Opening Volley
By David Lewis |
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October has arrived, riding on the bright backs of dying leaves as they make their annual descent, coasting in just behind cooler days and longer nights - and increasingly nutmeggy beer. October means Halloween parties and costumes, parties and horror flicks, pick-your-own pumpkins and hayrides and masquerades.
The last warm days are right around the corner, much to my chagrin, but that hasn't stopped us from delivering one hell of an issue.
We have an awesome assortment of Halloween features, such as Stephanie Matthew's spectacular fashion shoot in the Woolyburger cemetery, and Eve Warnock's high-end Halloween Powersuit.
Editor-in-chief/gumshoe, David S. Lewis
Photo: Christopher Atwood
Everyone loves to be scared. Chances are good you will see a scary movie this month, or visit a haunted house. Some people, however, don't have the luxury of changing the channel when the movie becomes too intense. This month, 614 Magazine dug deep into the seedy underbelly of our city, and learned that many women are forced to live in real fear, real terror, all the time. Our cover story, "Breaking the Chains," addresses an awful reality many of you may be completely unaware of: human slavery.
Slavery is happening here in Columbus. Women are forced to have sex and their owners are making money from it.
To own something is a funny concept, quite outside the law, or morality. You can own anything you can control. These women's bodies have been taken from them; they are controlled with violence and addiction, with fear and psychological torture.
Our story is also about the brave men and women who have taken the fight to the oppressors, to the pushers and pimps and traffickers who think they have the right to own someone in our city. These modern-day abolitionists are working tirelessly to provide services and help to survivors of human trafficking, and to pass legislation that makes it harder for these villains to exist and easier for the authorities to find them.
If you are outraged by the story, know that there is plenty you can do to help. These heroes need bodies, they need money, and they need time.
These pages also expose the willingness of some local publications to profit from the illegal sex industry. While the ads are quite legal and very common in weekly publications, they are unethical; recently, the Columbus Dispatch even published a news article on human trafficking, while printing advertisements for illegal prostitution in their very own classifieds.
All the papers carrying these ads have disclaimers warning advertisers to not submit illegal services to the classified section...but that is not enough. I respectfully request that publishers in this city take responsibility for the content of the newspapers, and police their classified sections harder. Stop making it easy for pimps. It's important for your readers to know they can trust your publication, and making money from illegal activities does little to foster that trust.
Speaking of disclaimers, I have a disclosure of my own. In my story "Classified Information" I use a hidden video camera to document an undercover attempt to solicit sex. The Society of Professional Journalist's Code of Ethics states that a reporter should "Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public."
Many awful things happen in darkness. A journalist's job is to seek truth and report it, and sometimes that involves going to a dark place. I could never have interviewed a working prostitute, and I needed to know that my suspicions were correct. Posing as a "john" was the only way for me to get the confirmation that I needed to write the story.
I urge the community to discourage these local publications from allowing these kinds of ads. I do not believe in censorship, but I do think that readers have to occasionally hold their media accountable, just like their government. When politicians are involved with prostitution, everyone grabs a torch and pitchfork, but the so-called "fourth estate" gets to make money from it directly, without even hiding what they are doing! This is absurd, and should be stopped.
Okay,
David S. Lewis
Originally Published: October 1, 2009
