortcode-id="563f9b3b5043a606b6a8c46c7fc20883" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Dutch Safety Board Chairman Tjibbe Joustra speaks in front of the MH17 wreckage to present its final report into the attack.
<p>Bellingcat was founded by <a href="https://time.com/5943393/bellingcat-eliot-higgins-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eliot Higgins</a>, a citizen journalist who gained online prominence investigating weapons smuggling during the Syrian war. The collective's report into the MH17 attack would serve as its breakthrough, and it would continue to improve our understanding of the tragic event and countering Russian disinformation. </p><p>Since then, Bellingcat has legally registered as a foundation in the Netherlands and has continued to unearth consequential details to some of the most important news stories of the last decade, including the <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/syria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Syrian War</a>, the <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-world/2019/03/15/shitposting-inspirational-terrorism-and-the-christchurch-mosque-massacre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christchurch mosque massacre</a>, and the <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/?s=poison" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">poisonings</a> of Yulia Skripal and Alexei Navalny.</p><p>The foundation's model of journalism is known as "open-source investigation." According to Aric Toler, Bellingcat's director of research and training, it's less an overturning of investigative journalism than a "genre" within it. This type of investigation follows digital data trails that are freely available on the internet. The bread crumbs could be found in public records, media reports, photos on Twitter, or people silly enough to upload a video of themselves committing a crime on Parler.</p><p>"Bellingcat's rise reveals something new about our digitally mediated times: spying is no longer the preserve of nation states – anyone with an internet connection can do it. The balance between open and secret intelligence is shifting. The most useful stuff is often public," writes Luke Harding for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/we-are-bellingcat-by-eliot-higgins-review-the-reinvention-of-reporting-for-the-internet-age" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guardian</a>.</p><p>The vast amount of data available online allows Bellingcat's researchers to piece together timelines or connect seemingly disparate events to reveal their connective, underlying thread. In its investigation into <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/01/08/the-journey-of-ashli-babbitt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the shooting of Ashli Babbitt</a>, researchers created a timeline of radicalization through her social-media footprint; they also mapped her journey during the Capitol Riot by locating videos showing her in the crowd and comparing background details to publicly available floorplans of the U.S. Capitol Building.</p><p>Like a fussy math teacher, the foundation employs a "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/bellingcat-navalny-russian-data-capitol-investigation/2021/01/08/e96ab9e8-449b-11eb-a277-49a6d1f9dff1_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">show-your-work approach</a>" to maintain credibility, transparency, and back-of-the-book peeking. Each article or report meticulously presents its data points through links and images, building the trail of evidence crumb-by-crumb. By the end, readers have seen the same evidence as the researcher and can decide whether said evidence supports the researcher's conclusions.</p><p>Aware such evidence can sometimes vanish—either by the people who upload it or corporations fretting over public relations—Bellingcat has also gone to great lengths to archive and back up important data before they are lost.</p>Balancing clarity and caution
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="003a7d0b1b60879df578fa12764355ef"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U1QJtDCCMLA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>While today Bellingcat employs a small team of journalists and editors, it still relies on volunteers and citizen journalists willing to dedicate the time and effort to scrape the internet for leads.</p><p>This, Toler told us in our interview, is an advantage to Bellingcat's investigative methods. While traditional news outlets contend with shrinking budgets, less personnel, and more information to wrangle than ever, they simply lack the resources necessary to explore the deluge of data we call the internet. Conversely, Bellingcat can overcome these barriers by tapping into a pre-existing group of enthusiasts who thrive on a sense of devotion, interest, and personal satisfaction. And the more people who team up to solve a problem, the lighter the work becomes.</p><p>But there are challenges. "It's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you have a clear gap in information. It's just not feasible for large outlets to cover this stuff to the degree it should be. But also, the people who do have time and do it, there's not as much responsibility on them, and who knows what they could do that causes harm," Toler said.</p><p>Consider the open-sourced nature of the evidence. Bellingcat's show-your-work approach is necessary for clarity and transparency, but it also creates a set of instructions for those looking to duplicate the formula. While Bellingcat maintains the guidelines of a traditional newsroom, others may not and bad actors could locate information Bellingcat deemed sensitive enough to redact and use it to harm others by, say, doxing.</p><p>"There's really no good solution because you can't control what the mob does. If someone is angry, they can dig into this stuff because it is open source, and if you give the transparency of how you got your stuff, then you can't avoid the fact that it can then be reproduced and found," Toler said.</p><p>Because of this, Bellingcat hopes to serve as a type of intermediary. Like a traditional newsroom, it vets its sources, sets up fail-safes to catch misinformation, and writes its reports to protect bystanders and prevent libel. It hopes these practices will serve as an example for citizen journalists to emulate. On the obverse, it aims to show established news outlets the power and reach of open-sourced investigative techniques and these online communities.</p><img
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Recently, Bellingcat has worked to investigate the Jan.6 Capitol Riots.
Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
<p>Looking to the larger media landscape, Bellingcat doesn't see itself in competition with traditional news media. It views its position as one of cooperation. The foundation has worked with several news partners to investigate stories and promote its work, such as sharing <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2021/02/24/woman-accused-of-stealing-nancy-pelosis-laptop-appears-in-video-making-nazi-salute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the findings of its Riley June Williams investigation</a> with <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/extremists-made-little-secret-ambitions-occupy-capital-weeks-attack-n1253499" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NBC</a>.</p><p>It also offers <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/events/2020/04/03/bellingcat-now-offering-online-investigation-training-workshops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">training workshops</a> to teach open-source investigation. These are not only attended by journalists wishing to hone their skills but professionals like lawyers and finance managers looking to add these techniques to their trades. Because the foundation sees its methods as an extension of investigative journalism, not a replacement for it, it isn't looking to corner a market. Rather, it aims to evolve a profession to meet the challenges of its new 21<sup>st</sup>-century environment. </p><p>As Toler told us: "Journalism doesn't work one way or the other. It should be both. Do some open-source sleuthing to compliment and boost your on-the-ground reporting.</p><p>"Our gospel of open source, we're trying to spread that as much as we can. We want to make this a very mainstream part of traditional news. If we're made obsolete, that's a good thing because we'd like for more traditional news outlets to be doing digital investigation and verification work."</p>
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Is it time to decriminalize prostitution? Two New York bills answer yes in unique ways
One bill hopes to repeal the crime of selling sex and expand social services; the other would legalize the entire sex trade.
01 March, 2021
Credit: Chandan Khanna/Getty Images
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul>
<p>Although incorrectly labeled <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/03/rush-limbaugh-calls-sandra-fluke-a-prostitute-is-prostitution-really-the-worlds-oldest-profession.html" target="_blank">the world's oldest profession</a>, prostitution has been on the minds of lawmakers for as long as extant laws allow us to track. The Code of Hammurabi, the most complete of ancient Babylonian laws, doesn't deal with the sex trade directly but does distinguish between the inheritance rights enjoyed by "devoted women" versus prostituted women.</p><p>A few centuries later and across the Mediterranean, the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations regulated a legal sex trade depicted on frescos and black-and-red-figure vases in exotic and highly idealized terms. However, the courtesan's life was hardly a high-minded exercise in sexual liberation. Freeborn wives and daughters did not participate in the sex trade. Instead, these societies filled their brothels with slaves and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamia" target="_blank"><em>infames</em></a> and allowed them to suffer in abhorrent living conditions. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-grim-reality-of-the-brothels-of-pompeii-88853" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ashen evidence</a> from <a href="https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/mount-vesuvius-eruption" target="_self">Pompeii</a> reveals that prostituted women and young men were immured within dark, stifling cells barely large enough to house their stone beds.</p><p>In the United States today prostitution is entirely illegal, save for a few counties in the state of Nevada. Yet, <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fphtc15.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trafficking persists across the country</a>. <a href="https://fieldcenteratpenn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/6230-R10-Field-Center-Full-Report-Web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">One study from the Field Center for Children's Policy</a>, University of Pennsylvania, interviewed vulnerable youths across 13 cities and found that roughly a fifth were victims of sex trafficking. Many said they were approached for paid sexual acts during their first night of homelessness.</p><p>Opponents of the full-criminalization model argue that these regulations only aggravate such problems, driving prostituted people further underground, where harm and violence may be inflicted upon them without recourse. In recent decades, European countries have introduced new prostitution laws, leading U.S. advocates to raise their voices for decriminalization. And two new bills introduced in the New York State Senate hope to make that change.</p>
The Equality Model asks, criminal or victim?
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMzY3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTUxNjE3M30.g5Ln46h9dqAFsymzKPhZ22-euuhjzAqLcreFKC2oOn0/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C896%2C0%2C-1&height=700" id="06827" width="1245" height="700" data-rm-shortcode-id="454bd6e1b83ba20f97ee3e90258053c3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Advocates stand outside a courthouse to protest Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend to Jeffrey Epstein, for her role in his sex-trafficking ring.
Credit: Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images
<p>The most recent of the two is the Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act. Set to be introduced by Senator Liz Krueger of Manhattan, the law would repeal the crime of prostitution in the state but would maintain punitive measures against buyers and pimps. The penalty for buying sex, for example, would be a sliding-scale fine based on income.<strong> </strong>The bill also aims to strengthen laws against trafficking and eliminate the so-called <a href="http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article230.htm#p230.03" target="_blank">ignorance defense</a>, which affords buyers legal cover if they did not have "reasonable grounds" to assume their victim was underage.</p><p>The Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act is based on <a href="https://www.equalitymodelus.org/why-the-equality-model/" target="_blank">the Equality Model</a>, first introduced in Sweden in 1999. Under the Swedish Sex Purchase Act, the country decriminalized prostitution and began targeting buyers and suppliers with the goal of lowering demand. As demand decreased, the thinking went, Sweden would witness a subsequent reduction in violence, trafficking, and the trauma associated so strongly with the illicit sex trade. And <a href="https://www.government.se/4a4908/contentassets/8f0c2ccaa84e455f8bd2b7e9c557ff3e/english-summary-of-sou-2010-49.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a 2008 report</a> did find that the strategy manifested some of those goals. </p><p>After the law's introduction, costs increased, fewer men sought to purchase sex, and the number of women in street prostitution halved—though the burgeoning internet scene likely influenced that metric as much as the law. </p><p>As for Sweden's prostituted population, the report was mixed. Fears of the law driving prostitution further underground weren't realized, nor did the risks of physical abuse or dangerous living conditions increase. However, while people who sought to leave the life favored the law, those who wished to stay in the trade denigrated it for hyping the social stigma. </p><p>After the report's release, countries such as Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Israel adopted the Equality Model, and today, many U.S. advocacy groups champion for states to institute similar laws.</p><p>"We who have been in the human-trafficking policy movement for a long time have been advocating for years that people in prostitution should not be criminalized for their exploitation," Alexi Meyers, director of anti-trafficking policy at <a href="https://sanctuaryforfamilies.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanctuary for Families</a>, told Big Think in an interview discussing the New York bill. "It's the only law where the victim is arrested. Instead of handcuffs, [people in prostitution] need services, need housing, need support."</p><p>Critically, the Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act does more than decriminalize prostitution. It also bolsters social services such as housing, job training, and mental health care. To help finance these services, money collected by the aforementioned buyer fine will go into a victim-compensation fund. The bill also expands protections for minors arrested under safe harbor and would vacate victims' prior convictions so they could more easily find jobs. </p><p>"When someone has had no family support, have been abused their entire lives, and they haven't gotten the services they need, at the age of 18, they haven't magically transformed from a victim of trafficking into a consenting adult," Jayne Bigelsen, vice president of advocacy for Covenant House, New York, said in our interview.</p><p>Bigelsen grants that not everyone engaged in the commercial sex trade may view themselves as a victim, but she notes that a large portion of the population remains vulnerable nonetheless. To treat such people as criminals, as so many contemporary laws do, does no one any favors. The fear of arrest <a href="http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/pdf/Prostitutionin9Countries.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">actively discourages</a> victims from seeking an "off-ramp" to the life and strengthens the coercive hold their pimps and traffickers maintain on them.</p><p>"[The law helps] reframe the understanding that this is not a crime. It is a form of gender-based violence and exploitation. I think, over time, people will have a greater understanding of that," Bigelsen adds.</p>Prostitution, an occupation like any other?
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMzY1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTc3NjkzNX0.M_8OftwQ5yaGs4YyUPLIRNUAU7Ip-np2cNNdtEl8gLE/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C565%2C0%2C5&height=700" id="0b146" width="1245" height="700" data-rm-shortcode-id="958d700b5d663082c23f008041a153a9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Sex workers in Amsterdam's famous red-light district, where window prostitution is permitted.
Credit: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
<p>But critics of the Equality Model believe it's disguised paternalism that robs women of the right to choose. Worse, they argue, it further stigmatizes sex workers within society and drives the sex trade further underground, where exploitation and violence can continue to fester from prying eyes.</p><p><a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s6419#:~:text=S6419%20(ACTIVE)%20%2D%20Sponsor%20Memo&text=Part%20B%20repeals%20and%20amends,are%20repealed%20under%20this%20bill." target="_blank">A second New York Senate bill</a>, currently in committee, would decriminalize the entire sex trade within the state. Called the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act, the bill would keep penal laws related to minors and sex trafficking but would make sex work between consenting adults a legal, regulated trade.</p><p>"Sex work is work and should not be criminalized by the state," Senator Julia Salazar, who introduced the bill, stated in <a href="https://www.decrimny.org/post/for-immediate-release-decrim-ny-legislators-intro-first-statewide-bill-to-decriminalize-sex-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a press release</a>. "Our current policies only empower traffickers and others who benefit from keeping sex work in the shadows. New York State needs to listen to sex workers and make these common-sense reforms to keep sex workers safe and empower sex workers in their workplaces."</p><p>Like the Sex Trade Survivors Justice & Equality Act, Salazar's bill draws inspiration from European laws, namely those from the Netherlands and Germany. Both countries legalized the sex trade a few years after Sweden introduced its Equality Model—though laws and regulations vary between the countries and even districts within them. For example, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-introduces-unpopular-prostitution-law/a-39511761" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Germany has passed a law</a> that requires any business offering sex services to apply for a permit "that will only be granted if health, hygiene and room requirements are met," while <a href="https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/policy-health-care/policy-prostitution/#:~:text=In%20Amsterdam%2C%20prostitution%20in%20private,supplying%20locations%20for%20illegal%20prostitution." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amsterdam limits</a> window prostitution to specific city zones.</p><p>Full-decriminalization advocates hope such laws will facilitate freedom of choice, access to social services, improved health and working conditions, and the decoupling of the occupation from criminal enterprises. They also argue that full decriminalization closes the unintended consequences created by the Equality Model.</p><p>An <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/05/amnesty-international-publishes-policy-and-research-on-protection-of-sex-workers-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amnesty International</a> report notes that in Norway, sex workers are routinely evicted from their homes because landlords fear rental agreements will expose them to prosecution for promoting sex. Similar liability concerns deter third parties, such as security, from working with sex workers, too. As a result, sex workers themselves may not be prosecuted but their lives are no less secure nor more firmly established within society.</p><p>"What we have isn't working. The current model of criminalizing sex work traps sex workers and trafficking survivors in cycles of violence. The new proposed legislation referred to as the 'Equality Model' conflates sex work with sex trafficking, using the logic of broken windows policing to address trafficking by targeting sex workers," <a href="https://www.decrimny.org/post/the-equality-model-is-criminalization-by-another-name-pass-the-stop-violence-in-the-sex-trades-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">writes the advocacy group Decrim NY</a>.</p>New York State to lead decriminalization
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ac67c2bb56050a6a3b91a9c54c4510e"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jMji-YE1qVA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Of course, Equality Model advocates have their arguments against full decriminalization. Even in countries that have legalized prostitution, the sex trade retains <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46919294" target="_blank">strong ties to criminal activities</a>. Prostituted women continue to be viewed as pariah—or, in the case of Amsterdam, tourist attractions. And like the legal sex trades of the ancient world, contemporary examples have witnessed a surge in human trafficking to meet the demand. More often than not, poor women from poor countries.</p><p>"If you decriminalize people who buy sex, you're removing any legal barriers or social barriers, and the number of people who buy sex will exponentially increase, and you'll have to fill that new, legal demand with supply. And that supply is human bodies, and there aren't enough willing participants to fulfill that need. That's when trafficking occurs," Alexi Myers said.</p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/federal_government_report_of_the_impact_of_the_act_regulating_the_legal_situation_of_prostitutes_2007_en_1.pdf" target="_blank">A report commissioned</a> by Germany's Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth looked into the effects of the country's 2001 law. It found the intended impacts to be lacking. According to the report, the Prostitution Act did not create measurable improvements on social protection, working conditions, reduced crime, or the means for leaving the business. The report did assuage some fears, however, by finding that legalization did not make it more difficult to prosecute sex traffickers or related violence when they occurred.</p><p>All told, data will never point to a perfect solution to this or any social concern. In the case of prostitution, emotions and moral instinct run at the redline. Often, the solution one proposes comes down to one's answer of this question: What is prostitution? Is it a violation of another human's rights and dignity? An occupation like any other? Or a moral offense old as the law itself? </p><p>Whatever your answer, you'll likely find current U.S. law lacking. It's for this reason that <a href="https://www.governing.com/archive/more-states-separate-prostitution-sex-trafficking.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">many states are reanalyzing and revamping their prostitution laws</a> to protect victims, usually with more robust safe harbor laws. Whichever law New York State chooses, its successes and failures will likely serve as a bellwether for the United States moving forward.</p>
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Here's a 10-step plan to save our oceans
By 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in the sea.
26 February, 2021
Credit: Cameron Venti on Unsplash
- 2050 is predicted to be a bleak milestone for the oceans - but it's not too late to avert disaster.
- Here are 10 actions the world can take to strengthen and preserve our oceans for generations to come.
<p>The year 2050 has been predicted by some to be a bleak year for the ocean. Experts say that by 2050 there may be <a href="https://www.weforum.org/press/2016/01/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-ocean-by-2050-report-offers-blueprint-for-change/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">more plastic than fish in the sea</a>, or perhaps <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/november8/ocean-110806.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">only plastic left</a>. Others say <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/reefs-risk-revisited" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">90% of our coral reefs</a> may be dead, waves of <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6305/1284" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mass marine extinction</a> may be unleashed, and our seas may be left <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14682" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">overheated, acidified and lacking oxygen</a>.</p><p>It is easy to forget that 2050 is not that far off. Kids we see building sandcastles on the beach today might be gaining traction in their jobs and perhaps starting their own families. The possibility that our children may inherit from us such a broken and diminished ocean is hard to accept.</p><p>Such a future, however, is not yet written in stone. A healthier, more whole, and maybe even more profitable future ocean may still be within reach – at least for a little while.</p><p>Here are 10 steps that could take us towards a more desirable ocean future:</p><p><strong>1. Freeze the warming. </strong>Stopping climate change is the hardest but most important step we can take for ocean health. It is good news to have the US back in the Paris Agreement. However, we now need ambitious national commitments to achieve carbon neutrality from all signatories of the Agreement. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Recent actions</a> by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/world/asia/china-climate-change.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China</a>, the EU, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/japan-zero-emissions-carbon-neutral-society-2050/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Japan</a> and the <a href="https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/net-zero-target" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UK</a> are also positive.</p><p><strong>2. Walk the talk.</strong> We need to make these carbon neutrality commitments real. This will require massive new investment in renewable energy sources, including some more experimental solutions (such as <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2020/physics-fusion-studies-0929" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fusion</a>), plus potentially looking with open minds into making older low-carbon energy solutions safer and more viable (such as traditional nuclear). We need to fast-track the development of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-race-to-crack-battery-recycling-before-its-too-late/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sustainable next-generation batteries</a> to store this energy intelligently across our grids. This includes major needs for marine energy infrastructure. A future, for example, with electrified ports and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/swedish-firm-wind-powered-cargo-ships" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">low-emission ships</a> would help eliminate the epidemic of deafening ocean noise, address environmental injustices associated with pollution in ports, make oil spills a thing of the past, and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/shipping-industry-carbon-emissions-climate-change-environment-ocean/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">significantly reduce global emissions</a>.</p><a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/142/video-super-hd-view-of-global-carbon-dioxide/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="A NASA model showing CO2 (the yellow/red swirls) moving across the globe" src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/5H5yt8QXfixQwD_h5PyNy0XhvCwhh38XoRcaUYd6XPU.gif"></a><p style="display: inline !important;"><em>A NASA model showing CO2 (the yellow/red swirls) moving across the globe. Image: NASA</em></p>
<p><strong></strong><strong>3. Blue revolution</strong>. The 'green revolution' – a massive ramping up of food production on land in the 1950s – has belatedly reached the sea. Ocean farming, or aquaculture, <a href="https://www.mba.ac.uk/two-views-revolution-aquaculture" target="_blank">has increased by more than 1,000%</a> in the ocean recently. The green revolution was sloppily executed, and the first baby steps of the blue revolution have included similar stumbles: chemical pollution, genetic pollution and habitat destruction. But the blue revolution can still clean up its act. Farming in the right places, with the right species, and the right practices could make aquaculture a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23308249.2020.1782342" target="_blank">win for human and environmental health</a>. Ocean food research (into <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariellasimke/2020/10/21/everything-you-need-to-know-about-plant-based-seafood/#57b520dc7655" target="_blank">plant-based</a> and<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00043/full" target="_blank"> cell-based</a> seafood, for example) could also help us meet growing demand for seafood sustainably.</p><img alt="We still haven't met the 2020 goal of protecting 10% of the ocean. Can we hit 30% by 2030?" src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/GT4CAGznK0npmI31lAq3UNOKGM7J1x4meILoRJK2w2s.png"><em>We still haven't met the 2020 goal of protecting 10% of the ocean. Can we hit 30% by 2030? Image: Protected Planet</em><p><strong>4. 30 x 30.</strong> Parks protect some of our most important chunks of nature on land – our Yellowstones and Serengetis. <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/national-parks-transformed-conservation-now-we-need-underwater-parks/" target="_blank">We are vastly behind</a> setting up parks in the sea. We need to follow through on calls to protect <a href="https://www.campaignfornature.org/cbd-intervention" target="_blank">30% of our ocean by 2030</a>. This must be as much about quality as quantity. We need to use <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/protect-ocean-biodiversity-hotspots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">intelligent planning algorithms</a> and the intelligence of local and indigenous people to select the very best 30% of the sea to protect. Then the hard work begins. We must develop and deploy <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6278/1148" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new technology</a> to monitor and protect the living assets we put in these ocean savings accounts.</p><p><strong>5. The other 70%.</strong> An <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/january/oceans-extinction-cycle-011615.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ocean industrial revolution</a> is beginning. Human industry is growing at <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2020-01-26-human-pressure-on-worlds-ocean-shows-no-sign-of-slowing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">exponential rates</a> in the sea. Even if we succeed in protecting 30% of the ocean, we must still intelligently zone and manage this accelerated anthropogenic growth in the majority of our unprotected ocean. We largely missed that boat on land. Proactive steps to sustainably onboard an ocean industrial revolution include responsibly managing wild capture fisheries (and<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2596" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> making more money</a> in the process),<a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/109/12/4696" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> carefully zoning</a> what marine industries go where,<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/harmful-fisheries-subsidies-wto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies</a>, and coming to grips with the fact that some new marine industries,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/opinion/deep-ocean-mining-pollution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> like ocean mining</a>, are simply too dangerous to be allowed into the ocean.</p><ul></ul><p><strong>6. Big cracks in the sea.</strong> Most of the ocean belongs to us all. This includes the two-thirds of the ocean in the high seas that lies beyond all nations' ocean borders and the marine regions surrounding Antarctica. Protection of biodiversity and equitable sharing of resources has slipped through antiquated governance gaps in these international ocean spaces. But<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/opinion/deep-ocean-mining-pollution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> a proposed new UN Treaty for high seas biodiversity</a> – and<a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/once-again-new-antarctic-reserves-fail-win-backing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> negotiations to sustainably manage and protect Antarctic waters</a> could help.<span></span></p><a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-05-dead-zones-global-pollution-sustained.html" target="_blank"><img alt="An algal bloom seen in Lake St. Clair, between Michigan and Ontario, in 2015" src="https://assets.weforum.org/editor/7QPs9GzJG7NOf62qhCJQZd5GQ-HNqQU3Mv1DzjvpPJ8.jpg"></a><em>An algal bloom seen in Lake St. Clair, between Michigan and Ontario, in 2015. Image: NASA</em>
<p><strong></strong><strong>7. End plastic pollution.</strong> <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/07/23/breaking-the-plastic-wave-top-findings" target="_blank">Plastic pollution</a> is the ocean's new cancer. We need to ban unnecessary plastics and tax other single use plastics, finally making them valuable materials we want to recover and helping to pay for the full cost of their environmental impacts. We need <a href="https://cleancurrentscoalition.org/" target="_blank">research and tech</a> to prevent plastics from leaking into the sea, to overhaul our recycling systems, and to design economically viable alternatives to plastics. This progress may be accelerated by a proposed international <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/19/uk-to-support-plans-for-new-global-treaty-to-turn-tide-on-plastic-pollution" target="_blank">'Paris Agreement' for plastic pollution</a>.</p><p><strong>8. Land. </strong>We can help the ocean by first setting a few things right on land. We must massively increase our ambition to <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank">save our forests</a>, thus locking up a huge chunk of carbon dioxide. We need to stop wastefully spilling megatons of costly fertilizers into rivers that are <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/321/5891/926" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">creating hundreds of marine dead zones</a>. Precision agriculture that optimizes fertilizer use, coupled with other <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/this-is-how-china-cut-fertilizer-use-and-boosted-crop-yields/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">farming reform practices</a> can help.</p>
<p><strong>9. Wired ocean</strong>. We need more ocean data. This includes new tech to <a href="https://globalfishingwatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">detect illegal fishing</a> and connect sustainable fishers to consumers. We need <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/this-new-technology-can-save-whales-from-ship-collisions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tech to help endangered marine wildlife</a> co-exist with ocean industry and fleets of environmental sensors <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/shark-conservation-drones-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">above</a> and <a href="https://www.wired.com/video/watch/robots-that-swim-around-solving-mysteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">below</a> the water to better study our rapidly changing ocean.</p><p><strong>10. Ocean equity. </strong>To build a healthy ocean, we must ensure all people have a <a href="https://vimeo.com/462717055" target="_blank">fair stake in its success</a> and that they are no longer unevenly harmed by ocean health risks. The fate of the ocean will affect people in all communities. Thus, we need people from all communities in ocean science, management, and policy.</p><p>Fulfilling the apocalyptic predictions for a 2050 ocean will be all too easy. Altering that ocean future may be one of the hardest things we've ever collectively achieved. But the consequences of inaction will be even harder to shoulder – for us and our ocean.</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/a-10-step-plan-to-save-our-oceans/" rel="noopener noreferrer">original article</a>.</p>
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Study: Personal anecdotes are more effective at bridging divides than facts
Most people believe you can win an argument with facts - but when "facts" are so often subject to doubt, are personal experiences trusted more?
29 January, 2021
Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
- A new study has found that people are more likely to get respect from others in moral and political conversations when sharing personal experiences instead of facts.
- The research group conducted 15 separate experiments to test this theory in order to learn more about tolerance in specifically political arguments.
- The effectiveness of facts in these conversations (even when proven true) is unclear because facts themselves are now subject to doubt, especially surrounding controversial and polarizing topics such as gun control and political beliefs.
<p>Researchers at the University of Koblenz-Landau, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and the Wharton School of Business have found that people are more likely to get respect from others in moral and political conversations when sharing personal experiences instead of facts. The research group conducted 15 separate experiments to test this theory and to learn more about tolerance in specifically political arguments. </p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul>
Use personal experience, not facts, to gain respect in a disagreement
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU0OTM4OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTI2MTAzNn0.kCBmbeMe4l9pD-UK2Fwlj6Z0uPRcTqdypSP3EPEdrrc/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C974%2C0%2C720&height=700" id="bc462" width="1245" height="700" data-rm-shortcode-id="f9a814e50eb63020c34c628afc58222a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="concept of man and woman arguing political arguments disagreement" />Do personal anecdotes mean more than facts in a world where facts can't be trusted?
Image by ngupakarti on Adobe Stock
<p><a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-01-people-contrasting-views-respected-personal.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to the study</a>, both liberals and conservatives believe that using facts in a political discussion will help foster mutual respect and understanding — however, all fifteen of these experiments (across multiple methodologies and issues) show that isn't quite true.</p><p><strong>These studies were conducted using topics that have proved quite polarizing in the past, such as: </strong></p><ul><li>Conversations about guns</li><li>Discussion over comments from YouTube videos regarding abortion opinions</li><li>An archive of 137 interview transcripts from Fox News and CNN<br> </li></ul><p><strong>"What would make you respect their opinion on the subject"?</strong><br><br>In the first study (n = 251), participants were asked to "imagine someone disagrees with you on moral issues" (abortion, for example). They were then asked, "What would make you respect their opinion on the subject"?<br></p><p>Responses were then categorized into themes with a majority of respondents (55.78 percent) stating that basing one's stance on facts and statistics would increase respect, followed by basing one's stance on personal experiences (21.12 percent), followed by an understanding of mutual respect (14.34 percent).</p><p><strong>"When discussing political beliefs, who is more rational?"</strong></p><p>Next, a sample of participants (n = 859) was asked to imagine interacting with two political opponents, one who based their beliefs on facts, and one who based their beliefs on personal experiences. Participants rated their imaginary fact-based opponent as more rational than the opponent who based their stance on personal experiences. They also voted that they respected them more and wanted to interact with them more. </p><p>A separate study from this experiment (study number four, n = 177) had participants weighing in on topics such as taxes, coal, and gun policies. They then were asked to read about individuals who disagreed with them on these subjects either due to personal experiences or factual knowledge. Participants in this study rated how rational their opponent seemed, and those who based their arguments on personal experience were perceived as more rational than those basing their opinions on factual knowledge. </p><p><strong>How does this translate to real-world conversations? </strong></p><p>This section of the experiment had 153 participants engaging in conversations on the street (with people they assumed were passersby but were actually members of the research team) about the topic of gun control. Analyses of these conversations revealed that strangers who based their stance on personal experiences were treated as more rational (and were more respected/interacted with more) by participants than those who based their stance on facts. </p><p><strong>Confirming the theory that even when facts are true, personal experiences garner more respect and willingness to engage in conversation.</strong> </p><p>This experiment (n = 194) sought to reaffirm the theory that personal experiences garnered more respect while ruling out possible alternative explanations. The researchers contrasted concrete facts about gun control (taken from JustFacts.com) with personal experiences. For example, someone reading an annual report that mentions 73 percent of murders in the United States are committed with firearms (factual knowledge) versus "someone's young daughter was hit by a stray bullet" (experience-driven argument). </p><p>This study found that these facts were rated as higher in specificity and concreteness than the personal experience, however, personal experiences gained more respect and willingness to discuss the topic. </p><p><strong>Facts, even when proven true, are often less respected than personal experiences. </strong></p><p>When imagining these different kinds of arguments, everyday Americans believe that supporting their belief with facts will lead to respect. However, the effectiveness of facts (even when proven correct) is unclear. The problem is, in the past decades, American has seen a decentralization of news and information that has allowed people to gather their "own facts." Facts themselves are now subject to doubt, especially surrounding controversial and polarizing topics. </p>
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