(Disclaimer: This column is opinion post.)
The value of life and human dignity have been under constant attack in this country for the last century. On Oct. 3, I dealt with the ridiculous comment Stacey Abrams made related to abortion. On Oct. 5, the local strip clubs lost their appeal in federal court. Their loss is a win for human dignity.
The federal appeal began with a proposed city ordinance change in February 2019. Augusta enforced the ordinance which the clubs had been a part of negotiating years earlier. The clubs then sued the city and lost. They then filed the appeal. On its face, the battle may have been a legal one, but it was crusade for morality and human dignity.
Everyday citizens have no idea what actually occurs in the clubs. The caricature of a college-aged woman trying to pay for her education a dollar at a time is a farce. The reality is far more sinister and perverse. The hate mail that I received during the fight made it clear to me that ignorance is pervasive in our society.
Over the course of several months in early 2019, I learned of how prostitution and drug use was a rampant part of everyday life for the women stripping in the clubs. I spoke with people who worked with any organization at the time that was helping them. Most of the women were subjected to an environment that left them living together in a rundown house near the clubs. In order to perform and deal with the mental anguish of the environment they were in, the women would stay high or inebriated while on shift.
Most of the regulars performing in the clubs were trapped in a lifestyle that they did not want and could not escape. The pay structure often led to them owing the club money after a night of dancing thus entrapping them in an environment many would equate to indentured servitude or even slavery.
According to the Prostitution Research and Education group, which tracks statistics in the sex industry, over half of women who start out stripping advance into prostitution. The same study citied that 91% end up struggling with mental health, 76% with depression, 67% with post-traumatic stress disorder and 69% with substance abuse problems. Sadly 13.3% have some type of history in the foster care system and 24% have been homeless in the last two years.
Sadly more than 61% of women enter the industry prior to the age of 21 with 10% being under 18 years of age. The same study revealed that 100% of all women surveyed had been assaulted in some fashion while working in the industry, and 100% had been propositioned from within the club by patrons.
The sex trafficking part of the study identified that one in three of strippers were the victims of trafficking with a large majority indicating they were not sure.
Many strippers often end up with criminal records, drug addictions and no money. They are trapped in a cycle that lacks human dignity.
What is a human life worth? Do all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect? These are questions that everyone needs to think on when the issue of morality is brought up. Strippers are real people. They are mothers, daughters, aunts and sisters. They are created in the image of almighty God just like you and me. They deserve human dignity. Sadly, many in our city, and in society as a whole, do not care.
I wanted to use this column to list and thank all of those who helped in the fight to keep the ordinance in place. The names are numerous, and I didn’t want to list them without their permission. I also didn’t want to leave anyone out who deserves recognition. I will say that First Presbyterian Church and Crawford Avenue Baptist Church both showed up in a strong way, and I appreciate that. They were the only churches downtown that were willing to engage. Another large church downtown refused, and to this day, I can’t understand why. And of course, a special thanks to all of those 1,000-plus folks who signed the petition I put forth. The commission listened.
The end of the strip clubs in Augusta is a moral victory for our city. It is a win for human dignity.
Joe Edge is the publisher of The Augusta Press. Reach him at joe.edge@theaugustapress.com
