ALISA BERNARD

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY + ADVOCACY

Alisa provides leadership that helps Thistle Farms and its network partners to identify and engage in legislative and grassroots efforts to increase supports for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and holding accountable the systems and individuals which perpetuate the sex trade. Alisa's work includes liaising with Thistle Farms National Network partners, engaging directly with legislative officials on specific policy issues, and overseeing grassroots campaigns to make the world a better place for survivors.

PREVIOUS EXPERTISE

  • Former Co-Executive Director of the Organization for Prostitution Survivors
  • Founding Member of the Ending Exploitation Collaborative
  • Advisory Council Member for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  • Consultant for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation
  • Consultant for Amber Alert, Demand Abolition, and World Without Exploitation
  • Previously Appointed Member to Washington State’s Attorney General CSEC Coordinating Committee

Areas of Expertise

Policy Models

International Approaches 
Reparative Justice Based Structures
Coordinated Community Approaches

Survivor Leadership

Coalition Organizing
Policy Strategy Setting
Prostitution as Gender Based Violence
Collaborative Community Approaches
Demand Reduction
Objectification of Women in Media

Speaking topics

Grassroots Organizing
Gender Based Violence x Prostitution
Collaborative Community Approaches
Demand Reduction Work
Gender Socialization
Objectification of Women in Media

Featured Writings

Shutdown of Sex-Trafficking Websites Long Overdue
Sex buyers review women they have bought, encourages other men to do the same, and it does nothing to reduce the harm to these women. 
The Smoke Screen That’s Obscuring the Voices of Survivors

The Senate’s proposed reforms to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act would allow for the prosecution of criminal activity on the part of internet service providers for facilitating the online sex trade.
Exited Prostitution Survivor Policy Platform
The sexual exploitation of prostituted individuals has lasting effects which can carry over into many aspects of life.
SPD is Our Ally in Fighting Sex Trafficking
We are fortunate to have community groups working tirelessly to chip away at racial, gender and income inequality, which create the pipeline into the sex trade.
Surviving Prostitution: Violence Was My Experience
If you are a sex buyer reading this, maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “I’m nothing like those guys.” But I want to let you in on a little secret.

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