letter

To the 4th Precinct Care Task Force;

I am writing this letter to express my concern regarding the pictures posted of women who have been arrested for engaging in prostitution. I was prompted to write this letter because I am a street outreach worker and I do outreach to women and youth on the north side of Minneapolis. I am a member of the Minnesota Collaborative on Sexually Exploited Women and Youth, the StreetWorks Collaborative, and I am a Minneapolis resident.

Recently, my attention was brought to the pictures of women who were arrested for prostitution on your website. I feel that this is extremely damaging to the opportunity that a woman could have to rehabilitate and return to “mainstream” society, if she desired. Public humiliation is not the answer; instead it inhibits a woman’s options of securing legal employment, finding safe housing, and even at times reconnecting with supportive family members. The only thing that posting these pictures does is to continue to exploit and jeopardize the safety of these women.

I understand that you are concerned about prostitution, the messages it sends to children, and the safety of all of your community members. However, I challenge you to consider the intended outcome of posting these pictures. I would ask you to think about finding alternative means of addressing this issue. Consider using your website as a way to rally community members to communicate with their city and county representatives, police department, social services (including outreach workers), local business, and even state and federal government. People from all levels coming together to address the complexity of this issue is what will bring about change.

Thank you,

Sarah Johnston