It’s bad enough to hear about men who force
young girls to prostitute themselves in foreign countries. But sex traffickers operating right
here in the United States under our nose on Craigslist?!
Facebook,
Twitter, and the blogosphere are abuzz with the revelation
that 1/3
of Craigslist revenue comes from sex ads.
Many of these ads
offer young
girls for sex. It strikes me that this is exactly like the
sex cafe I
visited in Moldova.
While I’m shopping for a used couch
on Craigslist, thousands of girls are being trafficked in the cyberspace
around me.
So far, the Craigslist leadership appears unwilling
to take down the
trafficking ads, or to offer a real aggressive enforcement
strategy.
Many
have taken to boycotting
craigslist until they get serious about not allowing the site to
serve as a medium for trafficking underage girls. If you’re
one of these people, leave a comment and tell me why and what you think
the boycott can accomplish.
Having just been in Moldova
and Russia, sitting with girls who themselves had experienced the
horrors of trafficking, I cannot believe this is happening on a
site like Craigslist.
This is happening in the
open–on a public site. Many of the ads are plainly pornographic–and
they are right there in the open. It’s just like the sex cafe in
Moldova!
As the organized protest continues, there are a variety
of ways that you can respond and act. Many of you asked what you can do
to prevent sex trafficking. I never thought I’d be telling you to
boycott Craigslist for facilitating the prostitution and rape of girls
in the United States. Here goes…
- Add
a tag to your e-mail signature or a badge to your blog that says “Craigslist
allows trafficking of underage girls on their site, will you?”
- Spread the word to your social networks on Facebook and Twitter.
Link to any of the articles on this page, this blog post, or any other
resource you find. Most people just are not aware…change that!
- Boycott companies who use Craigslist to advertise jobs. A
big portion of Craigslist’s revenue comes from job postings. Go to Craigslist.org and browse through the
job listings by companies in your city–write the poster and let them
know about Craigslist’s reputation for allowing trafficking of minors on
their site. Send e-mails, write letters, and make phone calls to
companies. Remember, they probably have no idea. Work
to educate. Ask them to take the ad down and join the
fight to clean sex trafficking from Craigslist. Last night, I
found a local church in our community with several job ads. Contact
the job poster directly, and show them to the open
letter and other articles.
- Call your local media. Send a pitch letter to all
of the local radio stations and television stations in your town. This
is a national story that is easy for local affiliates to pick up. Pitch
them on a local angle to this story–such as how many women are
currently advertised as prostitutes in your town.
As you spend time researching this developing story and the ensuing
protest, you’ll run into other ideas and solutions. Leave a comment here
to let us know what you’re doing to shut down America’s online
sex cafe.
This is an absolute outrage and is
happening right under our nose. If someone doesn’t stand up for what is
right, who will? Will you stand in the gap and defend a young girl who
is being trafficked right here in the US on Craigslist?
I didn’t realize you were on the same trip (presumably ) with Ann Jackson…I am devastated by these stories…and have had the divine opportunity to write a personal experience piece for Timbrel, the publication of Mennonite Women USA, giving it a personal twist.
We are parents to a 13 year old Vietnamese daughter who so easily could have had a different life.Yet she is living the “normal” drama of a thirteen year old, still a child, innocent, flirtatious, and not defiled.
This is a passion close to my heart. Thanks for raising awareness.
Wow! I have a stomach ache from hearing this.
I saw the letter to the CEO of Craigslist posted on FB yesterday and shared it on my page. I had absolutely no idea and this MAKES ME SICK.
Thanks for sharing more information on the subject.
For all those, including myself, who hear stories of trafficking overseas and think “I’d do something, but I’m not over there”, or “what impact can I have in another country form here?” THIS IS THE CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING. It’s in our backyard now and we know about it.
Yeah, this is absolutely terrible.
Most problems in Cambodia, including sex trafficking, corruption, and human rights abuses may be blamed on poverty and the destruction of social and physical infrastructure stemming from the country’s tragic past, namely, the Khmer Rouge and the use of Cambodia as turf for Cold War adversaries.