Online classified ad websites like Craigslist have become the largest marketers of children trafficked into the commercial sex industry. The steady stream of exploited children for sale on Craigslist has had anti-trafficking groups demanding change for years. In the past 12 months, a trafficking survivor whose pimp forced her to advertise for her own statutory rape on Craigslist at age 11 wrote an open letter to Craig Newmark asking him to remove the “adult services” section where she was sold. Cash-strappednonprofits rejected donations from the Craigslist Foundation as tainted money. And 10,000 Change.org readers signed a petition asking Craigslist to stop profiting from child sex slavery.
After years of increasing criticism for their facilitation of child sex trafficking, Craigslist recently blocked the “adult services” section link to ads in the U.S. However, their “adult services” section continues to operate outside the U.S.
Take one minute to help protect women and children outside the U.S. from sex trafficking via Craigslist. Sign Petition Now :http://www.change.org/petitions/view/ask_craigslist_to_stop_advertising_human_trafficking_outside_the_us
Petition #2: Backpage.com
Child sex trafficking on Backpage.com, owned by Village Voice Media, is becoming a disturbing trend.
Earlier this week a Georgia man was arrested for pimping two 17-year-old girls around the Nashville area. Detectives responded to a suspicious ad on Backpage.com and drove to a motel. There, they found the teens and their 37-year-old pimp, as well as a laptop computer, likely used for the online advertising. Just four days prior to that, four people in Denver were arrested for forcing a teen girl into prostitution. They also advertised her sexual services, including semi-nude pictures, on Backpage. And last year, a South Dakota couple was arrestedfor selling underage girls for sex on .... wait for it ... Backpage.com yet again.
Backpage's terms of use, of course, prohibit advertising for illegal commercial sex acts or exploiting minors, but both are happening anyway in Nashville, Denver, and Sioux City. And like Craigslist, Backpage and their parent company Village Voice Media are doing little to prevent the sale of children or trafficked adults on their site. Village Voice Media has a duty to ensure that young girls aren't being abused in the commercial sex industry with help from their website, and that they aren't facilitating human trafficking.
Please, ask Village Voice Media to stop child sex trafficking on Backpage.com. Sign the Petition Now:http://humantrafficking.change.org/petitions/view/tell_village_voice_media_to_stop_child_sex_trafficking_on_backpagecom
