The prostitution moves millions and millions of euros in Spain. An activity that could be illegal in a few months.

But what is behind these services? What differentiates a prostitute from a ‘escort ‘luxury’? What drives women into prostitution?

We spoke to Lydia (pseudonym), ‘luxury prostitute or, as she prefers, a woman who dedicates herself to paid sex. He has been selling sex for more than ten years. At first, she tried to combine this job with others related to her training in Advertising. But for three years she has dedicated herself exclusively to luxury prostitution “to survive.”

Comment with horror sexual exploitation what is experienced in those apartments and the traumas that are generated, especially in younger girls.

It is worth remembering that, in the world, more than 40 million women and girls are victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation worldwide, and in our country they are more than 80% of prostituted women. Furthermore, Spain is precisely the European country that demands the most prostitution.

Conflictive clients and ‘time wasting’

Lydia continues her story. Through another prostitute she got leave the apartment where they exploited her, and put her in touch with a photographer and a website of escorts deluxe. She did well, as she herself says, because she is Spanish, educated and with a good physique. But she continues to work secretly. If her family finds out about her, she claims that she will reject her.

Now he doesn’t have a pimp or pimp to tell him what to do, one of the fundamental differences with girls’ apartments. “It is very different”. She has reserved the Admission rights. In an apartment he receives clients and has a brief conversation with them to see if they fit him.

“If not, with diplomacy and politeness I say that they have called me and I send them away subtly, that I don’t want to hurt their self-esteem either.” Furthermore, she assures that when a client pays her, but sees that she is going to do poorly, she returns the money “you see that she is going to treat you badly, and I don’t want to feel humiliated or mistreated.”

However, It is not always possible to foresee this. There have been several occasions where you have had to deal with unpleasant customers and have been unable to escape violent or problematic situations.

On one occasion, in the middle of the night, sleeping with a client, he wanted to have a sexual relationship and she didn’t. He became aggressive and she couldn’t escape the fear. “At that moment I was blocked.” He raped her.

Another problem for her is the clients she calls time wasting (waste of time) whom he describes as “wankers.” “These clients don’t have a penny,” he says. They ask for information over the phone to get excited, but they don’t keep the appointment. Of ten calls, seven are from these clients, three are from potential clients and one is the one who ends up introducing himself.

Prostitute vs. luxury escort

Over the years she has managed to differentiate between clients and their typology, as well as explaining the differences between prostitutes and ‘luxury prostitutes’.

According to Lydia, the “classic whore” seeks “let off steam sexually“while the customer stops standing wants other things. “In the end the least important thing for them is sex. They look for other things, such as accompaniment, love or affection,” she confirms.

To this we must add the rate difference. It is considered ‘luxury prostitution’ when the price per hour exceeds 150 euros. For a full weekend, Lydia has earned around three thousand euros.

“Having had a terrible time, being an abused woman, I have encountered men who treat me like a ‘whore’ (sorry). They take me to restaurants, pay me and value me. This is the sides of the coin, because there is a part that is real and another that is not.”

And here we are faced with the danger that it can pose for your mental health. Although for her, this type of work does not represent any trauma (although she is aware that it is for the majority of women), she does have to be careful not to believe herself “the protagonist of “Pretty Woman”, thinking that she is going to fall in love with a rich man who will take her out of prostitution and give her a life full of luxuries.

Something I might have been on the verge of falling into several times. She herself says that when she has had problems in “real life” such as the death of a family member or an economic problem, has turned to its clients, whom he calls ‘friends’.

Although he defends that this job has given him economic independence and the ability to afford certain luxuries, “on top of that I enjoy myself sexually”; We remember that she is a woman who saw herself nullified as a person and full of fear, after a traumatic divorce that left her alone, without money and with two children.

abolitionist law

Also regarding the law proposed by the Government to abolish prostitution, Lydia comments that many colleagues “are scared because it seems that the law is going to come out.”

It is worth remembering that the European Parliament passed a resolution in 2014 that literally said: “Prostitution and forced prostitution are a phenomenon with a gender component and a global dimension” and defines them as “forms of slavery incompatible with the dignity of people and fundamental rights”.

The EU has urged the Commission and member countries to put in place the necessary means to put an end to “trafficking and sexual exploitation and to reduce prostitution, as violations of the fundamental rights of women, especially minors.” age, and gender equality”.

In this sense, Antonia Morillas, director of the Women’s Institute, understands that Sex work is a form of violence for women. It should be noted that the majority of prostitutes are women, the majority of clients are men and the majority of them are victims of trafficking, as we mentioned above.

Meanwhile, Lydia defends that you cannot compare the prostitution with the ‘luxury prostitution’. For her, one is precarious, it is traumatic, it is exploitation, compared to the other. For this reason, she believes that everything should not be put in the same bag.

one foot out

As she reminds us throughout the interview, Lydia has always tried to have one foot inside and one outside. He often considers quitting, “I always say I want to quit and I can’t. I mean, this year is over! And it doesn’t happen. And you could say ‘maybe you’re hooked’, but maybe what happens is that otherwise I can’t survive”.

“Now with Covid, how many people have lost their jobs? I have gone to ask for help and they don’t give it to me… It’s not easy. I would like to be able to live off the other, but I can’t,” she concludes.

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