‘Seven out of 10 prostitutes attempt suicide’

SEVEN out of 10 prostitutes have attempted suicide at least once, according to new research.

A study carried out among 22 prostitutes in Dublin found that half had been sexually abused as a child.

The survey found that nearly eight out of 10 had been attacked at least once and that more than half had been raped at least once.

The research, conducted by Siobhán Quinlan of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), found that:

* Half entered prostitution before the age of 18.

* More than half had experienced child sex abuse.

* Over half had suffered physical abuse.

* All but were one of the 22 were heroin addicts.

The study found in nearly half of the cases, the women’s parents were separated.

Ms Quinlan presented her research at the second day of a two-day conference on Young People and Crime, organised by DIT.

One woman told Ms Quinlan: “My innocence was stolen from me years ago so selling it then was no big deal, it was just another job.”

Ms Quinlan said that six out of 10 entered prostitution through a friend, often to pay for drugs. She said five had gone in on their own, while two started through a family member - a sister and an aunt.

She said that, in one case, a woman said she was forced into the industry.

The research found that nine out of ten women had contemplated suicide and that more than half had attempted suicide at least once.

Ms Quinlan said child sex abuse had contributed to drug taking among the women to block out the memories. This then led to homelessness, harder drugs and prostitution to feed the habit.

She was there was a low take-up among the women of support services, with just over half availing of mobile patrols, distributing teas and sometimes condoms.

In a separate paper, called ‘Flashing, Alco-pops and ASBOs’, the conference heard that so-called ‘joyriding’ was a means of gaining social status in some disadvantaged areas.

Researchers Mick Rush and Paula Brudell of UCD, investigated joyriding, or ‘flashing’ as it is known, in the Priorswood area of north Dublin.

Local children engaged in ‘joyriding’ said they did not see it as “anti-social”.

Mr Rush said that, for them, there was “nothing to compete” with joyriding as it was the “most exciting activity” in the area. He said locals had a “deep hostility” towards joyriding but recognised the shared family pressures of their parents.