Women's group monitoring media outlets to stop ads sex trafficking

SAN FRANCISCO,-- PRNewswire - GHN Editor -- Now that craigslist's "Adult Services"
section has closed, advocates are closely monitoring other media outlets
to stop ads sex trafficking.

The

Village Voice Media, which operates 14 publications throughout the
United States, along with Backpage.com, Craigslists closest competitor
in terms of adult services, are both receiving pressure from women's
groups to take decisive action to effectively stop ads sex trafficking
young girls.

According to Deborah Richardson, chief program officer for Women's Funding Network,
a global movement for social justice,"This is not an issue of
censorship.  Unfortunately, Village Voice and its outlets -- like
Backpage -- are using arguments about free speech as a distraction from
the main issue, which is the illegal act of buying and selling
adolescent girls for sex. Backpage and other Internet classified sites
should invest their vast resources in as many efforts as possible to
stop traffickers and buyers from using their pages to domestically
traffick girls."

Village Voice's Backpage is projected to generate $17.5 million in revenues in 2010, according to a Sept. 15
report by the AIM Group, a global team of consultants in interactive
and traditional media. Also of note in the report, before craigslist
self-censored its "Adult Services" section on Sept. 3, the section had generated close to $30 million in 2010.

Advocates
estimate that by eliminating both craigslist and Backpage, nearly 80%
of demand for domestically sex trafficked girls would be disrupted,
allowing law enforcement to more closely monitor transactions via less
populated outlets.

"Craigslist's
actions are a result of pressure from advocates, public officials,
victims and law enforcement, and we ask others to join in setting a no
tolerance precedent for trafficking young girls, especially online where
a cloak of anonymity protects traffickers and buyers," Richardson says.

Leaders
of Women's Funding Network say Village Voice Media should follow
craigslist's example and increase efforts to stop the trafficking of
adolescent girls via Backpage.

"Drastic steps must be taken to combat domestic sex trafficking and protect our adolescent girls," says Chris Grumm,
president and CEO of Women's Funding Network. "Craigslist took a
crucial first step, and now Backpage must act to more effectively rid
its pages of ads that traffick girls. We urge them to increase their
monitoring of ads using available technology in order to detect
suspicious activity and actively report these instances to law
enforcement."

Following a Sept. 15 House Judiciary Committee hearing about domestic minor sex trafficking, pressure on Backpage has grown substantially:

• Sept. 15 – On the
  same day as the hearing, the AIM Group released a report projecting
  2010 revenues for major Internet classifieds sites that allow "adult
  service" ads.

• Sept. 16 – St. Louis
  media reported a lawsuit had been filed against Backpage by the family
  of a 14-year-old girl who alleges she was trafficked for sex on the
  site.

• Sept. 21 – Attorneys
  general from 21 states cosigned a letter to Backpage urging the website
  to immediately take down its adult section. The same day, Backpage
  publicly declines.

As
censorship debates persist and Backpage struggles to protect revenues
made in part by the trafficking of adolescent girls for sex, Women's
Funding Network continues to work closely with advocates, public
officials and law enforcement to ensure young girls are safe from the
horrors of domestic minor sex trafficking.

"We
will continue to let it be known, our community of advocates will not

tolerate adult men who purchase sex from adolescents," says Richardson.