The Red Light District
This is a particularly disturbing yet one of the most rewarding parts of the ministry. We estimate that there are some four hundred women in Manchester city centre selling themselves into prostitution. This figure excludes the sauna centres, or ‘health clubs’ as they are sometimes known, and girls working with escort agencies.
The ladies we work with come from a variety of backgrounds and are of all ages. We are seeing children as young as twelve years of age selling themselves alongside more mature ladies up to the age of fifty-five. The younger girls in particular feel that it is one big game, they do not realise the dangers that are involved in this most violent of scenes. Only recently one of the young ladies we know well was raped and robbed. It certainly is not the glamorous profession that many think it is.
Our aim is to build relationships with these women so that we can help and support them. Our volunteers work in small teams from vehicles easily identifiable by the name Barnabus in gold lettering. They meet the girls where they are at, be it on a street corner, down a dark alleyway, or sat in a bus stop. We offer hot drinks and a bite to eat as well as advice, information and the use of our medical unit. We also provide for their more material needs in the form of knickers, bras and sanitary wear. Our first contact is the most important. From the outset it is essential that the girls understand we are Christians and that we are there to support them. Trust is not easily won on the streets and it is only through the lasting commitment of our volunteers that relationships have grown.
Manchester is not alone in the UK in having a significant prostitution problem. We have recently developed a policy document entitled ‘Exit from prostitution’ which outlines the choices available to the women, and the changes that need to be realized in both their thinking and lifestyle to enable them to effectively break free from this profession.
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