Monday, December 11, 2006

Needs must . . .

Ipswich is a town in Suffolk, England. It has a typically English setting with a football team, industry, commerce, night life and - of course - "ladies of the night".
Every town has them. They satisfy a need for the blokes who either feel inadequate to satisfy their wives' sexual needs or need to satisfy their own sexual fantasies.
These girls ply their trade for a many and varied reasons - looking after their kids, making a decent living in an environment where having a piece of paper saying you're qualified is more important than ability - the list is endless. But one reason crops up again and again - feeding a drug dependency.
Ipswich is also the centre, at the moment, of blaring news headlines because three prostitutes have been found murdered in the last two weeks. There are fears that others have not been seen for some time and may also be victims. Police are - sensibly and sensitively - urging the girls not to go onto the streets in case they become the victims of what is beginning to look like a series of killings by one person.
The BBC found that tonight many girls were still plying their trade. The girls still need money to live and seemed prepared to take the risk in order to make money. One girl, simply identified as "Lou", was totally honest in front of the camera.
"I need to work to feed my heroin habit."
She knew the risks. She knew that she may possibly be the next victim. But her life was so centred on her need for heroin that she was driven to try to earn enough money for the next fix.
I - along with many of my generation - have played with various substances in my youth. I was lucky. I did not get the habit. For that I am eternally grateful.
The person who is killing these girls - whatever your feelings about their morals - needs to be caught and stopped immediately.
But also the people who lead young people like Lou into an existence of total drug dependency must be stopped. We will never stop prostitution. We will probably never stop drug dealers.
BUT WE MUST TRY!

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