Published October 28, 2007
Thanks to the World Wide Web, many things in life have gotten a little easier. You don't have to go to the mall anymore because many stores have Web sites from which you can shop directly. Who needs a library when all the information of the world is accessible via your laptop?
And now the Internet, specifically craigslist.org, makes it much easier for people to sell and buy sex. Craigslist is an online community that dedicates pages to some of the more populated cities in the world. One feature of Craigslist is free classified advertising. A number of people use the site to sell or donate puppies, old appliances, instruments and sex.
On the page dedicated to the Shreveport metro area, there's a link for erotic services. Under that, you can select if you are interested in women for men, men for women, men for men or women for women and 17 other male, female, transsexual combinations.
Recently, prostitution via Craigslist has made headlines across the country. Two women were arrested in Slidell in connection with using the site for illegal activity.
Other men and women take the traditional approach to the service and police are cracking down.
Kacee Hargrave, public information officer for the Shreveport Police Department, says 90 percent of prostitution arrests are related to drugs, usually by trading sex for drugs.
Men and women with numbers from Fayetteville, Miami, Texarkana, Houston, Dallas and Lafayette make trips to Shreveport-Bossier City to meet up with clients.
And for those at risk for becoming infected with AIDS/HIV, the Philadelphia Center provides an outreach program.
Although the Philadelphia Center does not specifically target commercial sex workers for its HIV prevention education, Director of Prevention Sylvia McIntyre says if workers for the center see women out working, they'll give them information and condoms.
"Our street outreach is for anyone and everyone who's on the street. We don't limit our resources to just commercial sex workers," McIntyre said.
According to its Web site, one of the goals of the nonprofit organization is to "prevent the spread of HIV by educating the public with regard to how HIV is contracted and how its transmission may be avoided."
They also offer free HIV and other STD testing.
