In his latest op-ed piece "Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold for Sex" in The New York Times, Nicholas D Kristof writes about the shocking experience of a run-away New York teenager sold into the sex-trade in New York. In itself the sad tale is not especially new. What is revelatory is the companies who owned the web site used to advertise and promote the young woman.
“He felt that Backpage made him the most money,” Brianna said, estimating that half of her pimp’s business came through Backpage.
Backpage accounts for about 70 percent of America’s prostitution ads (many placed by consenting adults who are not trafficked), according to AIM Group, a trade organization. Backpage cooperates with police and tries to screen out ads for underage girls, but that didn’t help Brianna.
Backpage is owned by Village Voice Media, and significant minority stakes have been held in recent years by Goldman Sachs and smaller financial firms such as Trimaran Capital Partners and Alta Communications. My research shows that representatives of Goldman, Trimaran and Alta, along with a founder of Brynwood Partners, all sat on the board of Village Voice Media, and there’s no indication that they ever protested its business aims.
When I wrote recently about this, these firms erupted in excuses and self-pity, and in some cases raced to liquidate their stakes. I was struck by the self-absorption and narcissism of Wall Street bankers viewing themselves as victims, so maybe it’s useful to hear from girls who were victimized through the company they invested in."
Read the piece, in full, here.
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