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About

Autumn Burris

Founder/CEO

 

 

      ​Ms. Burris is a dedicated and passionate leading expert with over twenty years of experience in combating all systems of prostitution and exploitation, her efforts focus on the complexities which she addresses in a holistic manner.  As the Founder/Director of Survivors for Solutions, she offers advocacy, community education and outreach, public policy advocacy, and consultation services to non-profit organizations and various governmental institutions. 

       Autumn is passionate about empowering individuals in their transformation from victims to survivors and leaders and ensuring that public policy at all levels of government is survivor-informed.  In December 2012, Ms. Burris was a panelist at the UN-Women’s Stakeholders’ Forum on Preventing and Eliminating Violence Against Women in preparation for the Commission on the Status of Women’s 57th session in March 2013.  As a panelist, she highlighted the gaps between existing global norms and standards and policy implementation in the area of sexual exploitation.  

        Ms. Burris, as Administrative Director, provided organizational leadership in establishing and developing Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE) in San Francisco, California. She addressed the demand side of sexual exploitation by providing education on the impact of prostitution on behalf of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office First Offender Prostitution Program (FOPP) in addition to assisting other jurisdictions in the replication of both SAGE and FOPP programs. 

       Ms. Burris co-authored an article in the Journal of Trauma Practice entitled “Been There Done That:  SAGE, a Peer Leadership Model Among Prostitution Survivors” which is also featured in the book, Prostitution, Trafficking and Traumatic Stress. In June 2011, she graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Public Policy and a minor in Human Rights.

        Autumn is currently an approved Expert Consultant with the Department of State, the Office of Victims of Crime and is a member of several Survivor Advisory Councils. She is a co-founding member of the Executive Council with World Without Exploitation. 

       She is formerly a member of Demand Abolition's CEASE network, a Trainer and Public Policy Consultant with Runaway Girl, FPC, a board member of Prostitution, Research and Education and a member of the Women’s Equity Council (WEC) of the United Nations Association of San Diego.

        As a passionate activist/advocate, Ms. Burris is an influential and invaluable force in the anti-exploitation movement as she creates awareness, effectuates public policy reforms, delivers resources, and fosters positive change and social recognition to exploited individuals.

 

***Please contact us via the contact page for an updated bio prior to utilizing or publishing. Thank you!

Photo Credit: Arduizur C. Richie-Zavaleta

New York's New Abolitionists: 

https://www.thenewabolitionists.com/

Photo Credit: Lynn Savarese Photography

“Prostitution occurs at the nexus of racial, economic, and gender-based violence and oppression. It constitutes a violation of the most fundamental human rights, and embodies harms unimaginable. For the vast majority of those exploited, it is not chosen, and stems from a toxic combination of vulnerabilities. In practice, prostitution and trafficking are inextricable. There can be no end to trafficking and sexual exploitation without strong abolitionist politics and a firm commitment to dismantling systems of prostitution.”

~Autumn Burris, Survivor of Sexual Exploitation

Interview Jan. 30, 2014, Photo Courtesy: NBC News

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