CORNER BROOK, N.L. — In 2017, Sophia left her small hometown and moved to Corner Brook to attend school.
Nothing different many other young girls before her and since have done, but for Sophia things didn’t go the normal route.
Sophia isn’t her real name, it’s one she’s chosen to be identified as for this article, and it’s to protect her identity.
Sophia is a sex worker.
Pictures she took that depict her life are part of the exhibit “Let Us Stop Living Secret Lives: The Visual Stories of Sex Work” currently on display in the Tina Dolter Gallery at the Rotary Arts Centre in Corner Brook.
“The first time I never really had much control over. It was kind of a setup,” she said of her introduction into the sex trade.
She had gone to a friend's house party and was brought into the industry by her friends.
At the time, she had no idea about the sex trade.
“I felt really vulnerable after that.”
She said her young age, and the fact she was abused as child and put into the foster care system, contributed to the ease with which she entered the industry.
Despite any unease she may have felt, Sophia continued working as sex worker.
“I stayed with it just for survival. Because I was paying my bills that way and I needed to find housing.”
She had 15 regular clients who she would see once a week during the six months she was in Corner Brook.
The industry is not as visible in Corner Brook as it is in bigger centres.
Sophia said sex workers would put ads up online that clients would use to contact them to arrange meetings. It could be on sites specifically for that purpose or disguised as something else. She wouldn’t name any of the sites.
Now 19 and living in St. John’s, Sophia is still a part of the industry.
The reason remains the same.
“For the money. It’s keeping me going with food and shelter,” she said.
“It’s a lot easier in St. John’s. In here there’s street work and there’s a lot more access to websites and people use them a lot more out here.”
She meets with multiple clients a day, people from all walks of life and all ages. She charges by the half-hour. “For the time spent that they’re with me.” Most are looking for some kind of sexual activity.
Sex work is not without danger and Sophia has had some bad experiences.
She’s currently involved in the trial of one of her clients who she alleges confined her to his vehicle and sexually assaulted her.
She had a pimp for a while, but went on her own because of increasing violence.
It’s situations like those that play on her mind as it can be “a hit or miss” when it comes to having control over what happens. She said it’s important to always have a safety plan.
Being a sex worker has affected her mental health. She often self-harms after meeting with clients and has felt like she didn’t want to live anymore.
“The hardest part for me is just shutting my brain off to just get through it.”
She has been trying to get out.
“But it’s really hard. As of right now I’m still in because that’s how I’m surviving.” Social assistance doesn’t provide her with enough to live on.
“There’s some days I just want to live a normal life.”
She plans to return to school in the fall and looks to the future when she’s back on her feet with a stable income.
Only her supports and close friends know what she does and to walk past her on a street a stranger would never know she is a sex worker.
Sophia describes herself as a caring and outgoing person. Asked if she worries what people will think of her knowing her trade, she replies, “Yes and no.
“A part of me I know that if people find out I’ll get a bad name, but another part of me is like I don’t care what people think.”
“The Visual Stories of Sex Work” exhibit is part of a two-year study, which explores the experiences of sex workers living and working in this province, undertaken by Kathleen Sitter, an associate professor of social work at University of Calgary and an adjunct professor with the faculty of medicine at Memorial University.
The project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and is in partnership with the St. John's Status of Women, Bay St. George Status of Women and the Corner Brook Status of Women.
The exhibit is a visual compilation of photography, graphic illustrations (comics), and artistic drawings that tell a compelling story from the participating sex workers.
When Sophia saw an advertisement for the project she wanted to get involved.
“I guess I just wanted my voice to be kind of heard and to paint a bigger picture than what people think sex work is all about and to break that stereotype.”
Being involved in sex work is hard for some to understand.
“I just call it work,” said Sophia.
And she feels like the project will help.
“Just because it does show everyone comes from different places of life and have different reasons for doing sex work. It’s not just all one thing.”
The project has also helped connect her to programs and supports — Thrive’s Blue Door Program and the St. John’s Women’s Centre — that have helped boost her self-esteem and mental health and could help her exit.
Viewing the exhibit while it was in St. John’s was a powerful experience. Seeing it all put together, including her photos and story and the stories of others, made it real.
“And it also showed me I wasn’t alone, because I thought I was alone in the world.”
The exhibit will be on display at the gallery until Sept. 4. A website for the exhibit will launch in the fall and there will be an online exhibit to showcase the artist’s photographs. The online exhibit will take place across social media platforms Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
Online exhibit
Let Us Stop Living Secret Lives: The Visual Stories of Sex Work
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