Prostitution: when girls themselves solicit pimps

Girls attracted by the promise of quick and easy money no longer hesitate to take the lead and directly solicit a pimp in order to “do the shift” for him.

“That is clearly linked to the trivialization of the sex industry,” complains Jenny-Laure Sully, community coordinator at the Concertation of Struggles Against Sexual Exploitation (CLES).

Thus, girls “curious” about getting into sex work, because they have been exposed to a positive image of the industry, may come to approach pimps on their own. This is particularly the case of Rosalie (testimony to read tomorrow), who contacted a pimp when she was only… 13 years old.

“They think if they move forward, they are in control. Even though we know very well that that’s not it,” explains Lieutenant Annie Bergeron, of the Integrated Anti-Pimping Squad (EILP).

Un business

A business relationship, presented as egalitarian, can then be established between the girl and her pimp. This is one of the four entry points into prostitution, according to research carried out by expert René-André Brisebois, of the University Institute for Young People in Difficulty (see below).

“It’s becoming a new way to hook certain young women. “You have your autonomy, your independence, you make part of the profits, I make the other part, I manage the customers, the locations. You make the customers,” he illustrates.

Young men approached are clearly known to be pimps. Others, who are often already involved in delinquency, did not necessarily consider becoming pimps, but they may be tempted by the idea, explains his colleague Nathalie Gélinas.

“Seeing that the girl volunteers, he doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything wrong,” she explains.

Not victims

Girls who enter this industry for business are far from considering themselves victims. They believe they have made a choice and seem to enjoy a certain immunity from the potential consequences of the environment, our speakers note.

“When we enter the setting of a young girl who does not feel like a victim, it is doomed to failure. We will not be able, in a short period of time, to make her see that she is being exploited,” says Marie-Manon Savard, head of investigations at the Quebec police (SPVQ), who believes that these young girls are often “difficult to approach”.

But most of the time the notion of equality ends up withering away.

“It’s fleeting. Initially, we tell her that she will keep all the winnings, that we are there for security, but later, she will start paying for the hotel or Airbnb, the meals, her security. Finally, she will pay everything and will no longer have the 50% that was promised to her,” analyzes Inspector Marie-Manon Savard, of the Quebec police.

“Exploitation is never fair,” adds Lieutenant Bergeron.