06/01/2023
Happy 8th anniversary, Survivors for Solutions (S4S)!
S4S is a survivor-led business supporting the model that decriminalizes ALL prostituted individuals, penalizes s*x buyers and holds traffickers criminally accountable. S4S does not waver from the importance to have exit programming available to prostituted persons IF they choose to exit. From our heart, we hope you do as the only guaranteed safety is exiting and having the means to do so!
S4S HerStory:
After making history by being nominated and accepted to speak on the first UN-Women survivor panel at the Stakeholders Forum in December of 2012 in preparation for CSW-57, I realized my work needed to be formalized. My journey began with a personal commitment to invite a woman to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) who had never attended to witness the beauty, intellect and diversity of women from around the world. In March 2013, I did that.
Upon returning from CSW-57 and having heated conversations and much resistance on my part, Survivors for Solutions (S4S) was born on March 21, 2013-The Spring Equinox-in the beautiful San Diego, California sun. S4S, a for-profit business, started with a small start-up fund and an I-pad.
S4S formally objected to UN Women's use of the term "s*x work." This is crucial abolitionist work that attempts to prevent entities like UN Women from sanitizing or disappearing the harms, violence and vile nature of systems of prostitution by erroneously transforming into a form of "work." S4S also publicly rejected Amnesty International’s full decriminalization policy.
Our founding CEO has served on a variety of Board of Directors including Breaking Free, Prostitution Research and Education, as well as, a variety of survivor advisory councils. Autumn Burris is an active member of SPACE International. S4S is committed to survivor-led programming and promotes survivor leadership and development by providing training to survivors to be adequately compensated for their contributions and treated equally as colleagues. She has presented hundreds of trainings, a variety of conferences and best practices. Ms. Burris has advocated for dozens of public policies at all levels of government, including internationally and regularly at United Nations events.
After getting a degree and working in the movement for over a decade, I never dreamed of being a business owner nor did I imagine the impact of the eight years of S4S’s existence in the movement to end all forms of prostitution on local, state, national and global levels.
With gratitude, S4S acknowledges our partnerships, supporters and contractors. Thank you, Carrie Christie for this graphic and your years of support! A shout-out to Bettina Hausmann, for the Pre-CSW-57 nomination and your continued encouragement of women!
Together WE can,
Autumn Burris
