Episode 59: The Hard Road: How to Disrupt the Sex Buying Market Online

In 2010, Tom Perez began his anti-trafficking fight and noticed that while men are the primary drivers behind the demand for sexual exploitation, very few were involved in combating it. The EPIK Project brings men into the fight in effective and sustainable ways. In collaboration with the Portland Police Bureau, Tom took the hard road to build and lead an all-volunteer effort that’s grown into a national movement. As such, the Epik Project has successfully intercepted more than 170,000 attempts to purchase sex by over 85,000 buyers over the last 6 years. Training men how to engage local sex buyers at the point of sale works to disrupt the online market for illegal sex. This model has been replicated in 14 cities across the country with another 14 cities in the pipeline to involvement. September 1st, Tom leads an Epik 1,000 mile bike ride called "The Hard Road" across rough terrain to support women survivors and murdered and missing indigenous women.