In 2020 we helped four sex workers with a donation for a carrier switch. The gift is intended for sex workers who want to start their own company to quite doing sex work. Below the reactions of the sex workers who received this gift:
“I had a lot of setbacks in 2017 and 2018. I was in a car accident and then lost my job and my home. During that time I came into contact with the social work of P&G292. The social worker helped me with finding accommodation and realizing my dream: having my own restaurant. P&G292 has ensured that I have been able to follow a number of catering courses and gain experience through internships at catering companies. I heard in November 2019 that the owner of a Thai take-away restaurant near me wanted to stop ‘Wok on Fire’ and sell the restaurant. A great opportunity for me that I took.”
“If I had to describe what P&G292 has meant to me, I wouldn’t know where to start. First of all, I want to state that I am happy that P&G292 exist. It has been a safety net for me in so many areas. A hug full of love for the efforts of all the employees of P&G292. I see P&G292 as a kind of safety harbor in the form of a community center that stimulates our development. By offering training and, if necessary, psychological help, STI tests where you can talk freely about work. I have also participated in a self-defense course, a burlesque and Pilate workshop. All done with pleasure. It is such a wide range and also for the sex workers who want a carrier switch. That is only positive, creating new possibilities. I want to broaden my horizon and take a different path. With these turbulent COVID-19 times it is nice to have other perspective. The gift gave me the opportunity to educate myself. “
“The step to something a different job seemed very difficult and very far. I thought of sharing my ideas with the people at P&G292. I know the people who work at P&G292 quite well. I came there every month for the female focus group where a snack and a drink allowed us to talk about the work and the problems we encounter during our work. I presented my ideas to the team of P&G292. The team was immediately in the starting blocks and got to work right away. Everything was sorted out for me down to the last detail. In the end I had to make it happen. Now a year later I can find my products in various stores all over the Netherlands. They are products with which you can make a delicious meal yourself in an instant without too much hassle.”
“After 10 years of working behind the windows of the Red Light District in Amsterdam, it is time to do something different. Over the years I have been asked several times to talk at universities and to give lectures about sex work in practice and the relight district, which inspired me to start doing guided tours and lectures on sex work and the Red Light District for myself, so that people can hear the right information straight from the sex workers mouths, instead of ignorant guides who misinforming and treating sex workers with disrespect. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has made it difficult to do so, with some financial help I can set up my own website to continue to promote my business and this is going to help sex workers by providing the general public and students with good and correct information about sex work. The evidence that is needed for this is seen every day in the media, and from the way politicians talk, who often describe us as nothing more than vulnerable girls who need to be rescued from their profession, while sex work can also be empowering for some. ”