SEX TRADE I used to pray to God, please rescue me..
Diane Martin is a survivor of ‘high end’ prostitution. From Dundee, she was trafficked across Europe. Today, as the Scottish Government’s consultation on new laws to challenge men’s demand for prostitution closes, Diane is calling for the criminalisation of men who buy sex from women. She believes Scotland must adopt the “Nordic model” of Sweden, which makes paying for sex a criminal offence. Diane, 56, has spent more than 25 years supporting women to exit prostitution and was awarded a CBE in 2013. Here, via photos from her time in the sex trade, she shares her story with Daily Record associate editor
Annie Brown
I HAD travelled from a loving home in Dundee to London to join a friend and planned to get a retail job. We rented a room in Chelsea and he introduced me to friends who I thought were models and actresses but weren’t. The money ran out. Gradually I was groomed, pressured and controlled and way out of my depth. I was naive and vulnerable. I went from being a happy, trusting girl to finding myself standing in a penthouse in Mayfair being looked over by a madam. I was isolated and grooming forges invisible chains from fear. This picture was taken very early on when I managed to get away and meet a friend for coffee. I was so happy to have a “normal” few hours away but I was filled with the dread of going back. This was the supposed “high end” of prostitution but bruises feel the same whether you are wearing Prada or Primark. Being in a penthouse suite doesn’t soften the blow of rape or having someone leave bite marks all over your face. I used to pray to God, please rescue me. What was done to me was done to my body, my mind, my soul. And it took years to heal. Prostitution is not empowering, it is not a service. You cannot separate yourself from what is being done to you. You can’t make prostitution safe. Once you’re in that car or behind that closed door you are vulnerable to violence and exploitation and many times I wondered if I would survive being behind that door.