Clergy Petition Village Voice To Drop Ads Linked To Sex Trafficking

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

(RNS) Three dozen religious leaders have signed an ad calling on Village Voice Media to remove an adult section of its BackPage.com that they and others claim is a conduit for child sex trafficking.

"As moral and religious leaders of many creeds and backgrounds, we are united in calling on your publication to shut down the Adult section of Backpage.com," reads an open letter to Village Voice Media CEO Jim Larkin in an ad published Tuesday (Oct. 25) in The New York Times.

The ad lists 14 states in which adults have been arrested for selling minors for sex using BackPage.com, according to media reports.

In a July statement, Backpage.com spokesperson Steve Suskin said the site is committed to preventing people from misusing it for illegal activity.

"We have implemented a series of new safety enhancements over the past several months to better protect our communities and will continue to further increase our safety practices," he said.

But the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist leaders said they were not satisfiedwith the steps taken by the alternative weekly newspaper chain.

"We appreciate your efforts to put in place new measures attempting to screen for ads featuring minors," they wrote in the ad. "However, we do not believe that these measures are doing enough to adequately solve the problem."

The site's "safety and security backgrounder" was updated on Sept. 29 andnotes that it has implemented a "no nudity policy."

Actor Ashton Kutcher, who co-chairs an anti-trafficking foundation with his wife, actress Demi Moore, also has criticized BackPage.com, reportedly tweeting that it is a "digital brothel.'"

Comments

[dbrett480]

06:08 PM on 11/02/2011

Good for the clergy for standing up to the Village Voice. I have no idea why a supposedly progressive media outlet would provide a forum for the persecution of underage women of color.

[cathouselover]

08:11 AM on 11/03/2011

They not just after VV, they want to censure the whole web, using 'children's interest' as the excuse. Those under-aged are but a fraction of arrest cases, though, despite the alarmist claims of moral zealots.

[dbrett480]

11:03 PM on 11/09/2011

I didn't see anywhere where they wanted to censure the whole web, they simply wanted to go after companies that promote sex trafficking. If that is being a moral zealot, then I am the most zealous.

[cathouselover]

11:30 AM on 10/31/2011

rjh252a1
“Sad and naive or blind. Maybe someone should check you out.”

Lol..like it or not, that's the facts. Been watching videos from news sites around the country for a few years now, so yes a few are under-aged, but certain not half.

[NancyMarie]

11:10 PM on 10/27/2011

A story about religious leaders taking a stand to end child sex trafficking which is being facilitated by the Village Voice. It's a tragedy for the children who are being abused, but at the same time, it is inspiring that these religious leaders put aside their differences and came together to try to put a stop to it. So why are the majority of the commentators below bent on bashing Christians and especially Catholics? Almost every forum I have read on this web site is seething with hate for the Catholic Church and for our priests, even though as some have pointed out, there is more incidence of sexual abuse among teachers, psychiatrists, and even parents than there is in the priesthood. With over a billion Catholics worldwide, there were 6 credible new reports of abuse last year. And that is 6 too many! But it also means that the Catholic Church is about the safest place in the world for children comparatively. The Church is about love and service. The priesthood is about love and sacrifice. Many of these comments are seething with hate, but you only hate what you do not know. If you really cared about children, would applaud these religious leaders and stand with them.

[Bratatat]

07:11 PM on 10/27/2011

Why not a grass-roots campaign to boycott any advertiser who finances this medium for child prostitution?

[Mike Davis 747]

04:16 PM on 10/27/2011

I think the reason there are so many homosexual priests is because most of these men are deeply religious and feel terribly guilty about being a homosexual. They feel if they devote their lives to God they will somehow be redeemed. Christianity teaches that homosexuality is an abomination Of course joining the priesthood does nothing to cure homosexuality and at some point the urge to have sex overwhelms these priests. They need to acknowledge what they are and not feel guilty as though they did something that caused them to be a homosexual. The church needs to update their doctrine and accept the fact that some people are simply different than others. Accepting homosexuals for what they are will go a long way in curing the problem.

[hayesrch2001]

03:58 PM on 10/27/2011

Correction: "The Village Voice." Back Stage" is another publication I use to buy together with "The Village Voice." Sorry "Back Stage" no harm implied. :(

[ImpeachMalloy]

03:23 PM on 10/27/2011

To those who are all over churches for the actions of a few priests.... how does it feel knowing that in one year, more teachers are arrested for sexually abusing children than 10 years of priests??

[Mike Davis 747]

04:04 PM on 10/27/2011

That's only because there are far more teachers than there are priests. Also, most of the teachers who molest students are female teachers having sex with male students. Priests on the hand molest young boys which is much worse. I remember a few young female teachers when I was in junior high and high school who I fantasized about having sex with. The only reason I didn't have sex with them is I didn't have to opportunity to do so.

[RLaitres]

04:16 PM on 10/27/2011

Which means what, exactly? That one is "more worser" than the other and therefore that it is OK for the "lesser worser" to be excused or minimized? (I used the English language in a way suitable to intellectual level of the argument made by the poster).

[meanlady21]

03:09 PM on 10/27/2011

Hope this people stand strong on their convictions.

[psnyder325]

02:43 PM on 10/27/2011

Sex trafficking is a terrible crime. Those who do it should be severely punished. Having said that, pressuring these advertising sites to remove their adult sections is not going to solve this problem, and will cut into the income of consenting adult sex workers. Whenever there is a draconian law or regulation passed, the justification is almost always "If it just saves ONE child...." But that is pitting the life of ONE child against all of the other legitimate desires and concerns of society as a whole. There are many other solutions than censorship or wholesale banning of a whole section. Backpage.com is trying to prevent sex trafficking ads. Of course, if they, like Craigslist, shut down their adult section another venue will pop up where sick people can find underage sex trafficking...and if they shut that down, then another. And these folks DO talk to each other. Much better to target the traffickers through law enforcement and severe punishments than to shut down a venue where a few people advertise for this sort of thing.

[Iron100]

01:22 AM on 10/27/2011

how many children have been abused in churches and madressas? Are we banning them? No.

[gljrea05]

02:57 PM on 10/27/2011

so you are okay with this just because the Catholic Church have made grave errors? Aren't both a injustice to the youth of our world?

[ImpeachMalloy]

03:22 PM on 10/27/2011

Not as many as the children abused by public school teachers.... are we banning public education?? NO.

[HarleyOpenRoad]

09:52 PM on 10/26/2011

Our society is going down the friggin' toilet.

[RLaitres]

04:18 PM on 10/27/2011

And with the intellectual as well as emotional level displayed in many of the posts, is it any wonder? Either that, or some are enjoying the "ride" as they keep pulling down on the flush lever.

[David MacWilliams]

08:54 PM on 10/26/2011

Cause you know the Catholics hate competition...

[HarleyOpenRoad]

09:57 PM on 10/26/2011

At least the Catholic Church officially condemns this.

The FLDS endorses it.

[psnyder325]

02:37 PM on 10/27/2011

The Catholic Church tacitly approves it by their refusal to turn their priests over to law enforcement. The Catholic Church is GOING DOWN...(and it's about time!)

[RLaitres]

04:22 PM on 10/27/2011

This is not only found in the Catholic religion. It is found in all of them. The only difference is that the Catholic Church, being centralized as opposed to being distributed acrose many separate congregations has led to abuse and cover-up by some of its executives and top managers; i.e. concealment.

[bcoburnree]

08:50 PM on 10/26/2011

I wonder if there would be so much bitter comment if it was a Feminist group that objected to the ads? And hearing Ashton Kutcher comment on it --- I guess he'd know, wouldn't he?

[DennisTheMenance]

05:21 PM on 10/27/2011

Actually I find it Ironic that DEMI Moore is Envolved. since isn't she a COUGAR with AK?
Wonder how she justified Her 'Dating" AK in the begining and to this day with her Kids?
Here Kids, I brought home another Playmate for you!
LOL

As for Teachers Having Sex with the Kids? Some of those 15-17 yr HS Girls look awfully sexy don't they and The Bold Body By Fisher applies.. Then again, who's fault is it to allow their "Child" to walk out the door Looking like they do?

My Girls weren't allowed to wear Dresses To school, only Jeans and Slacks and not Tight Fitting Tops either.. Not until they were 18.. Sorry, but If you don't want to be Treated like a Slut, then don't Dress and Look like one!

If you don't want to be hit on for being Sexy and Easy? Then Don't Dress and Act like you are!
Have you Just Looked at some of the HS Girls In those California HS Schools? And how do you think that reflects on their Younger-Grade School- Sisters?

EG: The KARDASIAN Girls and The Jenner Girls are Prime Examples.. 15 yr old Jenner Girl already doing Swimwuit Modeling? Give me a Break!
It's ok to Walk about all butt Naked, but God Help you if you touch me or do anything else?
You're just Asking for Trouble Young Lady!

[cwpamp]

08:32 PM on 10/26/2011

A Democracy can only survive with People who are Strong enough to have Self-control, and who have a Caring Heart ready to Do what it Takes to Solve Problems. Where do you think that Comes from???

[blinn8656]

08:29 PM on 10/26/2011

What are these guy's doing looking in those ads ? Maybe it is cutting into profits from these cult leaders.

[DennisTheMenance]

05:25 PM on 10/27/2011

This Outfits and most others Are Just Desperate to Make $ anyway they can, so they don't have to go work for a living..

Including Selling Adds to connect the Scum of the Earth to prey on others..
And they Hide behind the Law..Freedom of the Press and all that Baloney!

How about Contributing to the Delinkqency of a Minor? How about Making them an Accompliance to the Crime?

Any parent or Person who locks up a Kid like that , should get the same treatment as far as I'm concerned.. Out Them In Prison and See How they Like it.. they will be locked up and Get Sodomized as well..
Low Life Scum of the Earth..

[Juan Rulfo]

01:40 PM on 10/30/2011

There are no ads for child prostitutes. But--and this is nothing new--teens (and/or their "boyfriend" or pimp) will lie about their age, passing themselves off as adults. Traci Lords ran away from home in the early 1980s and soon entered the porn industry. While that wasn't good, at least it didn't lead to the hysteria about rampant "child sex trafficking" we are experiencing now.