Juvenile prostitution: in the den of the wolf at 13

Lured by the lure of money and in search of affection, Rosalie felt completely in control when she launched into the sex industry… at the age of 13.

“I admired the girls who did this job, because I just saw the beautiful side,” confides the young woman now in her early twenties, who agrees to look back on the seven years spent selling her sexual services, including five as a minor.

Rosalie says it straight away: she threw herself “into the den of the wolf”. At 13, while living in a youth center, she saw images of escort sites on the cell phone of a friend, who was also a recruiter for a pimp.

“In the old days, it was really easy. A 12-year-old girl could find customers in a second. That’s how I did it,” says the young woman from Laval.

She gives it a try and registers on a classified ads site. However, she quickly realizes that it will be difficult for her to manage everything alone, starting with transportation. She has neither a driver’s license nor a car. He needs a pimp.

“It was me who went to the guys,” she assures.

At the time, Rosalie had a great need to free herself from the stress that was plaguing her at the youth center. She found her time in these walls extremely difficult, to the point where she ran away several times, notably to become a prostitute.

“It’s like a circle. You never feel good, you don’t know what you want anymore. You just want to feel good, you don’t know where to go and the only people who make you feel good are these guys [les proxénètes]“, she continues, stifling a sob.

Support

The “guys” bring him comfort and affection. They surround her, protect her and take care of her, but will not take so much money from her, says the woman who assures that she has kept a large part of the sums raised.

“I said it was like my boyfriends […] I felt better with men who gave me love, whether it was true or not. I had winnings. I preferred that to being locked up and having nothing at all,” she says.

The years in prostitution paid off for the young woman, who asked for $500 an hour. She made a lot of self-esteem through her luxurious purchases, especially clothes and handbags.

“Every time we buy something: yay! At some point, you get bored, you see that that’s not what life is, it’s just material […] I just saw my worth in superficial matters. I also said to myself: if I am with [tel proxénète]I’ll look cool,” says Rosalie.

Destination Dubai

When she was 15 and still in the business, some guys told her about Dubai, where kings buy girls.

“They are treated like dogs,” reveals Rosalie, who later learns that a former pimp was planning to sell her to the Arab Emirates, a plan which fortunately did not materialize. There was also talk of it being sent to Quebec, which also did not happen.

Rosalie has never felt danger. She felt quite powerful, because she was a minor and the penalties for sexual exploitation of someone under 18 are harsh.

“I told myself: they’re not going to do anything, I’m a minor. They are afraid!”, she explains.

She talks about a time she went to Toronto. Noticing that she was under 18, the pimps immediately sent her back to Montreal.

“These people, they make us believe that they will always be there for us, but no. As soon as there is a risk of prison, forget it, they will abandon you. As soon as their safety is at stake, they forget, they don’t care about you,” she confides.

Pedophiles

Rosalie saw all kinds of clients during her time in the sex industry. She lied about her age, even though it “showed in [sa] face».

“They like it. But it is denied. There is no proof that you are underage,” she said, adding coldly that her clients were “pedophiles”.

“It’s dangerous, pedos, because they like the vulnerable, those younger than them. They have no empathy,” she analyzes.

Rosalie remembers her first client. Pain. She told him she was in pain.

“They don’t care […]. It’s their pleasure,” she says.

She mentions a very elderly client, who shakait because of Parkinson’s. He told her that she was his medicine to heal.

“It was his wife who welcomed me. You see things, it’s not reality!”, she giggles.

Today, Rosalie feels pity for these men, even if they sometimes asked her for “disgusting” things.

Get out of the horror

At the age of 20, Rosalie left the industry.

“The last time I saw a client in my life, I experienced rape […] I filed a complaint and this person is now in prison. It’s the first time this happened to me. I vomited,” she says.

The young woman returned to therapy, with a psychologist she trusted and who had been following her for several years. She also fell in love.

Today she deplores the trivialization of sexuality and the industry, which pays less and less for girls. And for those who still get rich, it reminds us that everything is ephemeral.

“It’s not a life. It won’t last. Even a pimp. It doesn’t last,” she warns.

To all those who would like to get started, Rosalie warns them:

“Having sex with someone you are not physically or psychologically attracted to is not normal. The more we have, the more it breaks us, and the more difficult it will be to rebuild ourselves after that. That’s the message I want to send. Because at the beginning, we don’t realize it,” she concludes.