Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

MURDER
BY INTERNET?



Boston Herald – May 4, 2009

By Wendy J. Murphy



I'm as shocked as the next person that Philip Markoff, a medical student
resembling Dream-Date Ken, is charged with murder and other crimes of violence
against women he met through Craigslist.  But I'm more shocked that
Craigslist, a free and virtually unregulated internet company that hosts an
"erotic services" section to, um, bring people together, is also
being blamed for the murder.



I'll be first in line to support more punishments and better laws to prevent
this type of crime from happening again.



But all the cranky carping about Craigslist case has me scratching my
head.  What is Craigslist doing with prostitution that hasn't been going
on elsewhere for a long time?



The Boston Phoenix has been selling "erotic services" ads to support
its free publication for decades.  Even the prestigious Washington Post
sells ad space for "escorts".



The Attorney General of Connecticut said last week that shutting down
"erotic services" ads on Craigslist will help "stop
prostitution" and "save women" from sexual violence.  One
would assume from his comments that things were going swimmingly for sexually
exploited women before that monster Craigslist came to town.  



It’s true that Philip Markoff allegedly used Craigslist to find his victims -
but he could just as easily have found women through MySpace or in the back
pages of the Phoenix, or by trolling=2 0Washington Street in Bost
on late at
night.



The suggestion that Craigslist is responsible for Markoff's actions is what we
call in law, a "but for" causation problem.  "But for"
Craigslist, Julissa Brisman would still be alive.  Maybe so.  But it
is also true that Brisman would be alive "but for" the fact that
Markoff was in medical school in Boston.  So I guess we need to blame
Boston University, too.  



Here's what I think is really going on.



The anti-Craigslist tirade isn't so much about protecting women as it is about
protecting mainstream media.  According to experts, Craigslist is almost
singlehandedly responsible for the demise of newspapers across the country
because its free services led to a precipitous drop in advertisement dollars.



But while using Craigslist as a whipping boy might be a nice distraction – it
will do nothing to stop prostitution.  And though it feels good to have
someone else to blame for Julissa Brisman's murder, if we really care about
women's lives, we should be focusing on the social conditions that cause women
to choose a virtual form of sex slavery as a career.



We can make a much bigger dent in the problem of prostitution by doing more
sting operations in “red light” districts and aggressively going after and
punishing the Johns.  Women won't post ads, free or not, if there's no
demand for services - and men will demand services less often if they fear
incarceration.



I for one am grateful that Markoff used20Craigslist.  At least he left an
electronic trail that led to his capture.  We don’t have to honor the
company with a heroism award, but we should apologize for accusing them of 
murder.