PHOENIX (CBS5) -
A new advertisement is urging Village Voice Media to shut down the adult section of Backpage.com, where children and adults have been sold for sex.
The video that was launched Monday by the organization FAIR Girls tells the true story of a 13-year-old girl who was advertised on the website for sex by her pimp who began advertising her when she was 12. An actress and FAIR Girls advocate plays the part of the girl to protect her identity.
FAIR Girls is an organization that tries to prevent sexual exploitation of girls around the world with empowerment and education.
The ad requests the public to sign a petition that demands Village Voice Media to close the adult section of their website.
Co-founder and Executive Director of Fair Andrea Powell said almost all of the girls forced into sex trafficking that FAIR Girls has helped in the U.S. were sold on Backpage.com.
"In the past year, the number of girls we have assisted has more than doubled," Powell said. "For us, this is not just a campaign. This is about protecting real girls from being victimized."
Also, the advertisement is asking the public to contact 26 advertisers for Village Voice Media's publications, which includes the Phoenix New Times, and ask them to remove their ads until the website section is closed down.
FAIR Girls spokesperson said the ads follow similar requests by Groundswell, a social action initiative of Auburn Seminary.
The combined effort resulted in national brands such as AT&T, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and IHOP pulling their advertisements from Village Voice Media publications, a spokesperson said.
Backpage.com is the leading U.S. website for prostitution advertising, according to an analysis by the trade organization AIM Group, and it generates $2.6 million monthly.
"As a teenager, I was advertised by my pimp on Backpage.com. This year, one of the men who bought me put a knife to my throat and almost killed me. The police rescued me, and with the help of FAIR Girls, I'm rebuilding my life," a sex trafficking survivor identified as Nina said. "I am 20 years old now, but I continue to see girls, often much younger than me, who are sold by pimps using Backpage.com. This has to stop."
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Courtesy of YouTube featuring an actress portraying a 13-year-old victim.
