Sonia Ossorio
Executive Director, Women’s Justice NOW; President, NOW New York/NOW-NYC
Sonia Ossorio, Executive Director of Women’s Justice NOW and President of NOW New York/NOW-NYC, has worked tirelessly to advance women’s rights in the criminal justice system, with particular emphasis on trafficking victims’ rights and holding law enforcement accountable for combating human trafficking. Her extensive advocacy includes launching NOW-New York City’s Ending the Business of Human Trafficking Campaign, holding advertisers accountable for being the marketing arm of the sex trade, and assisting with the drafting of New York State’s groundbreaking anti-trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation legislation. Her work has also included campaigns to end child marriage, codify Roe v. Wade into state law, strengthen workplace protections, and expand accountability for gender-based violence.
“If we don’t stem the tide of the demand for prostitution, that demand will continue to be met by coercion, violence, force, and exploitation. Our great challenge as a society is to change attitudes, to stigmatize going ‘to a prostitute.’”