Laurie Ishii

There are articles written about the murders in Suffolk – 5 prostitutes that worked in the Red Light district in Ipswich, in the UK. I read a little bit about each one of the women, and all 5 of them were drug addicts. A couple of them were heroin addicts, one was a crack addict and the article didn’t specify what drugs the other two women were addicted to. The brutal fact was that these women were all addicts. My heart broke when I read about them – but the fact that they were prostituting to support their drug habits did not surprise me at all. While I was using drugs, I had sex with people to get more drugs – when I was using cocaine I didn’t ever accept money for sex – only drugs – because accepting money for drugs would really be like prostituting. But I don’t know what the difference between having sex for cocaine and having sex for money would be? Not much – I was just a coke whore.But once I got strung out on heroin – it wasn’t just about getting high anymore. It was about surviving, just to exist, to function. Waking up dope sick every morning, feeling every part of my body ache, my nose running, eyes burning and my stomach cramping… and that was just the beginning. If I waited for a few more hours I’d be running to the toilet, to either puke or have diarrhea.

When I was sick from not having heroin, I would do almost ANYTHING to get “well.” Prostitution didn’t seem like such a bad thing to me anymore. In fact – having sex for money in my opinion is smarter in a way – let’s be honest – back then I was a slut anyway – why give sex away for free when I could get paid for it? I had slept around with so many men after since I lost my virginity when I was date raped at sixteen (I couldn’t go back and ‘save’ myself anymore) but I became bitter towards men and went on to use them from then on.

I would use sex as a “tool” to have some kind of control over them. Once I started prostituting, I thought that I was still in control – I didn’t have a pimp, so I chose who I was going to ‘date’ – I chose how much money to charge, I chose where and when… except when I was sick and needed the heroin just to function as a human being.

My heart goes out to the women who prostitute whether by choice (in the beginning it very well may start that way) or not by choice (many – especially young girls – are kidnapped by pimps or sex slave trade workers) or because they are trying to survive and support their children (I have met numerous women in that situation) or because they are trying to support their drug habit.

No matter what the circumstance, whether by ‘choice’ or not – they are still slaves. We are all slaves to something…

When I first made the choice to prostitute for money, it was ‘easy’ – just like working a job. I even remember telling a guy who seemed to start getting ‘attached’ to me, “Don’t start liking me. Just consider this as my job – like working at Mc Donald‚Äôs, and you’re going through the ‘drive thru.’” But after a while, that way of living starts to take a toll on you, on your body, on your spirit… I began feeling like every time I had sex with a client, I was giving away a piece of my soul…

I don’t know any female that actually ENJOY’s prostituting and having sex with the men they have to have sex with. Yes, I had a few clients that weren’t so bad – some that were even gorgeous – but the fact that they were just paying money to sleep with you – cheapens the whole experience. (See the irony in that?)

Anyway, I honestly did not know too many women (if any at all, if they really were honest with themselves) who were strung out on heroin who did not prostitute at one time or another. Same with crack. So it does not surprise me at all that the women killed in Suffolk were prostituting to support their habits. When I read articles like that I am just so grateful… and blown away by the fact that God spared me – why me?

I was glad that the articles about the women that were murdered showed their pictures. So that there was a face to put with their names – that they weren’t just ‚Äúsome prostitute‚Äù like some random persons that didn’t matter… they were all someone’s daughter, or sister or mother to someone…

This is one of the reasons why I have such a heart to reach out to drug addicts, to prostitutes – even to the pimps. They’re all in some sort of bondage and the only one who can truly set them free is Jesus. People don’t just have a drug problem, or a sex problem or money problem, but a SIN problem. Jesus, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b)