If you’re like me you’ve used Craigslist at one time or another. We’ve sold a bed and a TV, purchased a bulletin board, and looked for furniture on Craigslist. It is great on a lot of levels and for the things the majority of people who use it, it functions well.
BUT, my endorsement of that site has officially ended. I recently learned that Craigslist is a major means by which girls are trafficked into the sex industry. And because Craig’s list charges for pimps to advertise they make an estimated $36 million a year. What are these advertisements? Simply put, women and children for sale. This means of advertising makes it difficult to trace these evil people making the risk less than selling drugs. And, unlike drugs, a girl’s body can be sold over and over and is way more lucrative. In one typical case a girl was raped at truck stops 10 times per night, 7 days per week netting $30,000 per month for the pimp. All of which was arranged via Craigslist.
A recent letter was published in the San Fransisco Chronicle. It is a letter from two girls who are Craigslist trafficking survivors asking, no pleading, for Craig’s list to stop being a means of rape for profit. You can read what was published on Huffington post: Dear Craig…
I’m still on the lookout for a good alternative to Craigslist. If you know of one please respond to this post. In the meantime, I might have to buy and sell via Ebay, or better yet, donate my used stuff to a good charity.
“Two hundred years ago, British abolitionists used an etching of a packed slave ship to expose the brutality of slavery to people who had never seen a slave themselves. The image galvanized the abolition movement and the trans-Atlantic slave trade crumbled under fierce opposition. Today, IJM’s supporters carry the torch of these courageous abolitionists…”