Enfranchisement leaves the same bad taste in my mouth. It implicitly accepts prostitution. But what's the right thing to do - adopt a more principled stance that has less chance of succesfully delivering any help or tools for the majority of these women to escape? Or look to pragmatism and compromise, and swallow the bitter pill of acceptance for a chance (and not a guaranteed chance, by any means) of delivering something concrete here and now?

"Between a rock and hard place" is a very apt description for what little personal experience I've had with prostitution, which basically consists of 2 experiences.

The first was a couple we were neighbours with. They lived very squalidly, and before we moved in to the apartment across the hall, they had their child taken by child services after a neighbour complained of physical abuse at the hands of the male. We also had to report him to the Humane Society when he cracked his dog's skull. So it's probable he didn't treat her any better, although we never actually saw or heard anything apart from the incident with the dog. Anyway, they apparently sold crack or something on commission, and didn't manage their money very well. They were threatened to pay up by their supplier and she was forced her to turn tricks to get the money (while he sat on his ass smoking crack with his buddies, of course). Not that we knew any of this at the time, but the story got around after they'd moved, and from what I'd seen, it wasn't difficult to believe.

My other experience is a little more personal (but thankfully far less tragic). I agreed to grow marijuana for a dealer in my apartment. Exploitation - I take all the risk, he provided the capital. I got busted. Fortunately it was a very small crop, that was supposed to be cloned and the clones planted outdoors, not a giant hydroponics op, just a few plants. $700 fine and probation (this was about 15 years ago - so I was very lucky). Plus they seized everything. Well now I "owed" this fellow for the loss of the seeds (c. $100) and lights ($150 or so). He came to my place with 3 other guys and said "Get me the money tommorow ... I don't care if you have to suck #### to do it ... I can help with that". It didn't come to that, I was able to scrape it together, but I'm not really sure what would have happened if I hadn't been able to.

So, my admittedly anecdotal experience pretty much concurs with yours - all that I've personally seen of it is people being forced into it.