Name: Mabel

Social Justice Group: Human Trafficking

Date of Fieldwork: February 25, 2018

Name of Organization: N/A

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: N/A

Type of Fieldwork: Watching a documentary

What I did:

I watched the documentary “I Am Jane Doe”, which is about the cases against Backpage.com.

What I learned:

I learned that most of the cases against Backpage were lost, and the issue is still not resolved. Many of the mothers who were driven to hire attorneys share my opinion that, while Backpage has claimed to have removed the offending advertisements, it’s likely false. The issue is still unresolved. I also found out that the petition my group and I signed was for a girl who went by J.S., and her mother, who also filed a lawsuit against Backpage.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that, even after researching this topic for so long, the amount of truly twisted people in this world is still shocking. This documentary was jarring, but also enlightening. Not in a way that implies anything being better or lighter, but in a way that means revealing more information. It seemed like, at every turn, some corrupt person (often a man, no offense to males) would block progress. When a subpoena was issued calling for Backpage’s CEO, Carl Ferrer, to attend and bear witness at a hearing, I believe it was, he didn’t even show up! He was held in contempt of court for that. But it only incited more drama on behalf of free speech, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. So, if anything, this showed me how complicated and nasty people and procedures can be.