Being a student, especially if you are far away from home, means that you have many responsibilities: rent, tuition, groceries, bills, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find a job that pays well and some of us just don’t have the time for a job. So, what do you do when you are running out of money? What if asking Mom and Dad is not an option? How far would you go to make money? Would you give a cute guy a lap dance? Would you sleep with a perfect stranger each night to pay your lease? “Disgusting” you may say, but according to a recent study by the Sex Education journal, 16.5% of undergraduate students think about entering the sex industry to help finance their education. In fact, 11% of these undergraduate students would become escorts just to have some sort of income. Those students are either working for a pimp, shaking their assets in a club, or are independent prostitutes that are sought out through the internet or the newspaper. At first, these women may think that they would never prostitute themselves for the sake of money; however, their mentality slowly changes. “It will only be a one-time thing”, they say. They have no choice – the money is absolutely necessary!
Behind Closed Doors
The girl whom I like to call “undercover” goes to school with us. We sit next to her in class and give her a big smile while asking about her weekend. We study together; yet, we never notice her skinny figure, bruises on her skin and her constant hunger. She may have problems at home – financial or physical, forcing her to turn to prostitution. You’re thinking: why doesn’t she use student loan programs? Well, for some of us, it’s not that easy. In some countries, loan programs don’t help all students. Laura D., in her autobiography, “Mes chères études”, speaks of her story as a student by day, and prostitute by night.
Jasmine, a former medical science student at the University of Western says she could make $10,000 a week through prositution. Indeed, she would charge $500 to $1,000 for an hour with a client for any kind of sexual service. Some nights she would make $50,000 in a short period of time. However, during that hour the student is at that person’s mercy. They force her to act out all the crazy fantasies that their real life partner refuses to. Even though our undercover student is doing it for the “right” reasons, she knows that her job is very dangerous. Her life is in constant danger when she enters a closed room with a stranger. Jasmine said one night her pimp, Joseph Bernadel, brutality choked and threatened her. It’s not only females that turn to prostitution; some male students also go down this road. Male prostitutes just don’t surface in the news as often as female prostitutes do. Nevertheless, a Canadian male student, who wants to remain anonymous, said that he started his career in the sex industry in 2010 as a massage therapist then become a full-time escort.
Laws and Help Services
The majority of prostitutes are in the business for many years. Unfortunately, they do not realize all the harm being done to their body, self-esteem and life. They might even over consume drugs and alcohol. Many of the prostitutes that realize their lifestyle isn’t doing them any good, have no idea how to get out of it or where to look for help.
A citizen has been permitted to exchange sex for money since the mid-1880s, but only if it’s in his/her house. The Canadian Criminal Code doesn’t allow public display of these acts, such as running a bawdyhouse. This law is quite controversial and contradictory, and since 2012, there has been much debate surrounding it in the Supreme Court of Canada. Jasmine, our former Western student, turned to the authorities when her situation became too overwhelming. She said that they were extremely caring, especially Detective Thai Truong from York Regional Police’s VICE unit. The team was there to help her through a hard time and tell her she had possibilities for a better life. Indeed, with their help she was able to turn her life around. Now, Jasmine is proud of what she has accomplished: “I’m a wife to the most wonderful man in the world; I’m a proud stay-at-home mother of two beautiful girls”.
Photo Credits:
http://www.lausannecites.ch/lactualite/eclairage/un-job-en-dessous-de-la-ceinture
http://mindthis.ca/prostitution-economics/
Source Credits:
http://www.alternet.org/story/148945/students_turning_to_prostitution_and_stripping