Prostitution survivors tell us it is NOT a choice, NOT a job, and ‘sex work’ is a myth.

Survivors of prostitution in UK and Sweden, Julie and Merly talk about being manipulated into prostitution after difficult childhoods and struggling for years to get out. We hear about their exploitation, addiction, rape, and about police indifference, parental rejection, single parenthood and how the law let their pimps and the men who used them off scot-free while they still have long criminal records decades after leaving prostitution.

Julie was part of a recent successful court case to get the criminal records of prostituted children wiped clean so that they are not (as they have been till now) held back by these for the rest of their lives. She now volunteers with women working in prostitution. As of 28th November 2020 her criminal record was wiped as a result of the court case, and she and others who have escaped the trade can now at last apply for work without having to declare it. She would like to thank the Centre for Women’s Justice, where Harriet Wistrich was the first person ever to ask her how she got into prostitution. https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk

Merly’s autobiographical book, ‘Blame her Then Buy her, Life after the Sex Trade‘ is soon to be published in Swedish. We look forward to an English translation. The voices of women in prostitution are hidden because no one listens to them, mouthpieces for the trade propound the myth that prostitution is real work, and most people prefer not to think too much about the scuzzy trade in women’s bodies.