I am Jane Doe is a documentary detailing the lawsuits several American mothers lodged against Backpage.com, the classified advertising website formerly owned by the Village Voice that had trafficked the women's middle-school daughters for commercial sex.
I am Jane Doe mainly follows the stories of a group of middle school girls from Boston, a 15-year-old from Seattle, and a 13-year-old girl from St. Louis. The group of "Jane Does" lodged suits against Backpage.com, a now-defunct classified advertising website, accusing the website of facilitating sex trafficking due to its business and editorial practices, as well as the design of the website itself. The suits particularly concerned Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
50% of the film's profits were donated to non-profit organizations which served children affected by human trafficking.
Reception
I am Jane Doe received generally positive reviews by critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91%, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10.[1] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[2]
"In 'I Am Jane Doe,' filmmaker Mary Mazzio reveals the sordid world of underage sex trafficking, specifically as it pertains to young women who were forced into prostitution, their ‘services’ made available on the online classified site Backpage.com…I am observing the self-evident fact that film has exceptional — maybe even unique — power to shape and inform our norms, expectations and desires. That might be the chief reason it matters so much who makes them... A viscerally emotional case for a common-sense reassessment of the law…’I Am Jane Doe’ offers a gut-wrenching reminder that there are certain rocks we ignore at our peril.”[3]
