I have several takes on this. I think the reasons why women become prostitutes vary according to whether it's a developed nation or an undeveloped one sometimes.
Sure, there are those women who look upon it as a service/means to an end.
My heart goes out to those many in e.g. the Philippines, Thailand, Africa where the choice is to work in sleazy bars desperately scraping money together to feed a family. It's especially bad in e.g. Thailand where some women are known to consent to sex without condoms and take the risk to make money. I can't even begin to express my distaste at places like Pattaya where caucasian tourists mainly are seen in the company of girls who've barely made it past puberty and are hardly adults yet.
And then when I drive along places like the Beaufort/Bulwer Street area I'm saddened again to see young girls or very diseased looking elderly women/junkies trying to stop motorists. Again, I suspect some of these ladies are underaged.
I remember some years ago reading an article in The Weekend Australian magazine about unusual jobs that people do e.g. chimney sweep etc. One of the interviewees was a student who was saving money to travel and worked as a receptionist in a brothel. She could only do it for a year because as she struck up friendships with the escorts she found out the tragic circumstances which drove them into doing this - deserted husbands, bankruptcy, wanting to make money in a short space of time, drug dependency, kids to feed etc. She said that by the time she left, the harsh reality of their circumstances were too much for her and she just didn't want to know anymore.
I remember speaking to a cafe owner who knew several prostitutes and said many of them took drugs to forget - after all, especially when you're new to the game, the thought of having to perform intimate acts, normally with someone who you cherish and vice versa with any tom, dick or mary who has the cash but not necessarily the attraction is very, very daunting. Especially when the profession isn't socially acceptable even to this day.
All that being said, and I'm not a big time punter, the few times when I've visited a prostitute, I've found many of them to be incredibly well-adusted human beings who are products/victims of circumstances. And for a lonely soul like me, it's just as painful because I know that if I was in a relationship with them, I'd protect them from all this. But that's another story altogether.
What have I said that comes to any conclusion of sorts? Well nothing really except that I think the issues why women get into prostitution need to be addressed. If a woman has to resort to prostitution to feed her kids because social welfare payments aren't enough - then we have to look at social welfare payments, counselling etc. Easily said, not so easily done.
My ultimate hope is that I hope all women (and men for that matter) who undertake prostitution to make ends meet are sober enough to invest their money well enough so they can leave it and make a return to normal albeit not as well-paying means to make a living.
