G
uest Blogger: Karen Stiller, Associate Editor, Faith Today Magazine
I’m certain that it is unprofessional to break down and start crying during an interview for a magazine story — especially when you’re the one doing the interviewing. But that’s what I did recently, near the end of a gruelling hour-and a-half long conversation with Katarina MacLeod. She was one of my main sources for the most recent Faith Today cover story on prostitution in Canada.
Free of prostitution for about two years now, Kat’s story was brutal to hear and difficult to write about. Before I spoke with her I had suggested to my fellow editors that we print the interview as a Question and Answer, to accompany the main story.
As a journalist, I relish the opportunity to ask questions that other people might be thinking — and I saw my chance to speak to a woman who had been a prostitute as rare, with the potential to share insights with our readers that they might not get anywhere else. But after speaking with her for 10 minutes, I knew it would never work. The details of Kat’s story, and what led her into prostitution, were too raw, too brutal, and too disturbing for what is probably a gentler magazine than most.
I knew I had to choose carefully what was appropriate to share, and sift through Kat’s story for redemption. The good news is, it was there in abundance. It was actually the redemption that made me cry. When Kat described her phone conversation with her Christian daughter — where her daughter gives her a word to describe what Kat was experiencing in her life — and that word was grace, I knew I had found the right way to end a challenging article.
Kat’s new beginning was my perfect ending.
In my research for the article, I was blown away by the consistency of the position of Evangelicals on this issue — that prostituted women (note the wording) are victims of an injustice that needs to be addressed in Canadian law, and by Canadian churches. I became increasingly proud to be linked with the EFC who I believe is taking a prophetic stand on this issue, and landing solidly on the side of compassion and justice. And I was moved by the story of women like Katarina, who I would be proud to call my friend. Their stories testify to the amazing strength of the human spirit, that it can endure so much — emerge out the other side — and call it grace.
To read the full story, visit the FaithToday digital webpage.