Dangerous liaisons: sex trade leaves prostitutes prone to attacks

THE anonymous and covert nature of the sex trade leaves women open to attack — clearly evidenced in recent weeks by the murders of five prostitutes in Suffolk.

Closer to home, there has been a series of brutal attacks on sex workers.

* An escort working in the IFSC in Dublin was raped at the end of the summer when she opened the door of her apartment to a potential client, and was rushed by two men.

According to Escort-watch.com a website which offers safety advice to the women, “the terrified woman was then attacked by both men and left badly beaten before they robbed her and left”.

“This assault was extremely brutal and she was lucky to have survived,” said the owner and operator of the site, Linda.

* Escort-watch also reports two robberies which occurred in a two-week period in Dublin over the summer.

* According to a survey of women in street prostitution, carried out in Dublin in 2005, seven out of 10 had attempted suicide.

The study of 22 street prostitutes was undertaken by Siobhán Quinlan of Dublin Institute of Technology.

Twelve of the women were raped at least once, and 17 reported being attacked in the previous year.

The women, aged between 17 and 26, interviewed mostly in Mountjoy Prison, had experienced high levels of physical abuse, homelessness and drug addiction.

Twenty had contemplated suicide while 15 had attempted to take their own lives. All but one were addicted to heroin.

Most were introduced to prostitution through friends.

Half entered prostitution before the age of 18, and the majority had experienced child sex abuse.

One said: “My innocence was stolen from me years ago so selling it was no big deal. It was just another job.”