All women deserve to be safe
The Liberty Project is made up of three different strands. Our core provision offers support for women who are currently, have been involved in, or are at risk of engaging in street sex work across the Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Redcar & Cleveland areas.
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As a lead partner in the Adult Sexual Exploitation Partnership (ASEP), we
provide support for women who are currently experiencing, have experienced, or are at risk of sexual exploitation in
the Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool areas of Teesside.
South Tees Changing Futures provides support to men and women who are facing challenges in at least two of the following areas; homelessness or acute housing need, substance or alcohol misuse, domestic abuse, mental health and repeated contact with the criminal justice system. As part of our funding from South Tees Changing Futures, we provide support to those who fall under this criteria and are currently experiencing or have previously experienced sexual exploitation, or are engaging in street sex work to meet their basic needs in the Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland areas.
Ann* was referred experiencing a number of issues including, drug addiction, mental health issues, homelessness and having trouble with family relationships.
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Ann disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted, not only was she suffering from this trauma but was pregnant and had contracted a sexually transmitted infection.
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Ann made the difficult decision to go ahead with the pregnancy and was supported throughout this. The focus became on reducing her drug use, ensuring she sustained her own tenancy and keeping it a safe space.
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Support was given to improve Ann's health and making positive changes to her general lifestyle.
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Ann continued to engage and made significant improvements during this time, including exiting sex work, greatly reducing her drug use. Sadly, Ann was diagnosed with PTSD and her baby was removed from her care.
* name changed
It started from when I was young and still at school.
My first memory was when I tried to wake my mam up on the couch when she was spaced out. Shortly followed by memories of coming downstairs one Christmas morning to find several men in all states of undress sprawled out in the front room and all off their heads. I knew I had had some Christmas presents as I could see all the wrapping paper over the floor, these had been ripped open and obviously sold for drugs. My sister and I used to play with syringes, practicing injecting our arms as we were so used to seeing it around us.
Mam was never around for us, I found comfort going to talk to the men who used to stand outside. They would tell jokes and often would say they would look after me. They started to supply me with cigarettes, drink and take me to different houses. I didn’t like the houses as they were dark and cold and smelly. They kept telling me they would look after me. I did not dare tell mam and dad about the men.
Over the next few months more and more men appeared all mainly Kurds and Pakistani’s. They were giving me lots of drugs for free or I thought they were free. I often would come to not knowing what had happened to me or where I was. I think I knew that this was the point of no return. There were expectations put on me as the men now said that I owed them for the drugs. I now know I had been groomed. One day I am going to write a book about my life, about being groomed and being sexually exploited.
​I was shipped around the country like a parcel, waking up in strange places and feeling lonely and worthless. I was frightened and confused. Men were taking turns to sexually abuse me, rape me, and physically assault me, stubbing cigarettes out on me, burning me with a lighter and whipping me. They demanded me to perform obscene and vile sex acts on them. I felt disgusted, dirty and sometimes would throw up.
I often would be taken away, locked up in rooms and garages for days on end and not once did my mam and dad report me as missing to the police, I was still at school when it all started. I am sure they knew I was being sexually exploited but chose to ignore it, I thought they were supposed to love and care for me.
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This existence carried on for many years by the Kurdish men and gangs. I remember being put with a group of women of similar age and we were all abused by the same group of Kurdish men. As we got older, we were moved up to a different group of men. I can vividly remember being locked in a small room with no windows for 3 days with one of the other women. I was pinned down by the Kurdish men, one of which held my head and forced me to watch the other girl being repeatedly raped and abused. The woman was then thrown to the men and pinned down and was forced to watch me being repeatedly raped and abused. I remember being physically sick and feeling so dirty and humiliated. I started to question whether I wanted to be alive anymore as I hated being treat like an animal. I tried to break away from the men, but they kept finding me. I would be drugged so much that I could hardly focus never mind run away.
They used to mess with my emotions – I can see this now looking back because after most of the abuse/rapes they would be nice to me buying me things and I started to think, this must just be normal. My mental health was affected and I tried to kill myself one of which I streamed live on Facebook.
This was now my life; I developed a relationship with one of my abusers, fell pregnant and had my baby.
Even when I was pregnant the exploitation continued but not as much. I swore to myself that they would not touch my child, I would kill them first. They would never suffer the trauma like I have. My drug use was increasing and I was a real mess. After one physical attack on me I rang the police and got him prosecuted. I fell pregnant again and had my 2nd child but was in no fit state to look after the children and they were taken from me. I also lost my home as well as my kids as was once again at the mercy of the Kurdish gangs who would provide me a bed in return for sex acts on them. My family did not support me and left me in the hands of the exploiters. I could see no end to this trauma. I knew my mental health got worse and drug use increased as I needed to block out ‘life’ to survive.
Last chance saloon, my social worker got me moved out of area and I promised myself that I would give it a go. I started engaging with professional. I began to ‘thaw’, feelings started to come back and I started to see a splinter of life. I decided to follow this in the hope of finding a ‘normal life’ and some happiness.
Things have progressed, although one of my children is now being put up for adoption despite me trying my best to keep them. I am now in another relationship with someone who just wants to care for me. I had decided not to tell him about my past, however, when he kept asking how I had got all the scars on my body I decided to tell him only a little bit of my past. I explained that I got the scars after being punished by them stubbing their fags out on me, burning me with the lighters and whipping me with belts. He was both angry and upset and I felt humiliated and degraded telling him and he kept telling me that it was not my fault what happened to me.
I have suffered a lifetime of abuse, trauma and exploitation that it became a norm and I began telling myself it was ok and I was used to it. I now know it was not ok and I can see that splinter of light and I am trying to start a new life and see this as the first chapter in a new book.
I am lucky, I can tell my story, many women sadly have not been as lucky.
* name changed
Updated November 2024