237 – Research and Advocacy: What About Boys?

This episode is brought to you by Vanguard University and the Global Center for Women and Justice, who offer an incredible anti-human trafficking certificate. Whether you're a frontline responder, a social worker, in the ministry, a healthcare provider, or simply a community member who wants to help, this program is built for you. Head over to gcwj.org/ahtc to take the next step and apply today. ---Dr. Sandie Morgan and Dr. Glenn Miles discuss Dr. Miles’ experience with human trafficking and the research he has completed on the topic. With a focus on how males are sexually exploited, Dr. Miles has a unique perspective on the issue of human trafficking. They discuss the cultural views on male sexual exploitation and the dangers children face when they have access to pornography. Glenn Miles Glenn Miles is an independent researcher, evaluator, trainer. He has pioneered 3 NGOs in Cambodia. His research mostly focuses on listening to the voices of survivors of sex trafficking with a special concern for men and boys. This year he has helped complete an evaluation of the Chab Dai Longitudinal Butterfly Project. Key Points Glenn Miles discovered that boys were being sexually abused much more than had been originally thought. Porn is often seen as a male issue; however, anyone can be affected by it and become addicted to it. When a boy is sexually abused by an adult female, society often reacts with congratulations for the boy. In contrast, if a girl were sexually abused by an adult male, society would react very differently. Both situations are the same and must be responded to in the same way. When children watch pornography, a distorted mindset can be created. Their body image can be very detrimentally affected, and the way they create relationships will be harmed. Resources Up International Chab Dai Longitudinal Butterfly Project Urban Light Stopping the Traffick Asian Youth Against Porn Glenn Miles’ Website www.ocms.ac.uk www.freedomresource.org https://www.apnts.edu.ph https://etcollege.org https://www.azalea.org.uk/flint www.goodtouchbadtouchflipchart.org https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6762-0739 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Miles3/research https://independent.academia.edu/GlennMiles2 Are you enjoying the show? Give us some feedback! Leave a comment and tell us what thought. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe or rate the podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Click here for FAQs about podcasts and how to subscribe. Haven’t been receiving our newsletter? Visit our homepage to join today. Contact us with questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]. Transcript Dave [00:00:00] You’re listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast, this is episode number 237, Research and Advocacy: What about Boys?   Production Credits [00:00:09] Produced by Innovate Learning, Maximizing Human Potential.   Dave [00:00:30] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast, my name is Dave Stachowiak.   Sandie [00:00:36] And my name is Sandie Morgan.   Dave [00:00:38] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. This is going to be a wonderful follow up to our last conversation with Christa. I’m so glad today to welcome Glenn Miles to our show. Glenn is an independent researcher, evaluator, and trainer. He has pioneered three NGOs in Cambodia. His research mostly focuses on listening to the voices of survivors of sex trafficking with a special concern for men and boys. This year, he has helped complete an evaluation of the Chab Di Longitudinal Butterfly project. Glenn, we’re so glad to welcome you to the show.   Glenn [00:01:18] Thank you. I’m very glad to be here.   Sandie [00:01:20] Well, Glenn and I have known each other for a long time, and during covid, we had a chance to connect more often. He lives in Wales. I live in California. But our virtual space has been an opportunity to build our anti-trafficking community, and he’s been really instrumental in that. So, thank you so much, Glen. I want to dive right into your special concern for men and boys. My very first encounter with a commercially sexually exploited child was as a night nurse in central California, and the little boy was only 14 years old. And so, I followed your work especially closely. Why, boys?   Glenn [00:02:06] Yeah, that’s a really good question. When I did my Ph.D. research, we found that boys were sexually abused much more than we had expected. And so, I was interested to follow that through. And so, as things emerged and developed with looking at sexual exploitation, I wanted also to look at how much boys and men were being sexually exploited as well. And in Cambodia, there was at the time, everyone was saying, oh, it’s not really a problem with boys and men. It’s just not really happening here. So, I was well, not really convinced. I need to know for sure myself. So, I had been to India and in India, there was a guy they called Jasmir Thakur, and he was a guy who was working with boys in the slum areas. And when he was doing HIV education with them, he realized just how much these boys were exposed to being sexually exploited. And I think it really came home to him when one of the boys called him in the night and said that he’d been brutally raped. So, then he followed that up and ended up getting himself really quite involved in what w...