Saturday
Oct082011
No simple answers
Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 4:55PM
This October 6 article in the LA Times provides visceral glimpses of the abuse suffered by teen prostitutes in Las Vegas - a 16 year-old whose boyfriend is also her pimp, a pregnant 13 year-old testifying against a man twice her age who lured her into "the game" from his Cadillac, a dead 17 year-old who carried condoms, a fake ID, and a bottle of vodka in her purse.
They are alternatively angry, indifferent, scared, or in love, depending on the day.
Prostitution happens a hundred different ways, from women in windows to boys in bathrooms, and avenues of recruitment are no less varied. Yet once out, sex workers across the globe frequently find it difficult, or even impossible, to stay away from their former circles. They are commonly drawn back to the same cycles of physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
If this story makes one thing clear it's that there are no simple answers; but that's not to say there's nothing to be done. The support and skills training we offer sex workers in Cambodia gives them a solid opportunity to rebuild their self-esteem, and we have seen women who were once reviled and tossed away turn their lives around to become proud members of their communities.
It's impossible to reach everyone, but at the very least we can listen.
A 17 year-old in her cell
They are alternatively angry, indifferent, scared, or in love, depending on the day.
Prostitution happens a hundred different ways, from women in windows to boys in bathrooms, and avenues of recruitment are no less varied. Yet once out, sex workers across the globe frequently find it difficult, or even impossible, to stay away from their former circles. They are commonly drawn back to the same cycles of physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
If this story makes one thing clear it's that there are no simple answers; but that's not to say there's nothing to be done. The support and skills training we offer sex workers in Cambodia gives them a solid opportunity to rebuild their self-esteem, and we have seen women who were once reviled and tossed away turn their lives around to become proud members of their communities.
It's impossible to reach everyone, but at the very least we can listen.
A 17 year-old in her cell
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