National Women's Initiative Sparks Dialogue about Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

--Women's Funding Network schedules Town Hall meetings in local communities nationwide--

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort to raise awareness about the alarming number of adolescent girls being bought and sold across America, Women's Funding Network is investing in community gatherings across the nation to address sex trafficking of adolescent girls.

"It is time we bear witness to what is happening to girls in our own backyards and take action," said Deborah Richardson, national spokesperson for A Future. Not A Past. – a campaign of the Women's Funding Network to address child sex trafficking within the United States.

"Thousands of girls are being trafficked for sex every day in the U.S. as part of a modern day slave trade that is generating millions of dollars for the criminals and businesses that profit from their victimization.  If we are looking for solutions we must hold online sex ad profiteers like Backpage.com accountable and urge them to do more to protect girls from being trafficked on their site," Richardson added.

Women's Funding Network is investing in Town Hall meetings to bring together elected officials, law enforcement representatives, victim support providers and community leaders to raise awareness about the issue and inspire collaborative solutions to combat the sex trafficking of girls in communities across the country.

Local Town Hall meetings have been scheduled in cities as diverse as:

• Minneapolis -- January 5
• Seattle -- January 20
• Atlanta -- January 23
• Detroit -- January 25
• Miami -- February 2
• Phoenix -- TBD

"The road to protecting girls from being sex trafficked is a long one, but we have clear strategies to more effectively help victims across the country," said Christine Grumm, president and CEO of Women's Funding Network.

"Trafficked girls must be provided care and access to services for their rescue and restoration. Additional resources have to be allocated for law enforcement to target and prosecute traffickers and buyers and there needs to be a federal response to the blatant trafficking occurring on sites like Backpage," Grumm concluded.

About Women's Funding Network

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 166 women's funds. Learn more at www.womensfundingnetwork.org.

SOURCE Women's Funding Network