Every day, journalists are faced with tough ethical decisions about when to intervene, what to document and ultimately what to publish.
Photojournalist Sara Lewkowicz was tied down with such choices when chronicling a family plagued by domestic violence in a photo essay published through Time Magazine. She was met with harsh criticism after her documents of a family's daily life included several photos portraying domestic violence. Many thought Lewkowicz should have intervened. Others didn't feel like the photos should be published.
The author's response was defensive but sensible. She said she felt intervening as a 5'2 female would not only endanger herself but not help the situation at all and that it was her who called 911 to ultimately involve the police, leading to the arrest of the male abuser.
I personally take very little issue with the decision to publish these images. With the consent of those involved, the pictures help raise awareness of a serious societal problem, instead of just pushing it under the rug. Should Sara have intervened? Probably not. Anyone who says otherwise needs to ask themselves if they would have done so, much less if they were in the shoes of a 5-foot tall female. I think Sara made the right choice both morally and journalistically in taking and ultimately publishing these photos.
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