Mobilizing Men to Create a Society Free from Prostitution and Sexual Exploitation
To end men’s violence against women and girls, we are changing the culture that allows sexual exploitation to continue.
By mobilizing men and boys toward healthy sexuality and respectful relationships, we are building an equal society—one where empathy and mutuality are the norm, no one is for sale, and exploitation has no place.
Mission
Our advocacy work revolves around addressing the systemic issue of men’s violence against women. It comes in many forms including sexual exploitation, rape, pornography, patronizing strip clubs, prostitution, trafficking, honor-based violence, domestic violence, and femicide, all intertwined and inseparable.
Wake Up Brother advocates for the abolition of prostitution and the sex trade, recognizing that it serves as a catalyst for sex trafficking and perpetuates systems of exploitation and violence against women and girls.
We advocate for the implementation of the Swedish Model worldwide, also referred to as the Abolitionist, Nordic, or Equality Model. This approach aims to combat prostitution and sex trafficking by criminalizing the purchase of sex while decriminalizing its sale. It addresses the root cause of prostitution by targeting the demand that sex-buyers create for purchased sex, viewing it as a exploitation and a form of men’s violence against women.
The Swedish Model
(also known as the Abolitionist, Nordic, or Equality Model).
The groundbreaking Swedish Sex Purchase Act has been a significant success since its introduction 25 years ago. It has proven to be the most effective way to combat human trafficking for sexual purposes because it focuses on reducing the demand for prostitution that drives human trafficking. Its successes have inspired eight other countries to adopt similar legislation, including Norway, Iceland, South Korea, France, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Israel. Additionally, in 2023 the state of Maine in the US became the first state to adopt this law. And last autumn, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution urging EU countries to do the same. In 2024 the German conservative party CDU/CSU is beginning to talk about following Sweden's model.
In June 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem, presented her groundbreaking report (A/HRC/56/48) stating that prostitution is a system characterized by violence and inequality between men and women. The report calls for states to abolish laws that permit prostitution and pornography and to adopt abolitionist legislation, such as the Swedish Model.
Learn more by visiting the following websites:
Championing the Swedish Model in the U.S. – 2025
In March 2025, Wake Up Brother co-organized two high-profile events—one in New York, in partnership with the Swedish Consulate General and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, and one in Washington, D.C., in partnership with the Swedish Embassy and World Without Exploitation.
Titled From Sweden to Maine: The Swedish Model’s Global Impact in Targeting the Demand for Prostitution and Ending Sexual Exploitation, these events marked the 25th anniversary of Sweden’s Sex Purchase Act (1999) and highlighted Maine’s first two years (2023) with a similar law.
The Swedish Model in Action - Implementation, Lessons Learned & Challenges
Targeting Sex Buyers and Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking
Combating Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking at the City, State, National & International Level
Articles & Research
Opinion Piece
“The media’s ignorance normalizes sex buying”
Dagens ETC, February 2025.
The state-funded "Red Van" in Copenhagen, where men queue to buy sex from women—mostly from Nigeria and Romania—is a tragic symbol of how legalizing prostitution normalizes exploitation. This article challenges the media’s failure to address the role of sex buyers and the inherent violence of the prostitution system. We argue that masking paid sexual abuse with terms like "sex work" contributes to a dangerous normalization of sexual violence.
Opinion Piece
"Why do so many Swedish men want to buy ‘sex’ and exploit women?"
Dagens ETC, November 2024.
We write about how 136 men were caught by the police buying sex in Stockholm and why prostitution always has been and always will be a form of men’s violence against women.
Guest Blog Post
”The 4th World Congress for the Abolition of Prostitution”
RealStars for Fair Sex, August 2024
Our founder Felicia wrote this guest post for the Swedish organization RealStars for Fair Sex. In it, she shares insights from the 4th World Congress for the Abolition of Prostitution held in Montreal, focusing on global strategies to dismantle the prostitution system and stop the demand that drives sex trafficking.
Opinion Piece
“More and more people are beginning to understand that sex can never be bought.”
Dagens ETC, June 2024
Writing from the Montreal World Congress alongside Talita, Beyond Survivors, and the Swedish Women's Lobby (Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer), Felicia co-authored this piece celebrating the global spread of the Swedish model. The authors challenge the myth that prostitution is a "profession," arguing that ending exploitation requires stopping the demand and dismantling the systems that profit from it.
Opinion piece
“The power of the media: Draken film and the Gothenburg film festival contribute to the glorification of prostitution”
Fempers Nyheter, March 2024
Together with leading prostitution experts in Sweden, we penned an opinion piece, addressing the media's role in normalizing and eroticizing prostitution and sexual exploitation.
Research Report
”Pornography Production Harm in Sweden: Filmed Prostitution is Inseparable from Non-Filmed Prostitution”
Prostitution Research & Education, 2023
Our founder Felicia was a research associate for this report by Melissa Farley. She was responsible for translating a portion of the Swedish survivor interviews and analyzing those findings to help build the report’s data. This research shows a clear link between pornography, prostitution, and sex trafficking, specifically highlighting how most of the women interviewed were being photographed, videotaped, or live-streamed while in prostitution.
Public Speaking
We are pleased to offer a series of educational presentations.
The Swedish Model also known as the Abolitionist, Nordic, or Equality Model
The 25 years of research that led up to the implementation of the law in 1999.
What the law entails and why it has been proven to be the most effective tool to combat trafficking for sexual purposes.
How it has spread to 8 other countries around the globe and how some countries even have improved it.
The Link Between Domestic Violence, Pornography, Prostitution & Sex-trafficking
How pornography, prostitution and sex-trafficking are inextricable linked and how this huge problem is negatively affecting individuals as well as society and how we can take action to stop it.
How to Talk to Your Kids about Pornography
We talk to parents and educators about the importance of teaching your children and students about empathy and the harm of pornography.
If we don't talk to our kids about porn, the porn industry will.
Our Team
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Felicia Womack
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Felicia Womack is a Swedish-American advocate and lived experience expert dedicated to mobilizing men to end men’s violence against women and girls. As a survivor of attempted murder (femicide) by an ex-boyfriend and systemic violence at the hands of men, she brings a unique combination of personal authority and analytical clarity to the global movement against sexual exploitation.Felicia leads an international board of world-class researchers, diplomats, and survivor-advocates from Sweden, the USA, Canada, and Australia . Having lived and worked across Sweden, France, China, the US, and Colombia for over two decades, she brings a deep international perspective to Wake Up Brother’s mission. Under her leadership, the organization operates from a firm abolitionist stance, shifting the growing global narrative away from "sex work" to human rights and dignity by challenging the normalization of the prostitution system in media and our culture .
Through Wake Up Brother, Felicia spearheads international lobbying and diplomatic efforts to defend the "Swedish Model," focusing on demand reduction and holding sex buyers accountable . Beyond accountability, she is deeply committed to prevention and the next generation of boys, advocating for a future where they are guided by empathy and reciprocity rather than the exploitative scripts of the sex industry. She holds a deep belief in men’s capacity to change, take responsibility, and contribute to a society free from sexual violence.
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Sven-Axel Månsson
PROFESSOR EMERITUS
Sven-Axel Månsson is a scholar in social work and a pioneering researcher on gender, sexuality, and the social dynamics of prostitution and sexual exploitation, focusing particularly on the role of sex buyers. He played a key role conducting the research that underpins Sweden's groundbreaking law, which not only criminalizes the purchase of sex but also emphasizes offering exit programs to support individuals trapped in prostitution. His early and insightful analysis of sex buyers, based on extensive interviews with both sex buyers and women in prostitution, provided critical foundations for these policies. He has authored numerous influential books about prostitution and on the invisible sex buyers, their role in perpetuating exploitation and harm, and the demand they create for commercial sex.
His decades of academic work have shaped policy and deepened public understanding of these critical issues. Today, Professor Månsson’s expertise and insights continue to play a vital role in advancing global efforts for gender equality and human rights.
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Per-Anders Sunesson
AMBASSADOR
Per-Anders served as Sweden’s first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. For nearly five years, he led the effort to promote the Swedish Model globally, building international support for policies focused on eliminating the demand for sexual exploitation. In a field where this topic is often overlooked, he was instrumental in opening doors at the highest levels of government to advocate for legislative change, the criminalization of sex buyers, support for survivors, and the advancement of gender equality.
A lawyer by training, Per-Anders has spent his career working across diplomacy, law, and human rights—including talking with boys in schools about healthy masculinity and the brutal reality of the sex trade. His work as Ambassador-at-Large has concluded, but his mission remains unchanged. He now brings his strategic legal and diplomatic background to Wake Up Brother to lead the effort to finally dismantle the systems—and change the culture—that allow prostitution to continue.
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Anna Skarhed
FORMER SWEDISH CHANCELLOR OF JUSTICE
Anna Skarhed is the former Swedish Chancellor of Justice and a prominent figure in advancing justice and equality in Sweden. She also served as the special investigator for the Swedish government's report Ut ur utsatthet (Out of Vulnerability), published in December 2023. In this capacity, she was tasked with proposing the design and organization of exit programs for adults subjected to prostitution and human trafficking, as well as programs for children exposed to sexual exploitation and trafficking. Her role involved assessing Sweden's adherence to international commitments regarding the identification, protection, and support of trafficking victims, while recommending measures to enhance these efforts.
Throughout her career, Anna has been a steadfast advocate for the Swedish Model. Her leadership in overseeing legal reforms and her unwavering commitment to gender equality have made her an important voice in the fight against sexual exploitation, both in Sweden and internationally.
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Andrea Heinz
COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ACTIVIST
Andrea Heinz is an independent activist and peer-reviewed scholar on commercial sexual exploitation. Drawing on seven years spent in the commercial sex industry between 2006 and 2013, she has emerged as a prominent voice in the global abolition movement, advocating for market-constriction efforts and End Demand policies worldwide.
She currently serves as the program coordinator and facilitator of the Edmonton STOP (Sex Trade Offender Program, commonly known as “John School”). With 13 years of involvement in the program, Andrea has educated hundreds of men arrested for attempting to purchase sex acts. She also appeared as a Parliamentary Witness during the 2022 review of Canada’s prostitution laws (PCEPA) and collaborates with numerous individuals and organizations working in policy, prevention, and survivor-informed responses to commercial sexual exploitation.
In 2024, Andrea and fellow advocate Kathy King published When Men Buy Sex: Who Really Pays?, addressing a critical gap in Canadian literature on commercial sexual exploitation. In addition to her writing and advocacy, she is a co-founder of Red Light Exposé, an international, survivor-led podcast that amplifies critical conversations on exploitation and systemic change.
Her work has been recognized through multiple awards, including the Woman of Courage Award from the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (2020), the inaugural Dr. Zohra Husaini Memorial Award for exceptional dedication to advancing women’s human rights from the Indo-Canadian Women’s Association (2024), and the Human Rights Champion Award from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace & Human Rights (2024).
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Daniel Principe
YOUTH ADVOCATE & EDUCATOR
Daniel is a passionate youth advocate and educator. He champions boys across Australia to challenge culture and aspire to live courageous, respectful and empathetic lives.He is a board member of the DART Institute, an ambassador for the Women’s Resilience Centre and an ambassador for the national campaign Consent Can’t Wait. He was also recently a nominee for the 2025 NSW Australian of the Year.
Having presented to tens of thousands of young people in every Australian state and territory, Daniel is no stranger to the complex challenges that our distracted digital world presents in adolescence. Toxic influencers. Limiting stereotypes. The objectification of women and girls. Unrealistic expectations fuelled by porn culture. Harmful messages like these bombard today’s youth through social media, advertising, online content and the culture around them.
By partnering with schools and communities, Daniel encourages young people to recognise and resist distorted attitudes towards bodies, relationships and sex. He invites his audiences to instead aspire to healthy relationships built on mutual respect and empathy.
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Viktoria Saxby
GENDER EQUALITY EXPERT
Viktoria Saxby has over 30 years of experience working on gender equality, men’s engagement, and the prevention of sexual exploitation, prostitution, and trafficking.
Her work began in the 1990s in Los Angeles with CAST – Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, one of the first anti-trafficking organizations in the United States. Since then, she has worked nationally and internationally across civil society, law enforcement, politics, and international development.
In Sweden, Viktoria has contributed to strengthening knowledge and resources related to prostitution and trafficking within the Swedish Police, and has worked within Swedish and international politics, including advocacy connected to the Swedish Sex Buyer’s Law and proposed legislation addressing the purchase of sex abroad, including speaking about the Swedish Model at the United Nations.
She has led and contributed to campaigns and educational initiatives on pornography and sexual exploitation, including The True Face of Pornography (Talita) and school-based materials through Reality-Check.nu.
She has also collaborated with global initiatives engaging men and boys, such as MenCare and The World’s Most Influential Men.Viktoria is an expert for Sida on PSEAH (Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment) and has delivered trainings across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.
She is the author of The New Man: On Boys, Men and the End of the Battle of the Sexes, which explores masculinity, pornography, consent, and men’s role in advancing gender equality.