This Sunday, on International Women’s Day, demonstrators will descend on the Pornhub headquarters to protest the site’s parent company amid allegations it is profiting off the assault, coercion, and trafficking of children and women.
Laila Mickelwait, who has been speaking out against Pornhub since early February, told Faithwire she is not shocked to see so much anger directed toward the porn site and its parent company, MindGeek, in Montreal.
“Once people hear about what’s happening on the world’s most popular and largest porn website — that there’s actual, real sex trafficking and rape that’s being profited off of, that’s being enabled through that website — I think it’s frankly horrifying and shocking for people, and it’s very motivating to take action,” she explained.
One church near the MindGeek office is even planning to cancel its services to make sure its congregants can attend the Sunday event, according to Mickelwait, who serves as director of abolition for Exodus Cry, an advocacy organization focused on ending sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.
The grassroots protest comes as Mickelwait has continued to put pressure on Pornhub for what she has described as the “crime scenes” from which the smut site, garnering some 115 million visitors every day, has profited.
There’s a growing mountain of evidence making it clear Pornhub, which does not verify the age of its users or ensure the consent of those who appear in its videos, is hosting child porn as well as footage of rapes and assaults. Last fall, for example, police discovered about 60 illicit videos of a missing, underage teenage girl on Pornhub. The site was also profiting for nearly a decade from videos of young women who were lured and coerced into filming explicit sexual acts on camera. The man behind those crimes, Girls Do Porn founder Michael Pratt, is a wanted fugitive.
“The attention on this issue has spurred on a grassroots movement of people who are taking ownership of this injustice and doing something about it for themselves,” said Mickelwait, noting she is not the leader or coordinator of the protest at the MindGeek headquarters this weekend.
The demonstration comes as a petition to have Pornhub shut down has collected more than 370,000 signatures, as well as the support of over 75 child protection, women’s rights, and anti-trafficking organizations.
“This is Canada taking ownership for what is seen as a stain on their country to have the headquarters of this exploitation machine there in Montreal,” Mickelwait said. “[T]his is a physical manifestation of a global outcry from hundreds of thousands of people that say that this company has to be held accountable for profiting of off and enabling the sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children.”
It’s noteworthy, too, the demonstration is taking place on International Women’s Day. Mickelwait described the timing of the protest as “really significant,” because it makes clear that women “need to be protected, they need to be given equal treatment, they need to be empowered.”
“It’s a day that is meant to raise awareness about issues that impact women,” she said, “and this is an issue that has a major impact on many women.”
In a statement to Faithwire on Friday evening, Michael Willis, communications director for MindGeek, said the company “take[s] any allegations against our brands extremely seriously.”
“We can confirm that the allegations in question are categorically false,” he continued. “We hold our brands to the highest standards, and each one is compliant with internet regulations and international law. It is irresponsible to spread this type of false information that contains factually inaccurate statements. We are disappointed that lies are being portrayed as fact, grossly misrepresenting MindGeek and its brands.”
As for the planned demonstration Sunday, Willis said MindGeek supports Canadian citizens’ “freedom of peaceful assembly,” but added, “MindGeek is a tech company that does not film or produce any adult content, and is headquartered in Luxembourg, not Montreal.”
Mickelwait, for her part, offered the following statement to Faithwire in response:
Pornhub allows users to upload content to their website with only an e-mail address — no verification of age or consent of those in the videos. This is a factually accurate statement and can be proven by anyone. They also will verify anyone with only a photo and a piece of paper stating a username — again no verification of age or consent required. This is a policy and practice that enables rampant sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and children throughout the site. Furthermore, Vice/Motherboard just a few weeks ago released their investigation proving that their technology for so-called removal of illegal content doesn’t work. Perhaps their lack of commitment and disregard for the welfare of vulnerable women and children is why Pornhub is infested with videos of real exploitation, rape and trafficking.
The protest is scheduled to take place outside the MindGeek headquarters in Montreal from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. local time.
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