Laura Parker is the CEO and co-founder of The Exodus Road, a nonprofit that finds and frees people trapped in human trafficking and works toward a world where no human is bought, sold, or exploited.
She and her husband Matt moved to northern Thailand with their three kids for a short humanitarian stint at a children's home for hill tribe girls, where they learned how fake job offers pulled teenage girls into sex trafficking in Bangkok and Pattaya. Matt became the organization's first undercover operative, working with the Thai Royal Police to identify minors in bars and brothels.
Today The Exodus Road runs intervention work with law enforcement, aftercare through Freedom Home (a government-approved residential shelter in southern Thailand), and Influenced, a prevention program that teaches kids and families how to stay safe online. Laura and Joseph cover the origin story, forced labor, trafficking-run scam compounds in Southeast Asia, and the goal of impacting one million people in five years.
Timestamps:
[00:31] What is The Exodus Road’s mission?
[01:10] Why did Laura take on human trafficking?
[02:18] How do fake job offers lure girls in Thailand?
[03:08] How did Matt become a police informant?
[03:42] What happened on Matt’s first case?
[04:06] How did a creek-side talk start The Exodus Road?
[05:54] How does Laura stay hopeful in this work?
[08:46] How did they weigh the danger with three kids?
[11:22] Why did Thai police need a Western man?
[12:33] How has sex tourism in Thailand changed?
[14:26] How does buyer demand drive trafficking?
[16:54] Why is spotting a trafficking victim so hard?
[18:33] Why does aftercare matter?
[19:24] What is Freedom Home?
[21:04] Why do survivors often go back?
[21:44] How many Freedom Home survivors stay free?
[22:08] Should sex tourism be banned?
[23:36] What should governments do?
[25:45] How does cheap consumer demand fuel forced labor?
[26:28] What other types of trafficking exist?
[27:14] Why are some scammers trafficking victims?
[28:57] How many are trapped in Myanmar’s scam compounds?
[29:33] What keeps victims inside scam compounds?
[30:24] How should we view the people who scam us?
[31:20] Where is The Exodus Road headed in five years?
[31:57] What is the Influenced program?
[32:39] How will they reach one million people?
[34:10] How can listeners get involved?
[36:28] What is Laura’s closing message?
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