Helping charities fight sex trafficking
My name is Daniel Cossette, I’m a theatre maker and dance choreographer.
For the past seven years, I’ve been working on creating a show about sex trafficking, specifically in the UK, and seeking to inform and mobilise people to take positive action. This has been an epic journey of research and collaboration taking the company my wife and I founded (Infusion Physical Theatre) on our biggest endeavour. Recently we’ve created a film of our show to help raise funds for charities combatting sex trafficking; giving charities a tool to raise awareness, and get more people involved in ending this criminal activity.
We’ve worked with the Cambridge Centre of Applied Research in Human Trafficking (CCARHT), and researched government and independent studies on trafficking, prostitution, and porn. We’ve attended book launches, listened to survivors, and read hundreds of accounts of those trafficked. Our research led us to highlight two key points: firstly, that trafficking is local—often literally just around the corner, rarely more than a few miles from where you live. And secondly, that prostitution is primarily made up of trafficked individuals.
Prostitution as a topic is hotly debated in this country, even in some Christian circles. But what many don’t realise is that London police estimate that of the 88,000 women in prostitution in England and Wales 70% are under the control of traffickers (2009 Trafficking in Persons Report—United Kingdom). Since the Modern Slavery Act of 2015 our understanding of sexual exploitation and trafficking has only grown; the National Referral mechanism has been identifying more English girls being exploited, which was not expected given the high numbers of internationals known to be trafficked into the country.
Infusion launched their show in 2017, for Cambridge councilmen and women, church leaders, and charity organisers, and were subsequently invited to the House of Lords for the Anti Trafficking report 2018. Since then the show has toured Cambridgeshire and Essex, appeared before the Mayor of Cambridge in 2019 for the public safety event Eyes and Ears, and at international dance festival Project Dance Paris.
The show is a fictional retelling of some common survivor stories. It shows a girl with a life full of promise and agency. Then she encounters a Lover Boy: a method traffickers use to lure girls into a relationship with a young man who will ultimately become her first pimp. He then threatens and manipulates the young woman into sexual exploitation and slavery. The story also shows some genuinely normal, likeable guys who then turn into part of the cycle of misuse and abuse. But there’s a twist. The story is told backwards. What begins as a few likeable guys out on the town turns into the story of a young woman who is held captive by a pimp, who manipulated her away from her home and life of promise.
The harrowing journey ends with the image of how it should be, how it could be. And the number-one question we get after the show is: “…what can we do?!”
Infusion ends each show with a Q&A, to help people unpack the issues, while invited members of a local charity are present to help answer questions. Viewers who have been moved can immediately connect with dynamic groups working to end trafficking in their area. The show provides the momentum and the means for people to get involved in constructive ways.
Since the 2020 lockdowns cancelled Infusion’s touring season, we decided to make of a 30 minute film version of the show. The story is enacted entirely without words, making it internationally accessible. Paid for by generous contributors, the film can come to charities at a fraction of a cost of the live show, and effectively risk free. A partner charity needs only to promote an online screening on their behalf, come participate in the post-show discussion, and then speak to the potential donors and volunteers. We want it to be the best kind of fundraising event: awareness raising, encouraging donations, and getting people involved.
If you’re interested in learning more, or if a charity you know could benefit from this resource, please email Dan Cossette at: infusiontheatre@gmail.com
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Guest Post by Dan Cossette (you can find out more about Infusion Theatre via their website, and preview the trailer mentioned below).
