Pubdate: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY) Copyright: 2001 Messenger-Inquirer Contact: http://www.messenger-inquirer.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285 Author: Lydia Carrico TURNING TRICKS WAY FOR PROSTITUTES TO GET TO NEXT DRUG FIX Prostitution isn't something many people would like to acknowledge exists in Owensboro. It's much easier to fix blinders on the way to ball practice, the grocery store or the mall and pretend that women and men don't sell their bodies to support a drug addiction that grips them so tightly they don't care about disease or prosecution. It's more convenient to sit down to a full course meal without thinking that there are parents in Owensboro who turn tricks to feed their children or pay their bills. But there are. "People need to realize that this kind of stuff is happening here," said Jackie, a former prostitute who did not want to be identified. "Jackie" is an alias she used on the street. "You'd be real surprised at who will pick you up. You'd be real surprised. A lot of times they was married men." Jackie, 39, started prostituting herself when she was 20, after a childhood of sexual and verbal abuse. By the time she became an adult, the only way she knew to experience what she thought was love from a man was to sell her body. But what started out as a search for affection turned into a way to support her addiction to crack cocaine, which she started using when she was 16. One fix and she was hooked. "That's how I always dealt with pain," Jackie said. "I didn't know any other way." That led her to walking the streets, from sunup to sundown, watching for men who circled the block several times, a cue for her to approach the vehicle. Often she would approach them at a stop sign and ask them if they wanted to "have fun," she said. "I would go for days and weeks without eating," said Jackie, whose weight at one point dropped to 98 pounds. "I didn't care about eating. Just walking the streets. I knew there was always somebody out there who would stop somewhere. "That was my work. Every day, all day long. I didn't take good care of myself at all, hygiene wise and everything else." Needs overtake health concerns Hollywood depicts prostitutes as shapely women baring flesh who stand on the street corner hawking their services. But in Owensboro, the behavior often is much more clandestine, and the prostitutes come in all shapes, sizes, colors and ages, health and law enforcement officials say. It occurs in alleys and homes, with prostitutes knocking door-to-door in neighborhoods where children scamper from school buses, residents who live in those areas say. Or it can occur when prostitutes visit drug dealers and trade the only thing they have that's valuable -- their bodies -- to support their habit. Jackie's habit cost her from $300 to $400 a day. During one two-day period, she smoked away $1,000. Sometimes she got as much as $50 or $100 for her services to finance her addiction. The only common theme prostitutes share is an immediate need, a need for drugs or alcohol or even for food or shelter, said Nick Sauer, program administrator for the Owensboro Area HIV-AIDS Task Force. Representatives from the task force visit what Sauer calls public sex environments to pass out condoms and educate prostitutes and others about the dangers of having unprotected sex. Many are receptive to the information. Some aren't, he said. "Most people think prostitution is performing sex for money," said Sauer, who has seen prostitutes ranging in age from 12 to 60. "But prostitution is performing sex for anything. If our community would be more considerate as to why we may have prostitution and take care of the needs that those people may have, then we would eliminate some of the prostitution." For those who will listen, Sauer urges them to be tested for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. In 1998, the state performed a total 617 HIV tests on prostitutes, of which 15 tested positive. In 2000, out of 456 prostitutes tested, seven tested positive, he said. But those numbers represent only those people requesting tests, so the actual numbers could be skewed. Anyone with multiple sex partners should be tested every six months for HIV, Sauer said. Prostitutes should be tested monthly. Other sexually transmitted diseases, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes and human papilloma virus, or HPV, are a concern as well, said Linda Dant, coordinator at the McAuley Clinic, a free health clinic at the Daniel Pitino Shelter on Walnut Street. Some prostitutes visit the clinic after kicking their drug or alcohol addiction. They start to think about their health then. But until they are sober, they don't worry about risky behavior. They will perform sexual favors without protection, sometimes thinking oral or anal sex is less risky, Dant said. "Most of the time, no, they don't have the man use a condom, because when they are looking for that fix, that's all they care about," she said. HPV, a precursor to cervical cancer, can be transmitted even with protection, Dant said. Most of the time, Jackie didn't use protection while performing any type of sex act that her client requested. The drug drove her to dismiss any thought about her health. She just didn't care, she said. "We aren't bad people," she said. "We just got an addiction." Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the Owensboro area, accounting for 75 percent of all cases, said Linda Foley, epidemiologist at the Green River District Health Department. Last year, there were 556 cases of chlamydia diagnosed at the health departments in the seven-county Green River district, which consists of Daviess, Hancock, Ohio, McLean, Henderson, Webster and Union counties. That includes 225 in Daviess; 22 in Ohio; fewer than five in Hancock; and 14 in McLean. But that's not an accurate reflection of a how many people are actually infected, she said, because many cases go unreported. Turning point "Most of the women are real ashamed of the activity," Dant said. "It's not something they are proud of at all. It's something they feel is a necessity because of the need for the drug. It's not a behavior that they are really willing to talk about. They certainly don't want their family to know about it. Some of these women have children." Jackie has five children, ranging in age from 3 to 20. Her turning point came at the first of this year when she begged God to take her life. She was tired of trading her body for drugs, often with her children in tow. And she knew that children will mimic the same behavior they see in their parents. She went into rehabilitation and now attends counseling and has a full-time job. She's been clean for four months. "I got tired of living that lifestyle," she said. "I knew my body was worth more than that. I knew if I didn't stop, my body would be found in a ditch. It's nothing but misery." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart