Craigslist Makes it Too Easy to Pimp Homeless Child Prostitutes

The average age at which young girls first become prostitutes in America is 12 to 14 years old. Twelve to 14. They don't look like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and they sure don't get treated like her. No nice man rescues them and buys them thousands of dollars of expensive clothes. That's the fantasy that draws some of these children into prostitution. The reality is that they can't escape their lives. The majority of them begin as runaways, but there are hundreds who are sold by their parents into prostitution or child pornography. What keeps them there is access to Craigslist.

The website has gotten a lot of heat from law enforcement officials who say that Craigslist makes it harder for them to do their jobs while making it easier for criminals to do theirs. When I read the accounts from both sides what strikes me is how rarely the issue of homeless children is the focus. Children end up advertising their bodies on Craigslist because they are homeless, not because they are prostitutes. Prostitution is a symptom of homelessness. It's one way they can get off the street.

According to CNN, the FBI found more than 2,800 child prostitution ads posted on Craigslist. Many of those opposed to the ads want the "erotic services" section shut down — something that's not likely to happen given that, according to the New York Times, the site earns an estimated $36 million a year from the ads.

Craigslist spokespersons told CNN they do all they can to eliminate the child sex ads, and that they patrol the sites aggressively. Not aggressively enough apparently. Children — or, more likely, their pimps — still use the site to place free ads; the ads keep them alive because they provide a steady stream of customers, but can also get them raped and killed. Here's an idea: people should have to register a credit card to place such ads. Charge $1 for a one-time registration to connect an adult with the ads and to keep children from being able to post them. Maybe Craigslist can spend some of that $36 million to hire the programmers to do that. I'm sure there are some out there who'd be willing to save the children.

Does Craigslist have an obligation to remove erotic services ads to help underage users? The concept of "good corporate neighbor" was popular years ago. It meant a business would do something for the good of the community even at the expensive of the bottom line. Is Craigslist, which operates in every state and dozens of countries, being a good neighbor?

This "problem" is America's dirty little secret about a homeless population no one wants to talk about. But it's time to recognize that the thousands of children and teens on the street need more than adult homeless shelters. And they need better treatment and a better recognition of the problem than the people at Craigslist seem to have.

Photo credit: quinn.anya