-Village Voice Media urged to fight issue by following craigslist's lead-

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Now that craigslist's "Adult Services" section has closed, advocates are closely monitoring the flow of demand to other popular outlets. Pressure is now being applied to Village Voice Media, which operates 14 publications throughout the U.S. in addition to Backpage.com, craigslist's closest competitor in terms of adult services. Village Voice Media is urged to take decisive action to effectively stop ads sex trafficking young girls on Backpage, 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," Richardson says. "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.

About Women's Funding Network

As a global network and a movement for social justice, Women's Funding Network accelerates women's leadership and invests in solving critical social problems – from poverty to global security – by bringing together the financial power, influence and voices of more than 160 women's funds. Learn more at www.womensfundingnetwork.org.

SOURCE Women's Funding Network

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