Image by littlevanities via FlickrEnd Human Trafficking:Tell Village Voice Media to Stop Child Sex Trafficking on Backpage.com
by Amanda Kloer
September 02, 2010 07:00 AM (PT)
Craigslist may be the most famous facilitator of online child sex trafficking these days, but Backpage.com, owned by Village Voice Media, is working to catch up. In the past week alone, two human trafficking operations were busted for selling teens on Backpage.com. It's time to tell Village Voice Media and Backpage.com that facilitating and profiting from child sex trafficking is not acceptable.
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 and drove to a motel. There, they found the teens and their 37-year-old pimp, as well as a laptop computer, likely used to post 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 arrested for selling underage girls for sex on .... wait for it ... Backpage.com yet again. Sorry Village Voice, but it looks like child sex trafficking on one of your websites is a disturbing trend.
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.
Online classified sites like Backpage.com, Craigslist, and others are quickly becoming some of the most common places children are sold for sex. These companies have tremendous power to prevent the sexual exploitation of minors online. However, vast amounts of money are to be made in the adult services advertising industry, giving companies few incentives to tighten controls and safeguards against pimps selling kids. That's where you come in. Pressure from online classified users can motivate companies like Village Voice Media to clean up their online classified and take critical steps to protecting children. So take one minute, write a letter to Village Voice Media, and take a stand for exploited children.
Photo credit: Saemel Trip
Amanda Kloer has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. She currently develops trainings and educational materials for civil attorneys representing victims of human trafficking and gender-based violence.
Tell Village Voice Media to Stop Child Sex Trafficking on Backpage.com | End Human Trafficking | Change.org
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