A first-person account of being a phone sex operator (PSO) on Niteflirt and how, far from what she’d been led to believe, it was exploitative and traumatising. Read More
My NIGHTMARE as a PSO on Niteflirt
‘Every single person I’ve ever met who’s been involved in the sex industry was sexually abused as a child’
Sian describes her experience of prostitution as a teenager and its link to child sexual abuse. She explains why the term ‘sex work’ obscures the violence and horror of the sex trade. Read More
‘These men did not even view me as human let alone a beautiful woman’
‘Katie’ explains why she entered prostitution, what it was like, and why it took her so long to face the reality that ‘sex work is real work’ is a lie. Read More
‘Porn has really messed with people’s heads and has set poor expectations of how to treat human beings’
‘Cyanide circus’ talks of the impact of porn, on herself, her partners, and her sex life, and what happened when she tried webcamming. Read More
‘It’s not glamorous. It’s the pits for most of us.’
‘Belle’ tells of her life in prostitution – how she had no idea what she was signing up for or the devastating consequences it would have. Read More
‘I portrayed it as more glamorous, exciting and innocently free-spirited than it was’
‘Miranda’ fell into prostitution as a young woman and for a while portrayed it as glamorous and exciting – until a few years’ after she’d left the industry, the true horrors of her experiences came back to her… Read More
‘How does one live in a world that both objectifies you and hates you for the mere crime of being a girl?’
A former cam girl reflects on Andrew Tate’s influence and how it is a reflection of a much deeper problem – the institutionalised objectification and hatred of women. Read More
‘The pain inside me was like fire burning me’
Brendan writes about being sexually abused and raped while at school and the violence and many years involvement in prostitution that followed. Read More
‘Camming is a scam industry’
A woman who has been webcamming for six years explains the reality – that it’s nothing like it’s depicted in the mainstream media and the consumers are abusive and manipulative. Read More
Cyber “femdom” or female domination is presented as an empowering dynamic, where the woman has the upper hand. It’s not.
In this harrowing piece, Sandra explains the reality of ‘femdom’ webcamming to male consumers, who – surprise, surprise – do not usually “behave like fans or friends but as jealous stalkers or abusive partners”. Read More
‘Sex work is a special hell that men have created for women’
A woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent this powerful and harrowing piece in through our Share Your Story page, which provides a space for women to tell of their experiences of the sex trade in their own words. Read More
‘I have epilepsy. Punters would shag me when I was fitting.’
I was forced into prostitution by my partner – I funded his drink habit.
I have epilepsy and would frequently fit – that made him more money. Punters would shag me when I was fitting… Read More
‘Even in what I would consider comparatively good circumstances, prostitution was bad’
“My foray into prostitution started at age 17, when I signed up on the “Seeking Arrangement” website…” Read More
The Incest to Prostitution Pipeline
Recording and transcript of a powerful and compelling talk given by Sarah, a prostitution survivor, at Reclaim The Night in Perth, Australia. Read More
Handbook for Universities: 9. The last word
The ninth chapter of ‘Supporting Students Impacted by the Sex Industry: A Handbook for Universities’ Read More
‘Exiting sex work is easier said than done’
“The way out isn’t quite so easy as the way in and the longer you stay on the fringes of society, the harder it becomes to bridge those gaps.” Read More
‘I was groomed into sex work by an ex’
“I was groomed into sex work by an ex; it started simple. Small, like drops of water into a bucket…” Read More
‘If I had known the truth about what awaited me in that brothel, I would never have been there’
In this brilliant article based on her own experiences, Tara articulates the reality of life in a UK brothel. Essential reading. Read More
‘Prostitution and the pornography that supports it destroy women. Why is that so hard to understand?’
“It’s impossible to assess the damage while you are in it because then, you would not do it. So obviously, you lie to yourself and everyone else…” Read More
InVISIBLE by Andrea Heinz
Andrea Heinz wrote this moving poem soon after exiting seven years in the commercial sex trade. Read More
‘We do not want to be sex workers. It’s not fun and it’s so damaging!’
My story started when I met my first proper boyfriend. The one to whom I lost my virginity. He had very odd sexual fantasies that I complied with because I had never really known love… Read More
‘I live with the trauma of being in the sex trade from 16-25 years old but also with the fact that I involved other women’
Powerful and moving pieces sent to us through our Share Your Story page, which provides a space for women to tell of their experiences in their own words. Read More
‘When the client pays for those minutes, your body is his and he will do what he wants…’
I did not choose as a child to be a prostitute and then as an adult I had no other opportunities and then I was in a foreign country and since I was a putanna I had to continue even if it was not what I dreamed of being… Read More
‘Any girl, and most boys, growing up in care become targets for the sexual predation of adult men’
‘Alice’ sent this harrowing testimony about growing up in a UK children’s home through our Share Your Story page.
“A lot of the time surviving in the care system prepares girls for prostitution later. We all allowed degrees of sexual access to adult men for basics like food or clothing. Even beyond that most girls acquiesce to men’s sexual demands in return for things that make you feel like a ‘normal’ young teenager, but aren’t necessities…” Read More
‘My father started sexually abusing me before I was two years old…’
“I’m a survivor of familial sex trafficking. My father started sexually abusing me before I was even two years old and by age six, he was selling me to strangers for sex. This went on until I was about 16 years old.
He threatened my younger brother and me, saying he would kill our mother if we ever told anyone what he was doing… Read More
‘Sex buyers, pimps and traffickers are delusional, narcissistic murderers of innocence’
A woman who wants to remain anonymous sent this powerful piece about her experiences in, and understanding of, prostitution through our Share Your Story page. This provides a space for women to tell of their experiences of the sex trade in their own words.
“Sex buyers, pimps and traffickers are delusional, narcissistic murderers of innocence that malevolently groom, then prey upon, people who are often victims of child molestation and sexual assault. These vulnerable people also tend to struggle with substance abuse, mental illness and most of all, financial insecurity… Read More
‘Gagged and bound, I’m led down the steps into the basement…’
‘Sarah’ sent this harrowing and powerful piece about her experiences in prostitution through our Share Your Story page.
“Gagged and bound, I’m led down the steps into the basement. A group of men stand there and my legs begin to buckle beneath me. Surely, I’m not to be offered up to all of them? I’m horrified and afraid. But the question has already been answered in my mind and I know that my life will be changed forever… Read More
‘I WANT to have a real job and feel like a real person, NOT a used rag’
These powerful and moving pieces were sent to us through our Share Your Story page, which provides a space for women to tell of their experiences of the sex trade in their own words.
“I’m in the US. I have been prostituting for years off and on. I’ve been arrested four times. I have no job skills… Read More
Ireland must invest in services to help people exit prostitution
This piece was sent in anonymously through our Share Your Story page, which provides a space for women to tell of their experiences of the sex trade in their own words.
“I am a 43 year-old Irish woman who was actively involved in prostitution for five years from 2008 to 2013. My involvement in the sex trade came about as a result of my chronic addiction to heroin. I was not a victim of trafficking, nor was I being controlled by a pimp… Read More
‘I had no support or way out’
Stacy sent this account of her life in the sex trade, and after, through our Share Your Story page, where women can enter their experiences of the sex trade anonymously and in their own words.
“I prostituted for more than seven years and endured lots of physical, sexual, mental and spiritual abuse from both my pimp and the johns. I became an alcoholic and drug addict to ease the pain. Selling sex was never OK for me but I was in fear and had no support or way out.” Read More
‘Made to feel like nothing, made to feel worse than nothing, like she was just disposable’
A woman, who wants to remain anonymous, sent us this #MeToo account of her life in prostitution through our Share Your Story page. This provides a space for women to tell their stories in their own words.
“Imagine going to the cops because you have been severely raped/beaten/robbed and they laugh at you because you are a whore and you got what you deserved…” Read More
‘I believe legalised prostitution strengthens and emboldens misogynistic attitudes in men’
‘Siobhan’ sent us this #MeToo account of her experiences in the legal sex trade in New Zealand and Australia through our Share Your Story page. This provides a space for women to tell their stories in their own words.
“These deliberate attempts by punters to mess with my head have affected me much, much more than the multitude of times I was physically and sexually assaulted in prostitution. I still ruminate about the veiled insults they made about my worth, my looks and my character… I thought I had low self-esteem at 17, but prostitution has absolutely destroyed it.” Read More
‘I am a child impacted by the sex trade! I am a child impacted by paid rape!’
Imagine being a trapped in a world where sex is money and your body is an item for someone else’s pleasure. Now imagine being trapped in that world as a young mother with a tiny baby you would give anything for to see have a better life – only to have that baby removed from your care while you’re left unsupported to just “deal with it.”
That woman you’re imagining was my mum.
That tiny innocent baby was me… Read More
‘His hands are on me, my skin is screaming. Every touch burns.’
“He’s here.
A faceless, nameless, terrifying man. He could be anyone really.
I’m trying to hear the music but I can’t. His hands are on me, my skin is screaming at him. Every touch burns.
His lips touch, and ask, and demand, and smile. It’s not a happy smile, it’s a smile of contentment, an “I own you” smile. I’m not here. I can’t be here.” Read More
The cost of Western Europe’s rampant prostitution: the genocide of Romanian women
“I have decided to try this avenue and post here, not my story, not the story of a relative, not even the story of a friend, but the story of a whole country, my country – Romania. It is a gruesome story – in fact, ‘story’ is a misnomer. It is a gruesome reality. Of course, you are well aware of it, but I’ll tell it nonetheless.
“Here in Romania, we’re at the end of our wits and we, as common people, are doing everything we can on our part and I can only hope I can contribute by telling it here in the hopes of making a dent, at least…” Read More
Open letter to all the sex buyers everywhere
‘Jo’ sent us this powerful and moving open letter to all the sex buyers everywhere through our Share Your Story page.
“Behind your backs we share a very different reality. We are tired of the emotional labour you put us through, not only the fact that you feel entitled to our bodies, but also that you feel entitled to our souls too. We talk about how much easier a client is when he is fast, less demanding. I’m saying ”we” because I’m talking about the majority of prostitutes I talk with, as well as my own experience in the sex trade.”
Read More
‘I am a prostitute. I have been a prostitute since I was underage. I’m in my mid-30s now’
‘Jo’ sent us this #MeToo account of her experiences of the sex trade through our Share Your Story page. This provides a space for women to tell their stories in their own words.
“I would just sit on my bed afterwards, looking at the money, focusing on it, counting my savings every day to keep myself motivated, and counting how much more I would have to save to retire. To never return, to leave and to forget all that had happened in prostitution. Ever. To erase every single detail of my past.” Read More
‘I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone seeking a short fix. The damage it has done to me is irreparable.’
These #MeToo accounts of women’s experiences of the sex trade came in through our Share Your Story page. This provides a space for women to tell their stories in their own words.
“I made money from it, but felt like I had been all used up doing something that completely went against my core values. That experience induced trauma and I ended up going through even worse trauma in the years following that. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone seeking a short fix. The damage it has done to me is irreparable.” Read More
‘Men circling the streets, looking at the women like meat and yelling at them like dogs’
In this article women who have not been in the sex trade themselves share how it has nevertheless affected their lives in various ways. We received these #MeToo accounts through our Share Your Story page. This provides a space for women to tell their stories in their own words.
“It always made me sick to my stomach, the way that one human buys another. To use her as his toilet and dump her back in the street after – only for another man to pick her up.” Read More
He believed that children enjoy their abuse
“The hardest ‘adjustment’ for me mentally was that prostitution wasn’t just about providing sex for a man paying you, it was about making them think you’ve orgasmed too and you really want to have sex with them for horny reasons, not cash reasons.” Read More
‘The psychological damage & impact on my self esteem was devastating’
We received these #MeToo stories of the sex trade through our Share Your Story feature. This provides a space for women to tell their stories in their own words.
“They’ve even managed to get me to think that because I found prostitution and pornography traumatic that I was just one of the ones who ‘weren’t cut out for it,’ or was lacking in character and resilience somehow. I hate this so much.” Read More
‘I have A LOT of anger towards men’
“It hurts me when I read on twitter about how happy [prostitution] is and about choice and it’s empowering. Those people have never been in this situation. It is insulting to reality of so so many women worldwide who are in this not through choice and who don’t have much of a voice.” Read More
‘I survived but only just & sometimes I wish I hadn’t’
Here are some more #MeToo stories that survivors of the sex trade have sent us on social media or through our Share Your Story page. Thank you to every one of you who shared these powerful words.
“I was beaten, set on fire, cut, bitten, choked, robbed and raped, sometimes by men who were high up in the police or were judges, doctors, politicians.” Read More
Is ‘sex work’ real work? ‘If work is being slapped/beaten/told you’re a worthless whore… Then yes it’s work’
Is ‘sex work’ real work? “If ‘real work’ is having a 70 year-old drunk man bargaining with your ‘price’ because you won’t continue without a condom… that man getting aggressive and asking for his money back… if work is being forced to give up 50-100% of your income to a pimp… if work is being forced to have sex with men on the run from the police for domestic abuse… if work is being filmed without your consent… if work is being slapped/beaten/told you are a worthless whore… Then yes it’s work.” Read More
‘The sex industry preys upon poor, abused and mentally ill women’
“The issue is so much bigger than just the sex industry. I was treated like a sexual object and commodity from an incredibly young age and still am. I can’t walk down the street without being catcalled or harassed. It really hurts to know these men are so willing to use my body but have absolutely no concern for me as a person or my wellbeing. Things have to change.” Read More
‘I feel like I am being gaslit by society’
Two more #MeToo stories we’ve received through our Share Your Story page, where women can enter their experiences of the sex trade anonymously. We do not necessarily agree with all the views expressed, but each story is important, moving and powerful, and reveals yet again the awful truth about prostitution – that it is neither easy money, nor a route out of poverty for disadvantaged women. Read More
‘In every possible way, it felt like rape’
This is a new selection of #MeToo stories we’ve received through our Share Your Story page, where women can enter their experiences of the sex trade anonymously. Each story is important, moving and powerful, and reveals yet again the awful truth about prostitution – that it has no place in a society that aspires to equality between women and men, and fundamental human rights for all. Read More
‘I was surprised at the type of men that picked me up’
Another collection of #MeToo stories of the sex trade that we’ve received through our Share Your Story feature. This provides a space for women to tell their own accounts in their own words. We do not necessarily agree with all the views expressed.
“Prostitution is insidious, it is cruel on both sides. Some argue it is the men who exploit the women, but some of the men are just as fragile. They become entangled in their own emotional pain and trauma. The whole industry is based on lies and deception (as well as the invasion of our precious sacred selves).” Read More
‘Just numb most of the time’
This is another collection of #MeToo stories of the sex trade that we’ve received through our Share Your Story page.
“That was the end of my life and the start of the trafficking for the next two years. […] Getting beaten all the time by pimp and johns. Johns were more dangerous than the pimp sometimes. Did the math and almost slept with an entire football stadium full of people. Disgusting. Made him millions and never touched a penny.” Read More
‘Most of us are brainwashed into thinking we chose it’
Here are some more of the #MeToo stories of the sex trade that we’ve received through our Share Your Story page.
“If sex work is work, then why does our value as women who may work in the flesh trade go DOWN over time? Why are there no increased rates and certain employment securities for long-term employees? Why do the owners of flesh trade establishments PREFER young, naive and inexperienced girls to work for them?” Read More