Media outlets CNN, the Washington Post and Huffington Post have recently reported on the campaign asking Craigslist to shut down its adult services ads until girls and young women forced into commercial sexual exploitation via the site are protected.
The National Crittenton Foundation has partnered with the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, Fairfund and the Women’s Funding Network to run ads in major newspapers (including the Post) that feature a letter from two victims of commercial sexual exploitation, AK and MC. Their heartfelt pleas to Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, ask him to close down the Adult Services section because “saving even one child is worth it. It could have been us.” Read More »
The issue of domestic child sex trafficking has been getting a lot of play recently, and with good reason. High-profile celebrities, including actress Demi Moore, have taken up the cause personally. The media is starting to write and produce stories on the girls and young women who walk our own neighborhoods every day, enslaved to pimps who sell them for sex and often traffic them across state lines in the process.
It’s taken a concerted effort by celebrities, law enforcement and advocates for girls and young women kind to get Americans to realize that sex trafficking–that thousands of girls and young women are forced into selling sex–is not just an international problem. Right here, every day, tens of thousands–maybe more–young women are enslaved in sex rings that make millions for their captors. Read More »
If you know a little about the Crittenton movement, you’ll know that our agencies–and this foundation–have been around a long, long time.
White Shield is a historic Crittenton home that is run today by the Salvation Army. They’ve put together an online collection of memories and reflections from girls and women who stayed at White Shield, or have some other connection to it. Read here for some wonderful, heart-wrenching and uplifting stories.
The National Crittenton Foundation President Jeannette Pai-Espinosa on her passion for human rights and her plans for making girls and young women @ the margin more visible on the Exceptional Women Northwest radio show.
It’s nice to hear a success story once in awhile to remind us all that just because a mother is young, and single, and without resources, doesn’t mean that she cannot succeed. Lalita Booth’s story is extraordinary–it’s rare for a young person to get a shot at Harvard, no matter if they are young parents or not–but still, we think her story is just one of thousands of stories that are waiting to be told.
Congratulations, Lalita, on your achievements, on last night’s CBS evening news story and for helping us on our recent trip to the Capitol on behalf of young moms and their families.
We are thrilled to formally announce our Young Mothers @ The Margin campaign, which pairs advocacy on behalf of young mothers and the voices of young women raising children and working to reach their full potential.
Check out some of the videos below, and go to the website to find out how you can create your own video. We’re anxious to hear the voices of many people help us focus attention on young mothers at the margin.
We’ve been thinking and talking a lot about a recent U.K. study of teenage parenthood. In this study, researchers actually posit that teenaged parents may actually be more motivated to turn their lives around when they have a baby. Rather than attacking teen pregnancy, the researchers say, perhaps we should be working with teen mothers who are ready to make the needed changes to improve their lives, and the lives of their children.
Crittenton agencies who work with young mothers every day would probably agree that becoming a parent at a young age is a classic cloud-with-a-silver-lining opportunity. That’s why they work with girls and young women to give them the skills and support they need to empower themselves, and teach them the valuable life lesson that facing-and dealing with-something that looks disastrous is actually a golden opportunity for a better life.
Are you on Facebook? Become a fan of FMYI–one of the coolest new technology companies around–by January 15, and the company will donate $1 to The National Crittenton Foundation. Click here!
This money helps our 27 agencies in 24 states, who are working directly with girls and young women at the margins of the American dream. This holiday season, consider taking 30 seconds to give towards a brighter future for American’s girls and young women.
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