Been There Done That

ABSTRACT Women in prostitution and those in the process of exiting prostitution experience many barriers to social services traditionally encountered by other marginalized populations, including discrimination, alienation, stigmatization, victim-blaming and inaccessibility to social services. Compounding these problems are the wariness and distrust that result from years of sexual and emotional trauma. Standing Against Global Exploitation (The SAGE Project) is a human rights non-profit survivor-run drug, mental health, and trauma treatment center that offers job training and placement and other forms of advocacy to women, girls, men, and transgender survivors in the San Francisco sex industry. SAGE has developed a survivor-centered model of peer counseling and harm reduction. SAGE trains and employs survivors of prostitution at all levels of management, development, and service provision in order to build trust and empathy among its clients and staff.