CNN has been investigating the flourishing world of human trafficking for some time now, particularly Amber Lyon. You may have seen her latest investigation this past Sunday on CNN "Selling the Girl Next Door." She investigated how the prevalence of escort classifieds have moved from Craig's List to Backpage.
Many people have misconceptions regarding these girls who have classifieds listed on these websites. Many believe they are whores, prostitutes, etc... Little do they know that often their ads are posted by pimps who are selling these underage girls for profit. The girls often receive little or none of their wages. This is how the modern day slave trade works.
And what about the men purchasing these girls?? It could be your neighbor, a family member, friend, colleague, etc... Men of all walks of life are participating and perpetuating the slave trade. The may think of it as their guilty pleasure, but maybe they should think about what they are doing to the females they are abusing. Some men say the females are obviously willing, they just responded to an ad. Well if that female is under the control of a trafficker, then the ad was not posted of her will, nor is she sleeping with men for pleasure.
While Craig's List has taken off it's escort services section, the problem has just moved to a different site; Backpage. On Backpage, escort ads can be posted for as little as $5. With words such a youthful and innocent, one can clearly discern underage females are being sold.
When confronted, the CEOs have little to say about the escort services listed on their sites. Craig's List was supposedly filtering all escort ads posted, but when investigated, it was revealed to be untrue. It is a shame incidences like the Craig's List killer must occur from greedy businesspeople to realize lives are at risk in such an industry.
It is said Backpage is gaining millions from profiting off the extra escort ads posted on their site since Craig's List has taken off its escort services section. The proliferation of this horrendous crime will continue until we have another 'Craig's list killer.' What happened to making an honest wage? The CEOs of these companies which allow escort classifieds are clearly profiting from these girls who are being put into danger every day they spend in the control of their pimps and traffickers.
When is it going to be enough? Prostitution is prohibited in the United States, except in Nevada. Should we not have laws regulating this online? It would be unheard of to open the Sunday paper and see escort services advertised, so why is it acceptable online? There has been much talk of how to regulate online activities, but maybe now is the time to stop talking, and start doing.
28 January 2011
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