What is Pink Cross Foundation Australia?
Pink Cross Australia is a survivor-led charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ABN 13 357 401 729).
Geneviève Gilbert, inspired by Shelley Lubben in California, founded Pink Cross Australia in 2010 to take action against the critical epidemic of suicides, deaths, post-traumatic stress disorder, illegal drug use and violence within the adult entertainment and sex industries. The foundation was incorporated in August 2013 in Victoria as a national Australian charity.
Content Warning
This site contains facts and information about the sex industry, aimed at promoting education and supporting recovery. This can at times be confronting and disturbing.
Our Vision
To see a world free of commercial sexual exploitation.
Our Mission
To offer compassionate support to people experiencing commercial sexual exploitation through:
- fostering social connections;
- promoting healing and restoration;
- empowering people to achieve their goals.
Our Values
We work to educate people about healthy relationships where every girl, boy, woman and man has comprehensive career options and opportunities without encountering discrimination (see Fair Work Act 2009).
We compassionately and empathetically consult and share information with those involved in the prostitution, escorting or stripping industries (and other ‘adult entertainment’ activities).
We consult, listen and take note the views of people within the community and those engaged in this lifestyle, both consumers and the exploited.
We believe that the successful delivery of our recovery services is dependent on honesty: this includes the full confidential disclosure of our clients’ information and our full transparency of our finances, programs and structure as a public charity.
What We Do
Connecting
- Outreach to brothels (providing material support such as food, toiletries, gift hampers).
- Online outreach and support offered through our social media and website.
- Events to provide social inclusion opportunities.
Supporting
- Intake and referrals, including referrals to housing, health, and rehabilitation services.
- Mentoring and peer support.
- Intensive case-management.
Educating
- Awareness-raising through public speaking.
- Activism, including lobbying.
- Advocacy.
Strategic Goals
- Connect with women and men affected by commercial sexual exploitation.
- Provide support, hope and options for women and men seeking to exit prostitution. Ancillary to our services, we provide education and referrals for consumers within the sex industry as well as people with pornography and sex addictions.
- Educate the community on the harmful effects of the commercial sex industry and the prevalence of human trafficking.
Who we Support
We support people affected by commercial sexual exploitation.
These individuals, mostly women, have sometimes been trafficked into sexual servitude or involved in the sex industry either on the streets, through escort agencies, using online services or in strip clubs, legal brothels and massage parlours.
We support people with pathways to recovery to heal from trauma and abuse for those impacted by the sex trade, in Victoria and throughout Australia.
The women we support are affected by extreme poverty, resorting to sell their bodies in exchange for money in order to survive. Mental health issues play a key role in creating situations where women find they need to enter this lifestyle. Beside material poverty, anxiety, depression and other conditions contribute to entry into the sex trade.
Girls and women who are more likely to engage in the sex trade share a common past: 57% report having experienced assault during their childhood.
Anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other conditions — whether diagnosed or yet to be diagnosed by a health professional — are common reasons for entering the trade, or staying in it.
One study found that 68% of women in prostitution displayed symptoms of PTSD.
Feelings of isolation are common in the ‘adult entertainment’ and prostitution industries. Women will keep this part of their lives completely secret. Shame and stigma only reinforce their feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
89% of women in prostitution report wanting to exit the sex industry.
At Pink Cross, we understand. Many women involved as staff or volunteers have personal experience within the sex industry.
We offer referrals to programs and real options outside of the sex trade.
If you are located in Melbourne, you can call our crisis service on 0455 564 840 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can come to you in two hours if you are located within a 40km radius of Dandenong.
