Sands of Silence (SOS) is not a film exclusively about trafficking. Rather, is a film that addresses the interconnectivity of the full spectrum of sexual violence through its common denominator: silence.

It is our clear vision that abuse and exploitation survivors need stakeholders to move beyond the silo paradigm that distinguishes one type of abuse/exploitation from another so they can jointly solve the common cause of all abuse and exploitation: survivor and community silence.

Predators cannot operate without that silence and they are opportunistic within it – their predatory habits do not obey the arbitrary silo distinctions that stakeholders erect.

Predators molest, beat, rape, prostitute and traffic in the silent spaces between the various niche-cause silos and between activists, therapists, philanthropists, law enforcement and survivors. Those who’ve suffered one form of abuse/exploitation are far more likely to suffer others, because predators identify them and then do anything to them that they can get away with.

The Sands of Silence film is designed to fight both the fear and shame-based silence of survivors and the misogynist/patriarchal cultural silence that dismisses and punishes survivors. These two types of silence are the underlying cause of trafficking (and every form of abuse/exploitation). Sands of Silence models the process of breaking silence, giving survivors a more positive but yet still realistic narrative about how things can unfold other than their own personal “worst case scenario” narrative so that they can reach out to stakeholders, their families and communities.

SOS’ silence-breaking success is also critical to every kind of abuse and exploitation stakeholder who, after all, cannot fulfill their mission unless survivors self-identify. SOS is the tool they need to reach their constituencies.