Questionable Freedom

Questionable Freedom by Janet Miller  Excerpt from the article: Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times blames women's organizations for failing to address the issue of trafficking. He recently published a series of diary-style articles detailing his project to buy two young Cambodian women out of slavery. In his series, which is as carefully orchestrated as a reality TV show, he repeatedly refers to the attractiveness of his purchases, and sexualizes them with terms like "lovely," "giggly," and "wisp." And though he's outraged by their plight, Kristof has no scruples about re-victimizing them, subjecting both women to antagonistic grilling: "Why not try to escape at night? Couldn't you call out to the police for help? Do you really want to leave?" Readers may understand that he wants to pre-empt questions from his U.S. audience, but these young women might not be as savvy. These already frightened victims probably found Kristof's third-degree pretty traumatizing.