Children Of The Night

Today, it has become all too common for sex workers' rights advocates to wax poetic about the so-called "glamour" of prostitution and to make wild, unsubstantiated claims that all prostitutes are just so happy to be on the game. Some of these pro-sex worker activists are in total denial about the dark side of prostitution: parental abuse and juvenile runaways.

Let's clear this up: Prostitutes - myself included - do not have 'power' over clients and/or money. That's simply a romanticised myth, and in any case, that's not what we're looking for. Most women who are prostitutes - again, myself included - had been abused as children, oftentimes sexually abused. In fact, the dysfunctional family has oftentimes been referred to as the 'training ground' or 'boot camp' for a life in prostitution. While it's true that not all little girls who have been victims of incest grow up to become hookers, most women who are prostitutes had been victims of sexual molestation when they were young children. (And yes, this applies to me.) Little girls who have been molested learn to develop the mentality of quid pro quo: the human body and sexual activity are bartering tools for services rendered.

In Los Angeles, there is an excellent outreach organisation which rescues underage runaways from the streets and prostitution: Children Of The Night. Founded in 1979 by Dr. Lois Lee, Children Of The Night is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt organisation dedicated to assisting children between the ages of 11 and 17 who are forced to work as prostitutes on the streets for food and a place to sleep. All of their programs are provided with the support of private donations.

children of the night

Prostitutes In Film

Many films depict prostitutes in many different ways, from the fairy-tale fantasy of "Pretty Woman" to the gritty, harsh reality of "Mona Lisa".  (Personally, I thought "Pretty Woman" was pretty silly; "Mona Lisa", on the other hand, was brilliant.)

"Klute" (1971) and "London to Brighton" (2006) are two very powerful films dealing with prostitution.

"Klute" stars Jane Fonda as call girl Bree Daniels, who helps detective John Klute solve a missing persons case. Bree seems to have a carefree lifestyle - lots of cash and independence - yet she is vulnerable and filled with self-doubt; this is depicted in a very moving scene with her psychiatrist.

From call girls to the gritty streets:

"London to Brighton" is a crime drama focusing on the disturbing world of child prostitution. Kelly is a world-weary London streetwalker forced by her violent pimp, Derek, to recruit an 11 year-old runaway girl named Joanne as a prostitute for a mobster client who is a pedophile. Kelly and Joanne escape on a train to Brighton; the perverted mobster orders Derek to bring back Kelly and the child.

Both "Klute" and "London To Brighton" reveal the harsh realities of prostitution in a powerful yet sensitive way. All too often, the mainstream media tend to depict prostitution as something glamourous; these two films scrub off the sugarcoating and show just what life on the game can mean if you don't keep your wits about you.