I used to live in a shelter in Brooklyn. While there, I met a woman who, at the time, was in her 40s. This woman had a rough life that included an abusive mother. She told us about how when she hit puberty, her own mother had her turning tricks, and she would use the money to buy drugs. Not surprisingly, this woman also became a drug addict, and she didn’t have a good relationship with her mom.
This woman wasn’t the only one in the shelter to turn tricks. The shelter had a habit of serving under-cooked chicken, and $200 a month in food stamps only lasted two weeks. Those women who were in between jobs and were not getting social security often had to resort to creative, and not always legal, means to get food that was safe to eat. I went to a nearby vegan market and dug my meals from their trash, with permission from the employees and managers of the market. Some women panhandled for the money, some stole their food, and some turned tricks for a meal. All of us felt humiliated and degraded over the things we resorted to in order to get the very basic things others took for granted.
According to a CNN report, the illegal sex trade in Atlanta brings in $290 million each year, with some traffickers making more than $32,000 a week. Pimps in the area often “brand” their girls with tattoos unique to each pimp. While Georgia law does give authorities the ability to offer leniency if a girl chooses to get help and go to a safe home, their hands are tied if a girl chooses not to take the help. Girls are often taken as young as 14, and they are groomed and trained to think that there isn’t a better life for them. While some are able to escape, countless girls are not. And those that do escape often find that their past will haunt them for years as they try to move on into a better life. The report can be found here:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/us/sex-trafficking/index.html
With this in mind, some former sex workers and survivors of sex trafficking are advocating for changes in laws regarding how sex work is regulated. Activist Juno Mac has studied four legal models surrounding sex work that are used around the world, and in a TED Talk, she shares which one she thinks is best for keeping sex workers safe and allowing for more self determination. Here is her talk:
People, Not Property 