On March 29, protesters delivered 100 pairs of girls' shoes to
Village Voice offices in New York, representing the children bought and sold for sex on the classifieds website Backpage.com, owned by Village Voice
Media.
Along with the shoes came more than 225,000
signatures on a petition on Change.org calling on Village Voice Media to stop allowing child sex traffickers and pimps to advertise on their site. But the ads for sex with minors are still running.
Now, child sex trafficking survivor "Paula K." is asking the owners of Village Voice Media -- who were just revealed by New York Times
columnist Nick Kristoff (one of the authors of the book I recommend you read, HALF THE SKY) after intense investigation -- to use their power to stamp out child sex trafficking on Backpage.com for good. Paula started a petition on Change.org telling Village Voice Media co-owners Alta Communications and Brynwood Partners to do everything
in their power to shut down Backpage.com's adult ads section. Click here to sign Paula's petition now.
Paula was drugged and forced into prostitution when she was 15
years old. Now, having rebuilt her life, she is joining 51 State Attorneys
General, faith leaders and 10 U.S. Senators to publicly call on Village Voice
Media to shut down their adult ads where minors are sold for
sex.
Already, several big name companies with stake in Village Voice
Media -- like Goldman Sachs -- have sold off their shares in response to the
pressure. Village Voice Media owners Alta Communications and Brynwood Partners are tied to big consumer brands like the Boston Celtics, Pretzel Flipz and Balance Bar. If they feel the prestige of those brands is on the line, the companies will have to take action to stop child sex
trafficking on Backpage.com. This is a real way that our efforts can make a difference!!! Paula has stood up for children and you and I can too. Please make a donation to the Global Seva in my name so that your donation can save girls like Paula from the devastating and life-threatening results of sex trafficking!
Please come to a soulful Community Yoga Class tonight with Jill at Four Winds Yoga in Pennington, NJ, www.fourwindsyoga.com. Suggested donation is $5 and ALL proceeds will go towards ending sex trafficking through the Global Seva in collaboration with OFF THE MAT INTO THE WORLD.
And SAVE THE DATE for April 20th screening of the amazingly inspirational film Yogawoman. It is our FIRST BENEFIT EVENT and we would love to see you there. My next post tomorrow will be on the film and why it is such a great film for yogi's and non-yogi's alike!
With great respect,
May all beings know happiness and freedom!