Oakland Creates ‘Pimp-Shaming’ Campaign to Fight Human Trafficking

The city of Oakland has a message for people who exploit children and victims caught in the world of sex trafficking: We’re calling you out. The city’s police department has launched a new website showing the names, birthdays, and charges against pimps and purchasers arrested by local police. The site will be updated every two weeks, with more individuals recently charge with human trafficking-related crimes. The somewhat controversial website does caution that though the suspects have been charged, they are still “presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” The police lieutenant in charge of the department’s human trafficking division told Time magazine (who dubbed the effort “pimp-shaming”) that Oakland is “the hub of the West for child prostitution,” and described the efforts as a “proactive” measure to fight trafficking, which he said is at an “all-time level” in the area …