Jeanette Westbrook
Survivor of Sex Trafficking and Child Pornography; Social Worker; Human Rights Activist; Founding Member, SPACE International
Tortured and trafficked for sex and pornography as a child by family members and others, Jeanette Westbrook is one of only a few survivors who has been able to pursue a criminal prosecution against one of her traffickers as an adult, in 1992, due to Kentucky having no statute of limitations for this crime. Having earned a master’s degree in social work, Ms. Westbrook serves in that profession while advocating as an internationally recognized human rights activist and public speaker. As a social worker, she has had over 27 years of front-line experience working with traumatized clients, including refugees from around the world, many of whom have experienced torture, the horrors of war, and exploitation in prostitution, as well as victims of incest and rape. She has spent more than 20 years interfacing with court-ordered individuals in Louisville, Kentucky who have been convicted of drug and alcohol offenses, assault, robbery, trafficking, and pimping. Ms. Westbrook is the first Co-Chair of The Louisville Kentucky Human Trafficking Task Force, as well as a founding member of SPACE international. SPACE International, comprised of survivor activists, was first formed in 2012 in Ireland by sex trafficking survivor Rachel Moran for the purpose of changing social attitudes towards prostitution, and thereafter expanded internationally to include survivor representatives from all corners of the globe.
“Until we provide an accessible pathway to adjudication and hold buyers, pimps, and traffickers accountable, we will continue to reap the horrors of silenced exploitation. When silenced no more, we pull back the veil, speak our realities and truth, and demand freedom from all forms of exploitation.”
