This past weekend, we heard news that Craigslist removed the “Adult” or “Erotic” section from all of its global sites worldwide.  The action happened quietly, without much mention in mainstream media, perhaps because it’s not viewed as a newsworthy event.  However, for those in the anti-trafficking field, this is a huge change. It’s certainly newsworthy because we know that a major source of free advertising has been cut off for human traffickers worldwide. [Read more →]

Last week craigslist shut down the Adult Services section in cities in the United States. However, the Erotic Services section is still up in the rest of the world. With more than 250 pages international pages generating nearly 25,000 ads a day, craigslist has neglected its responsibilities as a global company by keeping these sections available for users worldwide.

Today, Polaris Project and more than 100 other experts from the anti-trafficking field signed onto a letter asking Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster to shut down all of the Adult and Erotic Services sections around the world. You can also do the same by signing Change.org’s petition. Although craigslist has been silent on this issue during the past week, we eagerly wait to hear what their next steps will be. Tomorrow a representative from craigslist will be testifying before the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee. Perhaps after tomorrow’s hearing we will get the answer to our question – what will they do now?

I distinctly remember a time, a few years ago in 2007, when craigslist became a point of focus at meetings and events throughout the anti-trafficking movement.  Sitting in conferences or at task force meetings, it became a frequent occurrence for a presenter from law enforcement or the victims services field to talk about how victims of human trafficking were increasingly being advertised in the Erotic Services section of the website. [Read more →]

CHICAGO – This week I was in Chicago for the launch of the End Demand Initiative (EDI), a coalition effort Polaris Project is  supporting.  Led by the indefatigable and innovative Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), this initiative stands to test in Illinois a model which could be a vanguard effort for the whole country. [Read more →]

The anti-human trafficking movement has been calling attention to how businesses can stop being enablers of the slavery of our time.  Polaris Project has shown recently this is not just true for labor trafficking and supply chains, but in the sex trade.  We’ve challenged craigslist to eliminate the Erotic Services section with ads of women and children for sale; and The Washington Post to drop ads for massage parlors, some of which have been shut down for sex trafficking.  The leaders of each have agreed to meetings with Polaris Project in the near future. [Read more →]

“I expose slavery in this country, because to expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death.” – Frederick Douglass

Human traffickers are motivated by profit, and they know that human trafficking is a business, driven by the economic principles of supply and demand.  Like other businesses, traffickers need to engage in effective marketing in order to reach potential customers.  What most people don’t realize, however, is the degree to which traffickers are using legitimate sources to advertise. [Read more →]