Leading Human Rights Groups to Protest at Craigslist’s HQ on 7/08/10:

The article I linked to is a press release about a human trafficking protest that is scheduled to take place on the front steps of craigslist’s office in San Francisco. Let me just hit you with the highlights.

On July 8, 2010 at noon the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), Prostitution Research and Education (PRE) and our over 75 Co-Sponsors will protest Craigslist’s facilitation of sex trafficking at Craigslist’s office, 1381 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122.

A large portion of Craigslist’s profits come from the sale of commercial sexual exploitation, much of it trafficked, all of it prostituted. Craigslist normalizes and facilitates online pimping – providing an outlet and incentive for sex traffickers to reach buyers of human beings. “By providing traffickers and johns with a virtual red light district, Craigslist is aiding, abetting and enormously profiting from sex trafficking,” says Norma Ramos, Executive Director of CATW.

Our protest is co-sponsored by 75 leading human rights and anti-trafficking organizations and prominent individuals including Equality Now, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA), Center for World Indigenous Studies, Soroptimists International of the Americas, Nevada Coalition Against Sexual Violence, Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres, Asian Americans for Community Involvement, and Gloria Steinem, author Victor Malarek, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

We are calling upon Craigslist to close the euphemistically named “Adult Services” section of their website and set a sex industry-free standard which would help to eliminate human trafficking on the internet.

For a complete list of the 75 Co-Sponsors who have joined CATW and PRE visit our websites at www.catwinternational.org and www.prostitutionresearch.com.

If I had the money I would be at that protest myself. If I have any readers in the Bay area who have some free time on the 8th I would ask that you please attend this protest.

However, my advice to the CATW and PRE is craigslist isn’t the only player in this game. I would recommend that they hold a similar protest at the main offices of Village Voice Media who own backpage.com who also run prostitution ads on their website not to mention in their publications as well.