We were honoured to hand over the account to @tainx_ to talk about her experiences of selling sexual services underage and how it intersected with her mental illness. We cannot her them enough
I think it's incredibly important that women who entered sex work as girls are given a chance to tell their stories.
I come from a country that forbids marriage under 18 for girls and yet such marriages are also considered legally valid ??? These contradictions accommodate customary practices that are used to subjugate girls. I can understand why some adolescent girls might enter sex work and I have known such girls who have been groomed into sex work by others. I have also known girls who informally exchanged sex for gifts from boys and men. I have also known very assertive girls who actively sought out sex work opportunities while working as singers or dancers.
I have known many more girls outside of sex work who have been sexually active before the legal age of consent and most of them considered themselves competent to make that decision.
Girls and sex will always be a focus of moral panic, and when sex work is added to the mix the panic becomes hysteria.
