Backpage and CityXGuide Trafficking Survivors: Act Now for Compensation and Legal Help

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ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) launched a new website, the Backpage Survivor Remission Network, to help connect survivors of trafficking on Backpage.com and CityXGuide.com with guidance and free legal support to seek compensation for their abuse through the DOJ remission process. NCMEC created the Backpage Survivor Remission Network in response to the Department of Justice's plan to compensate victims from the approximately $200 million seized from these sites.

NCMEC is a private, nonprofit organization created in 1984. Over the past 41 years, NCMEC has grown into the nation's largest and most influential child protection organization. Today, NCMEC fulfills its Congressionally designated mission to help find missing children, combat child sexual exploitation and prevent child victimization.

Survivors must submit a petition to the DOJ's remission process to be considered for compensation. This process requires detailed paperwork and the deadline to apply is February 2, 2026. Filling out the petition may feel overwhelming to a survivor. To help, NCMEC is working with law firms across the country that have agreed to provide pro bono support to survivors. These lawyers will assist survivors with their petitions to make sure they are submitted correctly and on time.

Here's how it works:

• The Backpage Survivor Remission Network will share background information about the remission process.
• Survivors can fill out a simple form to let NCMEC know they want help.
• NCMEC will then work to connect survivors with an attorney who can support them through each step in the remission process of filing a petition at no cost.

So far, 15 law firms have signed up to participate, and more are expected to join. Because many survivors may ask for help, NCMEC will match survivors to lawyers based on availability, language needs and other important factors.

NCMEC will provide attorneys in its network with training and resources so they can support survivors in a trauma-informed way. This includes step-by-step guidance on the remission process and help with specific petition requirements through the donated resources of NCMEC's network.

If you are a survivor, please know you are not alone. NCMEC is here to stand with you and make sure you have access to the support you need.

The chance to apply for compensation is an important step toward justice, but the window is short. Survivors must apply by February 2, 2026. NCMEC's goal is to ensure that every survivor who wants help can find it.

The law firms and lawyers listed below are among the Attorney Network members that have committed to providing pro bono legal services to survivors for the Backpage remission process:

Baker Hostetler
Ballard Spahr
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Husch Blackwell
Kirkland & Ellis
Jenner & Block
Milbank
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Rainfall Strategies LLC
Schroeter Goldmark Bender
Vinson & Elkins
Wiley

Additional Resources:
Do you suspect child sex trafficking? Make a report at report.cybertip.org.

Request help to remove nude or explicit photos taken of you before you were 18 at takeitdown.ncmec.org.

SOURCE The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children