Posts by Christopher Johnston

Christopher Johnston

PUB: TheDailyBeast.com

2023

One Amish family in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had known for some time their son was deeply troubled and unhappy. Now in his early twenties, he had not flourished, and had not found his way as a productive member of their farming community of 40,000 Old Order Amish.

These days, Andrea Heinz is happily married, has children, and works as a commercialsexual exploitation activist. Heinz’s childhood was “pretty typical,” she says. Her parentshad lived happily together for many years; she and her slightly older sister enjoyed a safeand pleasant youth and did well in school. Andrea’s young adulthood was anything buttypical, and a…

Can Washington, D.C. achieve a more successful push for decriminalization of sex work a second time around? Chibundo Egwuatu is the coordinator of the Advocacy Department and the Sex Worker Advocates Coalition (SWAC) for HIPS, a harm reduction agency that works towards ensuring the health and safety of sex workers in DC. HIPS focuses primarily…

Should the commercialization of sex ever be legal? Rachel Moran unequivocally answers that question in the negative. A survivor of seven years of prostitution – which she prefers over “sex work” because the experience was more about being abused and raped repeatedly that having sex or working – she became instrumental in bringing the Abolitionist…

Christopher Johnston

PUB: AdvisorCheck.com

2023

Not too long ago, a friend told me that they went to Target and bought a pan pizza from Pizza Hut. The pepperoni pizza had cost them $7 as opposed to $5.50 just one year ago. That increase in cost just made me wonder… How are people able to continue feeding their families?

Are there differences around the pro decriminalization of sex work issue in Europe from the U.S.? Marjan Wijers brought an entirely new frame of mind to our discussion about decriminalization of sex work: She represents the European perspective. A few of the people I’ve spoken with from the U.S. have some understanding or collaborate with…

Will hearing more sex trafficking survivors’ voices change people’s minds about decriminalization? As a survivor, Ashley Chesney is confident that hearing the accounts of victims of sex trafficking will help people make up their own minds about whether or not to legalize or decriminalize sex work. She holds that position because she believes the great…

SJN Newsletter #12: Are there good ways to protect people who have been criminalized as sex workers? Kate D’Adamo says she works primarily “under the bright red umbrella of sex worker rights” in her Policy & Advocacy role for Reframe Health and Justice Counseling in Baltimore, Maryland. The organization of which she is a partner…