In the second part of a special focus on child sexual exploitation and grooming by the rich and powerful, we turn attention to how our societies and each of us as individuals (especially men) can respond. We discuss the psychological, social, and possible evolutionary drivers for predatory male behaviour, why so many seem reluctant to challenge powerful perpetrators, and take a look at helpful suggestions offered by White Ribbon and other survivor-centred organisations who are working to prevent abuse and equip men to call out predatory attitudes in their...
In the second part of a special focus on child sexual exploitation and grooming by the rich and powerful, we turn attention to how our societies and each of us as individuals (especially men) can respond. We discuss the psychological, social, and possible evolutionary drivers for predatory male behaviour, why so many seem reluctant to challenge powerful perpetrators, and take a look at helpful suggestions offered by White Ribbon and other survivor-centred organisations who are working to prevent abuse and equip men to call out predatory attitudes in their peer groups and organisations. The episode closes with practical calls to action — urging men to speak out and policymakers to listen to survivors. As always, we consider where our intentions and prayers may be needed.
Please note this episode contains descriptions that some listeners may find disturbing.
Prayers and intentions start at 23 minutes 36 seconds.
Suggested Intention Focus for this week
This week, as we reflect upon our societies’ response to child exploitation and grooming, we suggest holding as our main intention:
We will that all men have the courage to educate themselves about, and call out, the effect of misogynistic and sexually abusive language, attitudes and behaviours.
Please join us in holding this.
Referenced in this edition:
Read Ellen’s blog entry for Sacred Feminist, ‘Why is there a market for sexual slavery?’ at http://sacredfeminist.com/why-is-there-a-market-for-sexual-slavery/ NOTE: Your browser may flag the blog as being “insecure” as it’s now some years old and has an http: rather than https: flag. Rest assured, it’s safe to access and won’t collect any data that you might not want to share!
Listen to part 1 of this special two-part series at https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-bchci-19d4507 .
White Ribbon: advice for what men can do: https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/allies. One man (a White Ribbon ambassador) speaks out: https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/we-speak-up/joseph-smith .
Book: ‘Half the Sky: How to Change the World,’ by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Amazon.com link: https://www.amazon.com/Half-Sky-Oppression-Opportunity-Worldwide/dp/0307387097/ref=sr_1_1
Organisations providing advocacy and support to combat exploitation of girls:
Note: While all listed organisations are concerned about addressing issues of sexual violence and exploitation, their missions and support services may relate to violence prevention broadly, rather than specifically child sexual exploitation.
Australia
Bravehearts www.bravehearts.org.au
Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) www.accce.gov.au
eSafety Commissioner www.esafety.gov.au
Canada
Canadian Centre for Child Protection www.protectchildren.ca
White Ribbon Canada www.whiteribbon.ca
Ireland
One in Four Ireland www.oneinfour.ie
CARI (Children at Risk in Ireland) www.cari.ie
ISPCC / Childline Ireland ispcc.ie www.childline.ie
Dublin Rape Crisis Centre www.drcc.ie
Rape Crisis Network Ireland www.rapecrisishelp.ie
Barnardos Ireland www.barnardos.ie
Tusla (Child and Family Agency) www.tusla.ie
New Zealand
ECPAT Child Alert NZ www.ecpat.org.nz
Department of Internal Affairs – Digital Child Exploitation Team www.dia.govt.nz
Netsafe www.netsafe.org.nz
Saint Nicholas Children's Trust www.snctrust.org
United Kingdom
NSPCC www.nspcc.org.uk
Lucy Faithfull Foundation www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk
ECPAT UK www.ecpat.org.uk
Barnardo's www.barnardos.org.uk For resources, see: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/resources-help-identify-and-engage-young-people-risk-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation
Children's Society www.childrenssociety.org.uk
Internet Watch Foundation www.iwf.org.uk
White Ribbon UK www.whiteribbon.org.uk
Rape Crisis England & Wales www.rapecrisis.org.uk
One in Four UK www.oneinfour.org.uk
Refuge www.refuge.org.uk
Stop It Now https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/
Catch-22 https://www.catch-22.org.uk/what-we-do/child-exploitation/
United States
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) www.rainn.org
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) www.missingkids.org
Thorn www.thorn.org
International Organisations
ECPAT International www.ecpat.org
International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) www.icmec.org
WeProtect Global Alliance www.weprotect.org
INHOPE www.inhope.org
Chapter markers:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:48 Understanding Child Exploitation
00:05:52 The Insidious Nature of Grooming
00:09:05 Why Men Exploit
00:12:34 Evolutionary Factors in Abuse
00:13:43 The market for sexual slavery (Sacred Feminist blog)
00:16:42 Progress and Challenges in Justice
00:18:47 Organizations Leading Change
00:20:32 The Role of Men in Advocacy
00:23:36 Intentions and Prayers
Sources referenced in this episode:
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-11-27/victim-calls-for-scottish-government-to-acknowledge-existence-of-grooming-gangs
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
https://www.journal-uamd.org/index.php/IJRD/article/view/213
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-failure-of-child-protection-and-the-need-for-a-fresh-start
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63106669e90e076ebfb7f419/Child_Exploitation_Disruption_Toolkit_082022.pdf
https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/WG-Preventing-CSA-Toolkit-for-Practitioners_SEPT23.pdf
https://www.iicsa.org.uk/news/new-research-explores-motives-and-behaviour-perpetrators-child-sexual-exploitation.html
https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/articles/why-do-people-sexually-abuse-children/
https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/self-help-module/understanding-motivations/
https://www.csacentre.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/10/CSE-perpetrators-2-Characteristics-and-motivations-of-perpetrators-of-CSE.pdf
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/article/evolutionary-psychology-of-mens-coercive-sexuality/EC85B221C3ADF0C25F95C9A12EC92797
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886915002949
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213423002338
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10898859/
https://limeculture.co.uk/general/sexual-exploitation-exploring-the-ongoing-failure-to-protect-victims/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10466942/
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2025/july/podcast-child-criminal-exploitation
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9df51185a1bd8bd687f51f486daf810feee02fa9
https://dradproject.gcu.ac.uk/index.php/drad/article/view/38
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f04784de581ea4fee1725003037d65e00821ca49
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4906729/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02018/pdf
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10842597/
https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099664
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-characteristics-of-offending/characteristics-of-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-in-the-community-literature-review-accessible-version
https://www.ecpat.org.uk/news/no-country-immune-to-child-sexual-exploitation-study-finds
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/sexualoffencesvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2022
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213420301265
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178916300878
https://www.csacentre.org.uk/research-resources/key-messages/intra-familial-csa/
https://www.ewadirect.com/proceedings/lnep/article/view/11665
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691617698225
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1079063215616817
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9256762/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10538710801916416
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/strategic-direction-sexual-assault-and-abuse-services.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656602005299
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/3/3/404/pdf
https://www.iwf.org.uk/about-us/why-we-exist/our-podcast/in-conversation-with-podcast/
https://www.researchinpractice.org.uk/children/content-pages/podcasts/safeguarding-children-and-young-people-from-exploitation/
https://epthepod.podbean.com
https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/podcasts/betraying-our-children-the-devastating-truths-of-child-exploitation-in-britain-today
https://ssslearning.co.uk/podcasts/child-sexual-exploitation
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2020/february/podcast-preventing-harmful-sexual-behaviour
Join us in person for intention holding:
https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls
https://insighttimer.com/cliverj Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.
Our websites:
www.heartfulimpact.com/ Our show website.
https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.
https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.
https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry ~ Events and offerings aimed at building beloved community, including weekly energy holding vigils and Power of Eight group.
https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Daily intention holding.
Impact! Is presented by Ellen Bintz and Clive Johnson. It is produced by Impact Productions.
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Our theme music is by Chris Collins. indiemusicbox.com.
Our logo artwork is by AltoClassic (Getty Images/istock).
Contact us via Facebook Messenger from the Impact! Facebook group, or using any of the contact methods mentioned on our websites.
Impact! www.heartfulimpact.com.
