Craigslist urged to ban 'adult services' across all sites

Online auction site Craigslist is being urged to close its 'adult services' section on all of its global sites.

Last month, two sex workers posted an open letter to Craigslist founder Craig Newmark in the Washington Post claiming the site wrecked their lives and accused it "facilitating trafficking" through its adult services section.

As a result, earlier this week the online auction site closed its adult services section, but only on the US version of the website.

However, four organisations that work on ending the sex trafficking of children and young women, are urging the site to roll-out the closure of the section across all of its global sites.

"We thank Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster for voluntarily closing the adult services section of Craigslist in the United States. As the largest classified ads site to have an adult services section, Craigslist has become a major marketplace for buying and selling sex with children and young women," said the Polaris Project, Rebecca Project for Human Rights, FAIR Fund and Courtney's House.

"While this is a good first step in the US, there are still more than 250 other Craigslist 'erotic' pages around the world where children and young women are still being sold for sex through Craigslist. Craigslist is a global company, and it has a global responsibility. It should immediately shut down the 'erotic' services sections across the globe."

The four organisations also said they hoped closing this section only in the US was not simply a PR move in advance of a Congressional hearing on September 15th on sex trafficking where Craigslist has been called to testify.

"If Craigslist is seriously committed to ending the site's use as a platform for sex trafficking and the sexual enslavement of children and young women, it will immediately close the remaining sections around the world."

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See also: Craigslist used in search for assassin

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