Males Allies Standing Up

Male Allies Standing Up is comprised of men from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds working together to elevate survivor voices and shift perceptions and behaviors among their peers that enable commercial sexual exploitation to exist in our society.

Why Male Allies?

Men are an important group in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), commonly known as child sex trafficking. Commercial sexual exploitation is gender-based violence because although not all exploiters and buyers are men, the majority of them are. So, men need to be part of the solution.  

Every day, young people are bought and sold for sex in our communities. They are deceived, manipulated or coerced into the commercial sex industry. This egregious form of child abuse derails already marginalized youth from finding a path to safety and emotional and economic stability.  

Men are situated in a specific and powerful position to help upend the patriarchal values that allow for this form of gender-based violence to occur.  

Current Priorities

• Advancing efforts to pass the Equality Model in Massachusetts

• Engaging parents around talking with their boys

• Preventing recidivism through shifting offender dynamics

• Expanding impact and influence through community events and dialogue