Alisa Bernard
Survivor of Prostitution and Advocate, Writer, and Educator
A survivor of sexual abuse as a child and young teenager, as well as a victim of bullying at school, Alisa Bernard dropped out of high school and entered prostitution at age 15. Moving in and out of her family home, she remained “in the life” until age 22. Since leaving the sex trade, Ms. Bernard has had a vibrant professional life as a board member, mentor, advocate, and educator, and as a consultant to law enforcement, legislators, journalists, and writers. She has written numerous articles related to gender-based violence.
“Prostitution is the culmination of trauma in a lifetime. As prostitution survivors, we have experienced childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence and, because of this, all those who have survived gender-based violence are our sisters.”
