Polaris Project: Difference between revisions

Polaris Project has been criticized by journalists, sex workers and some public health advocates. ''Reason'' magazine editor Elizabeth Nolan Brown referred to Polaris as "one of the biggest purveyors of bad statistics dressed up as 'human trafficking awareness'".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nolan Brown |first1=Elizabeth |title=Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Myths Return |url=https://reason.com/2020/01/10/super-bowl-sex-trafficking-myths-return/ |access-date=10 January 2020 |work=Reason |publisher=Reason Foundation |date=January 10, 2020}}</ref> Sex worker advocates have stated the human trafficking hotline operated by Polaris is not confidential, and that calls to the hotline are referred to police who then arrest [[prostitutessex worker|adult sex workers]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=D |first1=Robin |title=Big Mother is Watching You: The Polaris Project & Rhode Island |url=http://titsandsass.com/big-mother-is-watching-you-the-polaris-project-rhode-island/#comment-921592 |website=Tits and Sass |date=25 June 2015 |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref> However, at least as of 2022, The National Human Trafficking Hotline is confidential, except in cases where an call is made about someone under 18 suspected of abuse, in which case reporting to law enforcement may be required by law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Confidentiality Policy {{!}} National Human Trafficking Hotline |url=https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/confidentiality-policy |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=humantraffickinghotline.org |language=en}}</ref> Others have criticized Polaris for providing no services to alleged victims.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} Critics argue that Polaris Project fails to distinguish between consenting adults who choose to participate in sex work from those who are actual victims of coercion. They also state that because Polaris advocates law enforcement solutions to abolish sex work, sex workers themselves are harmed, face arrest, or may be driven further underground.