The above phrases are all words I have heard spoken by other women regarding our @xpose.hope

Ladies and girls.

Our answer to those statements:

“WRONG”

“WRONG”

“WRONG”

“WRONG”, “WRONG.”

There are so many assumptions and stereotypes when it comes to the sex industry. Those who sit on the outside, those who buy/abuse these women for their own perverse gratification, those who live in their comfortable well curated bubbles, all have their own mislead ideas about who these precious women and girls are. And they are ALL WRONG.

How can other women believe these assumptions????

Yesterday, I was in the trenches. My heart in shattered fragments as I try to navigate and find my bearings after a traumatic outreach on Thursday night.

I am constantly reminded of the danger of our work. However, the danger we face as a team is nothing compared to that which our industry friends face every hour of every day.

For our friends, the industry is not a career choice it is survival.

For our friends, it is not fun. They hate sex, and they are terrified of men.

The sex industry is NOT easy money. Nothing about the industry is easy for them. The only people it is easy for are the pimps and the clients. The MEN.

From the teenager who walks out of the brothel with her beautiful baby girl on her hip, a baby who is the product of statutory rape, to the 60+ year old woman who is standing on the corner desperate for money because no one will employ her, this industry is holding them all captive.

How the hell can I celebrate International Women’s Day when women and girls that we love dearly are victims of atrocities while other women sit back and ignore the reality.

The only thing I will let myself celebrate is the strength, endurance, fight, and determination to survive, that our industry friends display in the face of judgment, abuse and severe trauma every day of their lives.