UPDATE
BATON ROUGE — House Bill 268, also known as The Audrey Wascome Act, took a major step forward today as it cleared the Senate Judiciary C Committee. The bill, which seeks to replace the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” (CSAM) in Louisiana law, continues to gain momentum.
Named in honor of survivor and advocate Audrey Wascome, the legislation is now one step closer to becoming law — bringing with it a powerful shift in how the state acknowledges and addresses crimes against children.
*Original story below
BATON ROUGE — In the echoing chambers of the Louisiana State Capitol, a bill with devastating personal roots made its way toward law. House Bill 268, introduced by Representative Vanessa Caston LaFleur, seeks to replace the outdated and harmful phrase “child pornography” in Louisiana law with a term that tells the truth: child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.
At the heart of this legislation is a woman who has spent her life trying to reclaim the one stolen from her — Audrey Wascome.
“I didn’t choose a life of advocacy, it chose me. I am a survivor of childhood sexual violence that destroyed my body,” Wascome said.
For decades, Audrey has worked as an advocate for survivors of violence, writing for national publications and sitting on task forces meant to protect the most vulnerable. But until recently, very few people knew her full truth: that she had been trafficked and sexually abused as a child. That the abuse had been photographed and filmed. That the evidence of her trauma — now termed “pornography” under the law — still exists.
Three years ago, Audrey received a phone call that shattered the fragile barriers she’d built around the past. Material of her abuse had been discovered. It had been discovered after the death of her grandparents — the very people who had violated her trust and her body.
“I got a phone call early on a Sunday morning telling me that material of me had been found. Both of my grandparents had just died,” she recalled in a statement to lawmakers. “There were about 10 people in my life who knew the rest of the story, and two of those people were Morgan Lamandre and Vanessa LaFleur.”
Audrey had spent years speaking out about child sexual violence, but she still couldn’t bring herself to use the term “child pornography” to describe what had happened to her.
“Even I — someone who had been in the field, who had done the work — could not say those words. Because it isn’t pornography. It’s evidence of a crime.”
A Cultural Reckoning
Language matters. That’s the message Audrey, Rep. Vanessa LeFleur and Morgan Lamandre, CEO of the nonprofit STAR (Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response), are pushing forward with HB 268.
“This bill really is about bringing the language in line with what all federal agencies and international communities use,” Audrey said. “Children cannot consent. The material is not erotic. It is not entertainment. It is trauma — it is abuse — and it is evidence of a crime.”
CSAM — Child Sexual Abuse Material — is the accurate term used by professionals worldwide. Yet Louisiana law still clings to the misleading and harmful phrase “pornography involving juveniles.”
“We knew, based upon her experience, that there was a language gap, and the only way to fix that was to fix the language in our existing statutes,” Representative Vanessa Caston LaFleur said.
Audrey explained why that matters: “When you say ‘child pornography,’ it implies consent. It makes it seem like the child was a participant in something they could choose. That’s a lie. That lie diminishes the impact on survivors. It fuels shame. It silences people.”
Walking Into the Nightmare | “My grandparents had trafficked me”
In a searing Instagram post from October 2023, Audrey opened up about the harrowing journey she took back to the house where her abuse occurred. It was just days after learning that the ‘CSAM’ of her had been located.
“Two days later, I sat in an FBI office with Morgan from STAR,” she wrote. “Two days after that, Harmony (her best friend) and I boarded a plane for me to walk into my worst nightmare.”
The house was still there — a time capsule of pain.
“To my horror, it was exactly like I remember. In the room that almost destroyed me, I gathered every ounce of courage I’ve ever had to look at what haunts me — the amber colored privacy glass I focused on when I was held down and the stain on the carpet from my abuse.”
Photos taken without her knowing — her sobbing on the floor, curled into herself in front of the closet — now serve as proof of her survival.
“I accept there is probably material documenting me being raped as a child in other people’s possession, and I have no control over it,” she wrote. “The difference is that I can no longer be blackmailed by it.”
The grief Wascome has endured from her abuse is compounded by a deep level of familial betrayal.
“My grandparents had trafficked me and made photographs and videos of my tiny body being sold to strangers,” she said to house representatives. “I have testified to this committee before about my bladder that no longer works the way it should and I have visible scarring on my vaginal area.”
Wascome says she’s spent years hiding in plain sight knowing that images of her were likely floating around. It was the thought of her children seeing such horror and the label of ‘child pornography’ giving them the false impression that she may have been complicit.
“I never wanted them to think that I consented to being violated on camera, rather than understanding what it actually was — child sexual abuse material and evidence of a crime. Language matters.”
A Bill Named After Audrey
House Bill 268 is now progressing through the Louisiana legislature. As of May 13, it passed a critical step — amended and moved forward for a final House vote. After the votes were tallied, HB268 passed the House floor with 40 co-authors, 98 Yeas, 0 Nays.
Audrey was stunned to learn that the bill would carry her name. According to Representative LaFleur, it was a well justified honor. “She’s been an advocate for so many years in this space. She’s just putting a whole lot of her own sweat equity into amplifying the voices of survivors in our state.” Representative said.
“Naming the bill after me was a huge surprise,” Wascome said, choking back emotion. “Honestly, it’s a huge honor. I’ll attach my name to anything if it makes life better for someone else.”
She knows this bill will not undo what was done to her. But it might change the lives of children who come after her. It might shift how our culture speaks about — and prosecutes — child sexual abuse. It might help other survivors finally speak their truth without shame.
“For decades I lived hidden in plain sight,” she told lawmakers. “Justice looks different for everyone, but for me, it means days like today. It means creating change for future survivors, so that they too can grow up to be the adult they needed as a child.”
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