Doing Money

On the 5th of November there was a drama shown on BBC Two which told the story of a woman involved in prostitution. It was called 'Doing Money'. The drama is based on a book that claims to be a true story, called 'Slave' by Anna (not her real name).

This is what is printed on the back of the book:-

"This is the heart-breaking true story of one of the UK's most shocking modern-day slavery cases.
Anna was an innocent student living in London when she was kidnapped, beaten and forced into the sex slave industry. Threatened and tormented by her pimps, she was made to have sex with thousands of men."

This book has nothing to say about the sex industry in Britain. She was taken from London to Ireland, and put to work in Dublin, Galway and Belfast. Some women were also taken to Sweden.

This is curious, because there are many brothels in London. Why were women taken to Ireland and Sweden? Could it be that gangsters like Ionut and Schwarz thrive in areas where prostitution is underground?

Swedish authorities say that Sweden is less of an attraction to traffickers now because of the law they have had since 1999 which criminalises men who pay for sex. That can only be guesswork though, and this book seems to be saying that Sweden is more of an attraction than than London or Manchester.

If this is true then having the same law in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland will be counter-productive. Anna helped to bring this law about in Northern Ireland.

If you want to learn about one aspect of prostitution in Ireland and Sweden then you can watch Doing Money. If you want to learn about prostitution in Britain then A Very British Brothel and First Time Call Girl. They are both documentaries and they are consistent with my experience of prostitution.

Since I have read Rachel Moran's book Paid For I am struck by the differences between the two books. They can't both be 'the reality' of prostitution. Perhaps prostitution in Ireland in the 1990s was different to what happens now. Moran's book, together with three studies of Dublin sex workers, paint a picture of Ireland where things got more violent after the 1993 law. It seems that after the 2017 law things are getting even more violent. Yet this book helped to bring in the 2017 law.

These are the three studies of Dublin sex workers

• The Health Needs of Women working in prostitution in the Republic of Ireland 1994 O'Connor 
• Women Working in Prostitution: towards a healthier future 1996 O'Connor O'Neill Foran 
• Drug using women working in prostitution 1999 O'Connor O'Neill

Neither Moran's book nor these three studies say anything about women being kidnapped from the streets by violent pimps and raped. What one of the studies says is this

 "Three (17%) of the women felt very strongly that the new law is leading to the emergence of pimps (male protectors) and therefore, an increase in violence and intimidation on the streets. One said "anyone with enough money to rent an apartment and a mobile phone can go into business as a pimp. These men are offering protection and a "safe house" to women who are working. "They leech (latch) onto the women providing protection and paying bail, that's when the violence comes in"." O'Connor, A.M. (1994)

 It was the 1993 law which created the world that Anna experienced. Well-meaning but counter-productive laws create the problem and don't solve it. The 2017 law in Ireland as far as we can tell is like the 1993 law in that it will and has created more problems than it solved.

 Now we have an up to date study of prostitution in Northern Ireland. It is A Review of the Criminalisation of Paying for Sexual Services in Northern Ireland 2019 by Ellison, Ní Dhónaill and Early. It doesn't confirm what Anna, Rachel Moran and Lord Maurice Morrow have said about prostitution in Northern Ireland. If you want to know the reality of prostitution in Northern Ireland I suggest you read this report.

I have been following the case of Karl Ring and Ivett Szuda. Ring was sentenced to four years imprisonment with Szuda sent down for six and a half years. They were found guilty of human trafficking, controlling prostitution for gain, and 'money laundering'. They were not violent, and the most coercive thing they did was to take away some women's passports. This is not acceptable, but happens with migrant workers in different industries.

They rented flats in Chelsea Cloisters in London to women who wanted to work as prostitutes. They organized air travel between Eastern Europe and London. This is probably the reality of traffickers, at least in London. What happens in Ireland and Sweden could be different.

Below is one woman's experience, you couldn't get further from Anna's:-

"She showed me around the flat and she offered me two rooms. The smaller room was £60 per day and the bigger one for £80 per day." She explained that Szuda gave her a key to the flat at Chelsea Cloisters, which operated like a hotel. "The hotel had a reception and it worked like a hotel system but the rooms had kitchens and bathrooms,' she said. "They were basically hotel apartments. There was another girl when I arrived and she was doing sex work and there was another one who was just doing massage only. Everyone had their own rooms." But she said business was so bad for her that she went back to Hungary after six days. Another woman working for the couple went on holidays with Szuda and other prostitutes to the Bahamas and Miami as "team building exercises".

One woman said "On a good day I would see three to four clients a day, I earned £60 from each." So she earned £240 per day for what sounds like four hours work. She could stop anytime she wanted - like the woman who went back to Hungary after 6 days. She didn't have to do anything she didn't want - like the woman who was just doing massage only. Does this sound anything like the situation that Anna was in?

I think that the prohibitionists should think very carefully about what they want. Britain might become like Ireland and Sweden where the criminals reign. Just like in prohibition America where the do-gooders thought they were getting rid of a problem - alcohol - and they were just making it worse. Much, much, worse. Be careful what you wish for.

Novelist Liz Jensen said that men who use prostitutes should watch the drama and end up "squirming and feeling deeply regretful". I haven't watched the drama but I have read the book, and Rachel Moran's book. I have read the three reports on prostitution in Ireland in the 1990s. I have also kept up to date about trafficking through recent research and news reports. My conclusion is that it is abolitionists who have created this problem not people like me. Caring about people means looking at all the evidence and thinking about it deeply. It doesn't mean getting caught up in a drama. Don't think you can watch a drama and then you're an expert.

Jazmin, Nicki and Anna

In my last post I told you about my time with Sammy and Petra, my evening with erotic dancer Samantha Bailey, and how I tried to find out more about Jazmin. In this post I encounter Jazmin, take a look at Nicki, get a massage from a lovely Chinese woman, and spend some time with Anna.

I knew that Jazmin was meant to be at 18 Newport Court on Friday last week. I wanted to get there early. If Jazmin is the same girl as Kim then she might try to snog me. Kim had tried to snog me but I had avoided that because she also did oral sex without a condom and let men come in her mouth. I didn't want to snog a girl who had recently sucked off several men. If I was her first customer of the day, however, that would be a different matter.

I got to the flats sometime after 11am. The door was open, and there was the name of a girl inside the door. Jazmin's name wasn't there. There should be the name's of the two girls working there that day inside the doorway. I went up to the first floor and knocked on the door. Someone from the floor above shouted down that nobody is there yet. She wanted me to go up to her flat, but I told her I wanted to see Jazmin. She said call back about midday.

I came back just after 12 but someone had got there before me. A man was in the flat with Jazmin and the maid asked me to wait outside the door while she went down to the ground floor to put Jazmin's name sign up. I was waiting quite a while there at the top of the stairs. Eventually the maid came back up, let us into the flat, and apologised for keeping me waiting. She said that a girl called Nicky who had formerly worked there had called by and they had a chat.

Inside the flat the maid asked me to sit down and told me that Nicky had said that where she's working there's a woman who offers anal sex cheaply and it's difficult for her to compete with that. She offered me the Sun newspaper and we talked about Prince Harry and his nude escapades in Las Vegas. She was very friendly and talkative.

Then Jazmin became free and I went into the bedroom with her. I said I would like oral sex, and she said that will be £30. Oral sex at Soho walk ups is usually £20, but I gave her the £30 she had asked for. It can create a bad atmosphere to question prices, and also I was hoping for something more than the standard oral sex on offer at other walk ups. She went out of the room and I could hear her chatting to the maid about Nicky.

I took off my clothes and lay on the bed, waiting for Jazmin to come back. Unlike other sex workers in Soho, she was not wearing any alluring glamour wear, just a bra and knickers that didn't match. She had blonde hair with dark roots. I knew for sure that she was Kim who used to work in Greek Street.

Jazmin came back into the room and got onto the bed with me, still in her bra and knickers. She put the end of my cock part way into her mouth but didn't suck much. She did this a few times and after what seemed like three minutes she told me my time was up. I told her my time can't be up yet but she insisted that it was. She'd been cold and unfriendly from the beginning. It was like her attitude was 'What are you going to do about it?'.

She really hadn't made any effort at all and had given an appalling service. I have never been with a woman who has been like this. I don't know what her problem is. When I had seen her before at Greek Street I had enjoyed my time with her. She's young and pretty, will do oral sex without a condom and might let you come in her mouth, but she doesn't make any effort. I don't think she even knows what to do.

So, if you see Jazmin, you might enjoy the experience more than with other prostitutes in Soho. Or you might not enjoy it at all.

Newport Court is in Chinatown and I had a wander around. In Gerrard Street I was approached by an attractive Chinese woman with leaflets in her hand outside the Everwell Chinese medical centre. She asked me if I would like a massage. Usually I ignore these women, but this one was lovely. I asked her the price and told her I might come back later. She gave me a leaflet.

In Wardour Street I passed the doorway where I had seen a very young very pretty girl offering massage but she wasn't there. I walked along Berwick Street past the street market. At 70A Berwick Street I had a look to see who was there that day. Nicki is someone I had not seen before, so I thought I might try her. I went up to the flat, and the maid showed me into the bedroom.

Nicki came in, wearing not much. She is tall and slender, with dark hair. I wouldn't say she's pretty though, not like Monica, Lisa, Eva and Sammy who also work here. I asked her about hand relief and she said she only does it with a condom or with gloves. I didn't fancy that so I told her that's not really what I'm looking for and I left.

I went back to Gerrard Street where the attractive Chinese woman was still there. I told her I would like a massage and she took me into the medical centre. I paid £25 at the till for my half hour massage, and she led me down some stairs. We went into a room with a massage table covered in paper. She put some Chinese music on, asked me to get undressed and lie face down on the table, and went out of the room.

When she returned she massaged my shoulders and back and worked her way down. When it was time for me to turn over I could get a better look at her and talk to her. I asked her her name, but I don't want to tell you because she might not like that. She has a nice face, looks in her 20s, and is quite short. I didn't know if I was going to get anything sexual from her, it can be a bit hit-or-miss at these places.

She asked me if I wanted her to wank me and I said yes. She said that would be an extra £20. She said that she could take her dress off for another £20, and that it would be better for me. I only had an extra £20. She took her dress off anyway, although she kept her knickers on. She started wanking me and after a while got onto the table with me and moved my cock up and down between her slippery breasts.

I liked her a lot and I might go and see her again. She's prepared to put in the effort and knows how to please a man. I don't think her heart is in it though, unlike other oriental women at this kind of place. She seemed a bit desperate.

Still later that day I decided I would see Anna at 8 Greek Street. The elderly French maid greeted me like an old friend, saying that it's been too long since she'd last seen me. When Anna walked into the room I thought she's very sexy. She's tall with dark black hair. I didn't want to get on top of her and shag her. I wanted her to lie on the bed so that I could look at her and play with myself.

She looked as if she couldn't quite understand why I wanted to do this. I said "I just like to look at beautiful women". She said "I'm not". I asked her what she meant. She said "I'm not beautiful!". I told her I thought she was. She looked in the the large mirror on the wall and said "Look at me. I'm not beautiful!". I thought I've got another strange one here. I'm not saying that Anna is a stunner, but she's of above average attractiveness.

I don't think I will see Anna or Nicki again. Some men might find them just what they wanted, but they're not for me. I will definitely never see Jazmin again. I think I will see the lovely Chinese lady again. Although it was a very strange day for me on Friday last week I got something out of it.

the doorway of the walk up at 8 Greek Street
note the names of the 2 women there that day