This case study is a highly emotive and difficult read from one of our support workers. We have a number of sex workers on our case load and many more who are forced to use sex as currency to get what they need. We are posting this to draw attention to theInternational Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on the 25th November. Some may be alarmed by the nature of the content which may include triggers for those who have experienced violence. The piece also contains explicit language.
‘When you are homeless and existing on the streets you are continually checking in with your constant companion the weather. I use the word exist because you certainly don’t live on the streets but simply survive. On the streets the weather can be your worst nightmare and is often unpredictable. It can be so dangerous that it has the potential to cause serious damage, social disruption and even loss of life. Right now winter is baring its teeth, with weather that is dark, extremely cold and unforgiving. Storm Barney has battered Britain.
This violent weather hit last week and the city I work in took a severe and significant battering. Sadly, in another part of town, down the dark alleyways, another violent battering was taking place. The impact was just as severe, just as sinister and definitely just as dangerous. But this was not Barney the storm but another “Barney” wreaking his own vicious havoc on the vulnerable and unprotected.
I have recently started to outreach in the red light district or as it is more commonly known “the beat” looking to support homeless sex workers. The beat is a bleak, inhospitable and desolate place. Things happen in this area that are truly difficult to understand. Recently, during evening outreach with my male volunteer we became aware of a car driving slowly nearby. We felt a little uneasy but decided to try and ignore it and kept on walking. At that point the car accelerated past us and as it did so one of the occupants threw an egg at us and shouted abuse. Luckily he missed but we were both shocked and dismayed at what had just happened. Throwing eggs is one thing but I know that bottles of urine are also regularly thrown at street sex workers. What really chilled us was the realisation that we had got off lightly and had not been subjected to the full force of abuse that threatens to bear down on you when you walk the beat.
This came home to me a few days later as I did my usual rounds. In the distance I recognised a young woman X, with whom I had been having regular contact. X is naturally slight but on this occasion looked even more gaunt and frail than usual. As I got closer to her I realised with dismay that she had been recently assaulted. The evidence was clear to see in the large bruises on her swollen face and a black eye that she could barely see out of. She had a cut on the crease of her mouth which was not healing. She was also struggling to hold her wrist correctly. As I stood in the wind and the torrential rain with her X told me about the horrific event she had recently been subjected to.
She explained that around two months ago a punter approached her and wanted to have sex without wearing a condom. For safety issues X refused. He overpowered her, beat her and raped her. He then took off his belt and proceeded to strangle her with it. X said she was fighting for her life but she managed to fend him off, however, her wrist had been injured in the attack as well as other injuries too heinous to write about. The man took off in his car but as he did so he said ‘What the f**k are you screaming at I was only having some fun with you. Get over it you worthless f**king whore’. X said she was so shaken up by the attack that she had been reluctant to go down on the beat again and had been waiting for her injuries to heal. However, her pimp was annoyed that she was no longer bringing in regular money. She suffered yet another attack which resulted in him giving her the black eye and cut lip.
I asked if she had considered giving a report of the attacks to the police. X said she did not trust the police or any other so called professionals as they all have the same attitude. I suggested I could take her to the hospital to get her injuries checked out but once again she refused saying “I have had a broken nose twice, broken ribs and a broken collar bone and every time I went to hospital they asked me loads and loads of questions. I hated how the doctors and nurses looked at me and I knew they were judging me” It was clear that X was not going to engage with statutory services at this time and so I encouraged her to contact the local sex workers project which could offer specialist support and advice. X said she found it extremely hard to talk to people but felt that she would consider going to the project if I went with her at a later date.
She went onto explain that she had been sexually and physically abused as a child by her step-father and had been placed in the care setting for most of her teenage years. After leaving care she was involved in an abusive violent relationship and had to flee to another city. She had no base which she could call home and spent her nights where she could, sleeping on floors or sofas. When this was not an option X said she walked the streets and then slipped into sex work without fully realising it when ‘boyfriends’ would demand sex for shelter or food or threatened to give her a good kicking if she didn’t comply. X said ‘I’ve been kicked around all my life like an empty tin can, taking one beating after another, but that’s just how life is for someone like me. Empty.’
I am staggered at the level of violence X and all the other homeless sex workers have to endure every time they venture out on the streets. It is well known that homeless people forced to ply sex to survive are at a much higher risk of serious assault or even death. X and other homeless sex workers seem shockingly vulnerable and totally trapped in a terribly dangerous situation. As an outreach support worker for Simon on the Streets, it is often very difficult to witness the plight of someone in this situation. You can feel as if your hands are tied as it can take some considerable time to build up the necessary trust and rapport. I truly believe that everyone deserves the right to live free from violence. So with that in mind, I will continue to walk the beat with the homeless sex workers come what may, fair weather or foul.’
If you have experienced Rape or sexual violence and need support you can contact Rape CrisisFreephone 0808 8029999 12am – 2.30pm/7pm – 9.30pm.