The Ruby Project is an initiative from Church Army with the aim of showing God’s relentless love to those affected by the sex industry. The Ruby Project offers practical and spiritual support to women affected by the sex industry through street outreach, a drop-in centre, food, clothing, and washing facilities, and assistance in helping women access healthcare and other professional services. It is estimated that 105,000 people are involved in sex work in the UK. Many of these are women facing financial struggles, insecure housing, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.
Why and how do women get drawn into the sex industry? The sex industry can often be sold as ‘quick money’ and in times of financial crisis, when people are desperate, it can look like a way out. Many women have varying reasons for what led them into the industry but mostly, the women the Ruby Project supports say they didn’t feel they ever had a choice.
A participant shared her story: “I was sexually abused from a very young age, and at 15 this led me into the sex industry. I grew up in care, I’ve got no family, it’s just me. Other girls told me about Church Army’s The Ruby Project. Coming to the drop in, being helped with clothes, having my birthday celebrated – it helped open my heart to getting clean and not working on the streets anymore.
People don’t understand, they think it’s easy for us to do, but it’s not. Most of the women that do this, have no-one. Please don’t assume the worst of us. We are alone, and we feel we have no other options.”
Harrowing experiences such as this one, are the reason why Church Army are calling on the next government to make a commitment to tackling poverty with the creation of a Minister for Social Justice. Church Army have submitted a petition to the main party leaders in preparation for the election.
Main Photo Credit: Rosie Sun via Unsplash
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