Redlight Children Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Redlight Children Campaign is a non-profit organization
created by New York lawyer and president of Priority Films Guy Jacobson and Israeli actress Adi Ezroni in 2002, to combat worldwide child sexual exploitation
and human trafficking
. Its mission is to decrease the demand side of the international sex trade through legislation and enforcement while raising awareness utilizing mass media and grassroots outreach.
Through its partnership with Priority Films, Redlight Children has recently launched the K11 Project—three films which attempt to expose real life experiences of the underage sex trade. K11 consists of two documentaries and a feature-length narrative, Holly (film)
, which were all filmed on locations in Cambodia
.
Holly is currently being re-released in US cities.
, a group of young girls, some only five years old, began to aggressively solicit him for prostitution. Although he refused several times, they revealed to him that they would be beaten by the brothel owners if they returned empty-handed. After Jacobson gave them some money and left, he was motivated to create Redlight Children.
Shortly thereafter, Jacobson decided to utilize mass media as a vehicle for social change through his film production company, Priority Films. He teamed up with Israeli actress Adi Ezroni to create the first phase of the Redlight Children Campaign, the K11 Project. They went undercover in Cambodian brothels using espionage equipment and secret cameras to research the plight of child trafficking victims.
At one point, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol
) contacted Jacobson to warn him to flee the country because the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian mafia had hits taken out on his life. Jacobson, Ezroni, and their team of filmmakers were also blackmailed and extorted for money, one of the producers was held hostage for two weeks when the rest of the team had left, and they had to hire bodyguards to protect themselves and their research.
Jacobson’s and Ezroni’s work on the ground level provided the education and foundation for them to address the issue on a larger scale. After they established RedLight Children, they created a comprehensive legal manifesto of action items to decrease the demand of child sexual exploitation with the aid of a team of international lawyers.
Jacobson and Ezroni have also been honored as Global Heroes by Condoleezza Rice
in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2008.
The Redlight Children Campaign’s main goals are to make it more difficult and costly for perpetrators to sexually abuse children, increase the likelihood of catching perpetrators, and make prosecution faster, easier, and more efficient. The Redlight Children Campaign Manifesto focuses on laws and enforcement efforts relating to internet chat rooms, child pornography
, sex tourism
, and extraterritorial enforcement that it believes should be passed in every country in the world.
Currently, Redlight Children is partnering with LexisNexis
to create an international case law database for trafficking and a trafficking offendors database to assist lawmakers and prosecutors.
Holly (film)
is a feature length narrative film written by Guy Jacobson. Filmed in Cambodia, it is based on the true stories of abducted children. It stars Ron Livingston
, Virginie Ledoyan, Udo Kier
, Chris Penn
and Thuy Nguyen.
The Virgin Harvest, directed by Charles Kiselyak, is an undercover documentary taking place in Cambodian brothels. It follows three young girls—Reena, Sokha, and Sereum— as they are sold into brothels, abused, and finally rescued.
The K11 Journey is a documentary that follows the dangerous journey of the filmmakers as they make Holly. It exposes the corruption of the Cambodian government and police.
Holly was launched at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York, and later shown with the US State Department in Washington D.C. in order to establish a political presence for the Redlight Children Campaign. With the nationwide release of Holly on November 9, 2007, Jacobson conducted television, radio, magazine, and print coverage, including articles/interviews in Glamour
, the New York Times, the LA Times, and CNN
.
In addition to creating awareness, the film projects have helped local communities address trafficking. For example, AFISEP is featured as the shelter in Holly, and the Somaly Mam Foundation
was featured at the UN. Jacobson organized the UN event/fundraiser for the Somaly Mam Foundation.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
created by New York lawyer and president of Priority Films Guy Jacobson and Israeli actress Adi Ezroni in 2002, to combat worldwide child sexual exploitation
Commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery....
and human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
. Its mission is to decrease the demand side of the international sex trade through legislation and enforcement while raising awareness utilizing mass media and grassroots outreach.
Through its partnership with Priority Films, Redlight Children has recently launched the K11 Project—three films which attempt to expose real life experiences of the underage sex trade. K11 consists of two documentaries and a feature-length narrative, Holly (film)
Holly (film)
Holly is a 2007 drama film about an American stolen artifacts dealer in Cambodia who tries to save a young girl from child traffickers. The film was directed by Guy Moshe, and stars Ron Livingston, Chris Penn, and Thuy Nguyen....
, which were all filmed on locations in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Holly is currently being re-released in US cities.
History
The Redlight Children Campaign was inspired by Guy Jacobson’s personal experiences backpacking in Cambodia in 2002. While traveling in Phnom PenhPhnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, a group of young girls, some only five years old, began to aggressively solicit him for prostitution. Although he refused several times, they revealed to him that they would be beaten by the brothel owners if they returned empty-handed. After Jacobson gave them some money and left, he was motivated to create Redlight Children.
Shortly thereafter, Jacobson decided to utilize mass media as a vehicle for social change through his film production company, Priority Films. He teamed up with Israeli actress Adi Ezroni to create the first phase of the Redlight Children Campaign, the K11 Project. They went undercover in Cambodian brothels using espionage equipment and secret cameras to research the plight of child trafficking victims.
At one point, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
) contacted Jacobson to warn him to flee the country because the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian mafia had hits taken out on his life. Jacobson, Ezroni, and their team of filmmakers were also blackmailed and extorted for money, one of the producers was held hostage for two weeks when the rest of the team had left, and they had to hire bodyguards to protect themselves and their research.
Jacobson’s and Ezroni’s work on the ground level provided the education and foundation for them to address the issue on a larger scale. After they established RedLight Children, they created a comprehensive legal manifesto of action items to decrease the demand of child sexual exploitation with the aid of a team of international lawyers.
Jacobson and Ezroni have also been honored as Global Heroes by Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2008.
Manifesto
The Redlight Children Campaign ultimately aims to globally decrease demand for child sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children by pressuring governments to enact or amend legislation to address the issue more effectively and allocate more resources towards enforcement of laws.The Redlight Children Campaign’s main goals are to make it more difficult and costly for perpetrators to sexually abuse children, increase the likelihood of catching perpetrators, and make prosecution faster, easier, and more efficient. The Redlight Children Campaign Manifesto focuses on laws and enforcement efforts relating to internet chat rooms, child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, sex tourism
Sex tourism
Sex tourism is travel to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes.The World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, defines sex tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary...
, and extraterritorial enforcement that it believes should be passed in every country in the world.
Currently, Redlight Children is partnering with LexisNexis
LexisNexis
LexisNexis Group is a company providing computer-assisted legal research services. In 2006 it had the world's largest electronic database for legal and public-records related information...
to create an international case law database for trafficking and a trafficking offendors database to assist lawmakers and prosecutors.
The K11 Project
The K11 Project consists of three films—Holly, The Virgin Harvest, and the K11 Journey—created by Priority Films and Redlight Children to expose the underage sex trade in Cambodia.Holly (film)
Holly (film)
Holly is a 2007 drama film about an American stolen artifacts dealer in Cambodia who tries to save a young girl from child traffickers. The film was directed by Guy Moshe, and stars Ron Livingston, Chris Penn, and Thuy Nguyen....
is a feature length narrative film written by Guy Jacobson. Filmed in Cambodia, it is based on the true stories of abducted children. It stars Ron Livingston
Ron Livingston
Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
, Virginie Ledoyan, Udo Kier
Udo Kier
Udo Kier is a German actor, known primarily for his work in horror and exploitation movies.-Early life:...
, Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
and Thuy Nguyen.
The Virgin Harvest, directed by Charles Kiselyak, is an undercover documentary taking place in Cambodian brothels. It follows three young girls—Reena, Sokha, and Sereum— as they are sold into brothels, abused, and finally rescued.
The K11 Journey is a documentary that follows the dangerous journey of the filmmakers as they make Holly. It exposes the corruption of the Cambodian government and police.
Holly was launched at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Headquarters in New York, and later shown with the US State Department in Washington D.C. in order to establish a political presence for the Redlight Children Campaign. With the nationwide release of Holly on November 9, 2007, Jacobson conducted television, radio, magazine, and print coverage, including articles/interviews in Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, the New York Times, the LA Times, and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
In addition to creating awareness, the film projects have helped local communities address trafficking. For example, AFISEP is featured as the shelter in Holly, and the Somaly Mam Foundation
Somaly Mam Foundation
The Somaly Mam Foundation is a registered 501 nonprofit organization. The Foundation is dedicated to combating the global sex slave trade through supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration of the victims and through raising global awareness on the issue...
was featured at the UN. Jacobson organized the UN event/fundraiser for the Somaly Mam Foundation.