‘It is unbelievable that two years ago I was working full time as an escort and had a cocaine and alcohol dependency – and now I have studied at University level and started my new job’.
Meet Liz*, a former sex worker who managed to turn her life around with the help of MASH (Manchester Action on Street Health).
Consider being sexually abused as a child and then finding yourself in a brutal and controlling relationship as an adult where you are groomed and forced to take part in fraudulent activity by someone that you thought loved you.
It sounds like something from your worst nightmares.
Liz referred herself to MASH and, despite being at an ‘all-time low’, managed to have the courage to speak openly about her problems and turn her life around.
“In my first assessment session I opened up for the first time and told Helen, my key worker my story,” she said.
“I could hardly believe the words that were pouring out of my mouth.
“How could this be me? How could I have come to such an existence?”
The reality faced by Liz before going to MASH was the same as thousands of other women in the U.K who are forced into the dangerous world of sex work.
Liz originally worked as an escort in London while in a horrifically abusive relationship where her partner treated her as a ‘meal ticket,’ forcing her to have sex for money.
The catalyst for change came when her father passed away from lung cancer and on the day of his funeral she was constantly harassed by her partner to return to London.
She moved into a women’s refuge and during her stay prepared to commit suicide, however a mental health emergency intervention team was able to treat her and encouraged her to seek long term help.
Liz searched on the web for support in the North West and discovered MASH – a charity which provides a range of confidential and non-judgmental services to women working in the sex industry in Greater Manchester.
The organization was established in 1991 and five hundred women come through their centre each year for advice and support.
Cate Allison, chief executive of MASH, said it was often the girls’ own choice to work the streets, but MASH’s aim is to promote recognition of people as individuals, with their own stories and backgrounds, regardless of their choice of work.
“It is very difficult when they have alcohol, drug and domestic violence problems. Our aim here is to empower them to make their own choices in their lives,” she said.
“By offering support for their other problems will hopefully enable them to make the right choice.”
The core set of services that the MASH centre provides is a drop-in clinic, health checks and advice from nurses, counselling and sessional activities and it was the latter which particularly impacted on Liz’s life.
“I was taught to express myself through art, poetry, drama and therapy,” she said.
“I realised that I didn’t have a strict script that was cruelly laid out in front of me caused by sexual abuse as a child.
“I now had the strength to change my path, journey and that self-destructive script of mine.”
MASH also allocates case workers to individual women to help with the multiple and complex problems many of them face.
They provide support with a wide range of issues including access to drug treatment and support with benefits, housing and access to services and it is thanks to these that Liz along with many others have been able to think about seeking stable employment.
“They gave me the confidence to think outside the box. With their help I sought funding to access an Assessor Course at college and my life catapulted into action,” she said.
Another service user said: “They helped me finish street working and apply for ‘normal’ jobs.
“I will never go back to that work, it’s not worth it. I did it because I didn’t have any money, now I hope to get a job.”
The report of external evaluation of MASH Services published in July this year showed 64% of users perceived an improvement in their well-being and in particular their mental state of mind.
This was a difficulty Liz had to battle with constantly due to the need to seek male attention.
“My enduring mental health problems were being compounded by my constant need for male company.
“I trawled through internet dating and swinger sites having brief and risky encounters with men to help with my feelings of loneliness.
But thanks to help from MASH staff and service users Liz managed to build her confidence enough to stop these damaging actions and change her life.
She has moved on from supported accommodation, studied at University level and started a new job as an assessor for a national training provider.
“Welcome to my new script and for anyone going through similar situations always believe in yourself, take good care of yourself and take life little by little,” the transformed Liz said.
“I have much love and respect to all the strong and inspiring women who have helped me to get where I am. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
For those seeking free, confidential support & information for sex workers in Greater Manchester visit the MASH website here or telephone: 0161 273 4555.
*Names have been changed to protect identity
Picture of silhouette courtesy of D’n’c, with thanks.
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