Meet Bobbie Rubin, a 2023 Freedom Award Honoree

Bobbie Rubin is celebrated as a primary initiator of the movement to protect children from sexual exploitation in the United States.  A longtime activist in Presbyterian Women USA and in Girl Scouts USA, she became an early supporter of ECPAT-USA, playing a crucial role in the organization’s development.

Even at an early age when she earned her Women’s Physical Education bachelor's degree from Northwestern University, Bobbie would not accept women in a less than equal spot than men. Her dedication to women’s concerns and interests and to expanding the areas in which they can excel continued in her Girl Scout and church work. Her efforts to develop leadership in girls paralleled her growing efforts to help women out of prostitution. Bobbie’s turning point to focus on child trafficking was visiting Cambodia in 1996 when it opened to the world. She saw first hand how children were commodified, and used as objects for making money. She also saw landmines made in the U.S. scattered everywhere, and how U.S. commerce has global impacts. She donated to have many landmines cleared and turned her sights to child trafficking, including confronting airlines at an industry meeting and finding they had no answers. 

Serving as a Board member during ECPAT-USA's early days, Bobbie has remained one of our most enthusiastic champions for 30 years. Her dedication to ECPAT reflects belief in ECPAT’s shared value that children are valuable and her confidence that ECPAT’s strategies in the hospitality and travel industry can make a difference. In Bobbie’s words, ”Child trafficking is so uncomfortable for people to face and is talked about so little because people want to ignore it. I have done what I can and I hope others will too. I will never give up supporting this important cause.” 

ECPAT-USA is proud to share this interview with human rights advocate, philanthropist, and 2023 Freedom Awards honoree, Mrs. Bobbie Rubin.

1) You have been engaged in the fight against human trafficking for over 30 years, and even served as a Board Member during ECPAT-USA’s early days. Do you think the protection of child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation has improved?

I would hope so, but I'm not in a position to know factually, if that has happened. I believe that we have certainly made more people, especially men, aware of the problem, and that it is not ok to allow it to persist. It is a problem that must be dealt with.

2) Prevention efforts are sometimes halted, because some people are still afraid of discussing this topic, or may deem it inappropriate to discuss with school-age children and youth. When you first started your advocacy work, what types of challenges did you encounter when trying to raise awareness?

When I first started talking about human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children, people really didn’t even know that the problem existed, especially the full scale of it. We’re talking about 1996, 1997, and people didn’t realize that we had this problem, particularly here in the United States. 

3) Along with being a trailblazing advocate who helped to open doors for us to have wider conversations on prevention and supportive services for victims of trafficking and exploitation, you are also a philanthropist. In what ways can the philanthropy sector lead and/or support anti-human trafficking efforts, and why is it important?

The philanthropy sector definitely has a role to play in supporting anti trafficking efforts, and I would say that all of this begins with educating themselves, and becoming more aware of the problem. There is a need to understand the full picture, particularly what victimization looks like. When we are growing up, we are taught about the simple things, being aware of strangers, how to cross the street safely, but no one ever talks to young people about these matters. We should be doing that more than ever, and the philanthropy sector can support those prevention efforts.

I’ve had this understanding for a very long time, and even before I began working with and supporting ECPAT-USA. My awareness about human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children began in the 1990s, when I became active with an organization in Los Angeles, CA, the Mary Magdalene Project (now Journey Out) through the Presbyterian Women, who were a big supporter; and I was on the Board of Directors for many years. Our work there began with housing and supporting six women, helping them escape the life of exploitation and abuse, and began on the path of social reintegration and rehabilitation. 

The Presbyterian Women helped to awaken my understanding of these issues, in other ways. Every three years, they’d take a journey somewhere globally, and in 1996, I was selected from the Senate of Southern California and Hawaii to go to Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines,  to learn more about women who were being prostituted and exploited. I decided to apply, after my background and work with the Mary Magdalene Project. Cambodia was just newly opening up to having visitors from foreign nations, and we observed so many things. 

After returning to the United States, I had a new perspective on trafficking and was committed to upholding my promise to share what I learned with groups around California. I spoke about children, as young as infants being abused, and the fact that American businessmen were huge consumers; and brought forth the fact that this wasn’t just an overseas problem. My daughter was a young woman at the time, and I also began to speak to her about this issue.

I eventually found out about ECPAT-USA, and I immediately got involved, because I wanted to continue the work that I was being exposed to when I visited those three countries.

I also gain perspective on another issue, that intersects with trafficking in terms of displacing people through war and conflict, and that is the use of landmines. Landmines are arbitrary, non-discriminatory killers, and Cambodia had many landmines planted throughout the country, and almost all of them were made in the United States. I think they're up with nuclear weapons for me when it comes to some of the horrible types of weapons that can cause mass destruction. No one ever thinks about how we remove them? Or when do we remove them, or anything like that. So they just impact people in the same way for generations to come. When I was in Cambodia, one in 236 people was affected by landmines. It could just be a leg missing from the ankle down, or something. But one in 236 people was a victim of landmines. So, I also came back to the U.S. advocating for the banning of landmines.

My philanthropic support to organizations, such as ECPAT-USA have certainly helped, but I believe that my biggest impact was through my growing awareness of the issues, and the work that I carried out over the years educating others, and advocating for change. 

4) What would you say to someone who may want to join the fight to address human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children, but are not sure of where to start, or what they can do to contribute?

I would begin with making them aware of organizations like ECPAT-USA and others that could provide them with more information about the issue, and ways that they could assist with combating the problem. 

I would also encourage them to think and open their minds, and recognize that the people, particularly youth, who are involved in trafficking, are not choosing to be involved. The situation is something that they are trapped in, exposed to, and are often left feeling like they have no other alternatives. It is about survival and the exploitation of vulnerable people.

5) What was your initial reaction when you were informed that you were nominated for the 2023 Freedom Award?

I’m not sure if I’ve had my initial reaction yet, but I’m sure that it will soon “hit” me. I’ve been preoccupied with my various endeavors and caring for my husband who is seriously affected by Parkinson’s disease. I am certainly honored by the nomination. Equally, I was honored to represent ECPAT-USA at a meeting with leaders at the University of Southern California (USC) many years ago. Nelson Mandela was an invited keynote speaker. 

6) Outside of being presented the Freedom Award on June 13th, what do you look forward to the most, about attending the benefit event this year?

I’m really looking forward to learning more about how much ECPAT-USA has grown and the impact that organization is currently making on helping to protect children and youth. It will be an opportunity for me to continue to grow my awareness, and meet others concerned about and working to combat this issue.