Prostitutes and drug addiction

[Nymphette]

I am a sex industry worker currently in Thailand and am dismayed at the number of girls seriously abusing drugs like heroin and alcohol.
It's destroying them, some of us girls want to help, but our knowledge about getting off heroin is next to nothing.We are fully aware of the dangers in taking on their dealers (mostly their pimps) and are willing to confront that.
As there really is no government assistance for these girls, we are on our own, so I am asking for what we need to do, what we can expect with withdrawl etc.

Any help much appreciated.

 

[Pagey]

Well the good news with heroin and other opiates is you can't be in any particular danger when you quit - by which I mean no fatal risks. As far as withdrawal goes, expect flu-like symptoms, nausea, RLS, insomnia..the worst of the WDs is over after about 5 days and then it can still be pretty intense for a couple weeks but it gets better after that.
More dangerous are alcohol withdrawals which are similar to benzo withdrawals and there is a danger of seizures if the person quits CT and has been addicted to high doses. These seizures can be fatal.
Suboxone and methadone maintenance are often quite successful when dealing with coming off heroin but I have absolutely no idea if those are available in Thailand. In any case, no matter the drug, make sure that these girls are tapering. Not only will it lessen the physical (and psychological) pain hugely, the risk of dangerous WD symptoms also decreases by a lot.
I'm confused though, do you use any drugs at all?

 

[herbavore]

Here is an interesting site I found when I googled resources for addiction in Thailand.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/05/23/us-thailand-rehab-patients-idUSBKK9262120070523

One of the first things that comes to mind for me however is whether the girls you are speaking of will be able to stay off of heroin, alcohol or other substances once they have quit because of the psychological aspects. If you read through the threads about quitting throughout this site, you can see that the psychological aspects of quitting something that has been a very, very effective escape is by far the most difficult part of divorcing the substance from your life. Do the girls you are speaking of feel in control of their own lives, are they able to feel happiness, have friendships, feel acceptance, etc. or are their lives controlled by someone else. In other words, if the heroin and alcohol is to numb the pain from misery, you can take away the heroin but the misery remains---it will then be a very short time before something is needed to numb the pain again.

I do not know whether the link to the monk's facility is available to your friends, whether or not they could take the time off to go there, but if possible, maybe it is one ray of hope. Good luck. Working together and looking out for each other is the best thing you can do.

 

[Libby]

Sounds like a dangerous place to work, pimps, no support organisations/government.
I am a sex worker too (in New Zealand), there are a lot of drugs around, and a lot of girls who imo shouldn't be working in the industry because they can't handle it/ don't like it/ are going against their personal beliefs by doing it and are only there because of unfortunate situations/events in their lives. So a lot of girls do sadly get really fucked up like that. Some may have only gotten into sex work to begin with to support an existing drug problem. I feel like I'm being sexist saying girls because probably the same happens for male prostitutes but I have never worked where there were any so I can't say.

It's especially dangerous if they are getting super fucked up while at work, what if they are assaulted and can't defend themselves, or if a guy can slip the condom off without them noticing, etc.

I use drugs, and if I'm at work and a guy buy buys me a drink or gives me a little something, if I can tell what it is obviously and they've had some first, I will sometimes accept a small amount, because if that's what they came to do and they think you are "partying it up" along with them they can end up there for many hours and you earn a lot of $$, if you are not the party girl they were after they can feel uncomfortable indulging alone and may swap you out for a different girl after the first hour and she will earn a lot of $$ instead. But I never get drunk or twisted while at work, I'm far too scared! You have to be aware of everything going on to keep yourself safe.

Of course you don't have to take drugs or alcohol at all while you work, I had been a sex worker for four years before I ever even tried a cigarette I used to be anti-drugs! Lol, I remember at school if someone had a cigarette down the back of the field I'ld say to my friend "look down the back of the field! They are like totally smoking, omg!" I didn't try any drugs until much later when I learned a bit about them and stupidly thought I could use them to lose weight, and also was curious and wanted to experience the effects (this reason I don't have a problem with).

I like to get fucked up only in my own time. Almost always at home, where I feel safe. I've had a few benders in my time! But never really gone too hard out because I've always been the worrying type and I always have the fear that I will develop an addiction, also the $$ because I'm lazy and don't tend to work often. I'm not sure if using one weekend per month is consistent with most people's idea of what addiction means, but this is what I do with meth and I have decided to quit this particular drug in the past and then changed my mind to allowing it again so maybe that means there is an addiction here after all. I'm not entirely sure.

The other possibility is that I just get bored as I have no life, pretty much. I just work when I need to and then sit around the house relaxing, interneting, cat petting, might do some reading or painting. I don't like the stress of the modern busy lifestyle and I'm grateful I'm able to avoid it. I get up when I'm no longer tired, I have nothing to set my alarm for. If I don't feel like going to work I don't go and I don't get told off or anything. I do what I want when I want which is generally nothing & always lol. I don't know why I get the urge to actually DO something or take something "fun" once a month, maybe it's tied into my hormonal cycle somehow, but there's never anything interesting/new to do or anyone I'ld like to do something with. I can't even get different drugs to have fun with because I don't mix with the people in the drug scene much, and don't really want to as have seen some nasty goings ons within it. As meth is the most common drug where I live it's the only one I can access easily so I do.

I'm also possibly addicted to ephedra based diet pills. I take these everyday.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I don't really understand the question.

You can find information about heroin withdrawal and how to cope with addiction all around bluelight. The search box is at the top right of your screen.

 

[Libby]

She said there was no government assistance for these girls in her country, so there is no answer to the question. Can't save up for rehab while spending all your whoring money on a serious addiction. And I shudder to think what will happen if she decides to confront these "pimps/dealers".

 

[RedLeader]

I could imagine it would get especially difficult if the pimp and the dealer are one and the same. How much freedom do these girls get when with patrons? I mean are the pimps actually standing outside of doors, or can the girls go away for the day with a guy? In all honestly, in this position I'd probably try and beg one of the nicer customers for help, appealing to any desire he has to "take care of her." Yes, it's using a person, but then again so is being with a professional. A lot of these guys are rich and lonely, and would probably even get off on the romantic notion of saving a poor girl from ruthless thugs. There's no clean way of of a situation like this, but really any way is better than slowly dying without any hope. If they hold a passport, it's fairly easy to get onto a train for a small fare and be in a neighbouring country in a day or so.

When I was in Thailand, I recall a few things that were OTC/de-facto that could help with heroin withdrawal - Valium, codeine, etc. It's still going to be physically painful, but not as bad a pure cold-turkey detox, and the person should be able to get some sleep.

 

[Nymphette]

Thanks for the replies Red Leader, Libby, Herbavore and Pagey, we are fully aware of the difficulties with their pimp dealers, we can handle that/them.
It's just the process of getting them off and keeping them off, that concerns us.
To answer your question Libby most of the girls addicted were sold into prostitution, not a life choice they made. You only have to meet them to see they are doing this to completely "numb" themselves to life.
We have "safe places" for them, we have some there, but we really don't have access to medications to help, so it's the cold turkey method really.

 

[Libby]

Sold into prostitution,that is terrible, they need to escape/run away get to police/someone? Apply for refugee status into somewhere else? I really don't know anything about trafficking, have seen horrifying movies only. Is there anyway to escape? What about you, are you there by choice? Run, run away. Don't be brave, don't stand up to pimps/dealers. Be sneaky, be quiet and overlooked, and make an opportunity to run the fuck away. You can always stand up to the issue of human trafficking later once you are safe, with organisations or in law/politics, but only once they are physically safe themselves, till then don't be a hero.

Report it.

Human trafficking can be reported to the Social Development and Human Security Ministry's Prachabodi Centre on the hotline number 1300. Trafficking in the northern regions can also be reported directly to Trafcord by calling 08-7174-5797 or online at www.trafcord.org/.

from http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/653

From what I have read (briefly, as in just now) people do not generally escape, unless they are rescued and these rescue operations will provide medical treatment/rehabilitation that is required, so the most important thing is to report it, give all the info you can that may help aid their rescue

 

[Nymphette]

Sold into prostitution,that is terrible, they need to escape/run away get to police/someone? Apply for refugee status into somewhere else? I really don't know anything about trafficking, have seen horrifying movies only. Is there anyway to escape? What about you, are you there by choice? Run, run away. Don't be brave, don't stand up to pimps/dealers. Be sneaky, be quiet and overlooked, and make an opportunity to run the fuck away. You can always stand up to the issue of human trafficking later once you are safe, with organisations or in law/politics, but only once they are physically safe themselves, till then don't be a hero.

Report it.

from http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/653

This is Asia not Europe or the USA, the police, LOL, they are the pimps and dealers, passports no, most of these girls don't even have a birth certificate.
Asia we understand, surviving we understand, getting them off drugs we don't, that's why I'm here on this site.

 

[Libby]

I apologise, I admitted I don't have any knowledge of the subject, I am just trying to help anyway, because well how could I not?

but...

That page I linked on humantrafficking.org is for Thailand specifically.
And those are the numbers listed therein for reporting trafficking in Thailand.

 

[Libby]

Also

Linking Needs with Resources Campaign

Are you an organization combating trafficking that needs resources, funding, or volunteers? Are you a concerned individual or organization who can donate time, money, or resources towards combating human trafficking?

Tell us what you need or what you can provide, and we will try to link needs with resources. Be sure to provide an email address where you can be contacted along with your geographic location.

http://www.humantrafficking.org/linking_needs
They may be able to help you with the drug-rehabilitation resources you seek.

 

[i against i]

i guess if they are doing it to numb themselves the two are inextricably linked so they'd have to find alternative forms of employment.

how easy is it to get drugs that are restricted elsewhere? seems like a suboxone/subutex taper would work to reduce the withdrawal from heroin, but they ain't gonna stop unless the reason for their use stops.

suboxone/subutex is a long acting opioid (buprenorphine is the drug name, the others are the brand name) that is often used in western countries to get people off heroin, they could either take it long term which obviously isn't ideal but better than shooting up and the risks that go with using street drugs, or use it for a short period and do a taper (where you reduce the amount used over time) to reduce the withdrawal symptoms, although i've never used it like that (obviously, can still be abused) so can't offer any advice on how long to taper etc, there is a lot of information on this site about that already.

burenorphine is only a partial agonist (heroin is a full agonist) so you have to wait at least 12 hours after last using heroin otherwise you will experience withdrawal.

more readily available would be immodium (loperamide) which is an opioid that doesn't cross the blood brain barrier, so it reduces wd symptoms (such as diarhea, vomiting, body pains) but doesn't get you high (information about this all over site, use the search). combined with any benzodiazapine (xanax, valium..) to help get sleep and reduce anxiety (but benzo's are also addictive, use for less than two weeks)