Trigger warning: This article contains discussions of sexual assault, drug abuse, and other triggering topics. We advise caution as you proceed.
In the dimly lit room of the chalet, Abir found herself with a customer. He produced a small bag of white powder, carefully lining it up on the table before indulging himself. Turning to Abir, he offered her a share.
Cocaine was uncharted territory for her, a risky venture into the unknown. Yet, the customer’s demeanor was kind. Aware of the balance between retaining him as a customer and safeguarding herself, she hesitated before conceding, “Let me try.”
Sniffing the powder, she anticipated the euphoria often associated with it, only to find it elusive. It reminded her of the time she experimented with smoking a joint, relishing the scent of hashish and the ensuing laughter shared with a client. But that fleeting pleasure wasn’t worth the potential consequences she witnessed among her girls. The downward spiral of addiction, dependency, and exploitation.
Some clients offered drugs to the girls for an amount ranging from 700 to 800 dollars as compensation. They would ply the sex workers with substances in exchange for their company. Abir was resolute in avoiding such entanglements.
According to Hiba Abouchakra, program manager and social worker at Dar Al Amal, many sex workers are drug users. Some turn to the sex industry to fund their addiction, while others become addicted through interactions with clients who offer them drugs. These women often lead difficult lives and resort to drugs as a means of escape.
The body as a red light
Most of the sex customers Abir encountered were involved in drugs, smoking, or drinking.
“The worst thing was when he was on drugs,” she recalls.
Depending on the individual’s state, the night could unfold in various ways. If the man was in a euphoric mood due to his altered state, he might be more generous with payment, buoyed by his own enjoyment.
Conversely, it could lead to prolonged encounters, waiting for him to reach climax, resulting in extended scenes. Alternatively, he might press for activities Abir wasn’t comfortable with.
“The worst thing was when the customers asked to indulge in anal sex or other activities I didn’t want to,” Abir says.
In such instances, saying no became incredibly difficult, since the client often seemed detached from reality. There was a risk of their frustration turning into anger if their desires weren’t fulfilled. In the worst-case scenarios, customers would resort to violence, hitting her.
Hessen Sayah, the Head of the Protection Department at Caritas Lebanon, also explains that there are cases where women get hurt by clients. Often through rape if the women refuse to have sex.
Dar Al Amal reports instances where clients refuse to pay after sex. In some cases, clients even steal the money the sex worker earned that night. If the prostitute refuses to have sex or declines to give all her money to the client, he may beat her and abandon her in a deserted area after the encounter.
Especially street sex work is the most dangerous thing a woman can be involved with, according to Dar Al Amal.
“When you are working in such a category of work, women are neglecting all their life dimensions, including religion, their body, other people, norms, rules, mental health, and physical health. Your body becomes a red light,” says Sayah from Caritas.
Despite these dangers, many women remain in the industry because it is a growing business that offers higher earnings. That’s also why Abir went to Dubai before she worked in Lebanon’s chalets.
Clever girls finish quickly
After working as a sex worker in the suburbs in southern Beirut, catering to poorer clients, and before transitioning to a chalet with wealthier clientele, Abir went to the United Arab Emirates. Motivated by the demands of her new toxic Syrian boyfriend in Beirut, she sought greater financial gains in Dubai. However, her experiences there were starkly different from those in Lebanon.
In Dubai, Abir found herself unable to choose her clients as she had done back home. Instead, encounters were arranged by a pimp. Unlike in Lebanon, where she was paid hourly and could depart once the man was satisfied, in Dubai, she was obligated to spend the entire night with a client.
Furthermore, she was compelled to hand over all her earnings to her boyfriend – a situation she found intolerable. Consequently, after just 20 days in Dubai, Abir decided to return to Lebanon.
Upon her return, she started working in the chalet, where she truly began to see the potential for profit. Being paid per hour, even for short encounters, enabled her to cater to a minimum of 30-35 clients in a single day.
“The clever girl would finish him quickly and leave,” Abir says.
With the cartel owner also taking a cut, Abir could earn a minimum salary of $1,000 per day.
Pimps take 50 percent
In Lebanon’s sex industry, many prostitutes work under a so-called ‘pimp’ who arranges clients for them. It’s common for the pimp to take 50 percent of the women’s earnings, Abir explains. In her situation, she worked at a chalet where her customers were connected to the owner of the establishment. This owner also took half of the $150 she was paid per hour by the clients.
“I felt protected when working with him, something I didn’t feel with any of the many others I worked under,” Abir says.
The owner stood out because he assisted the girls. If the women needed money, he would lend it to them, to be paid back later. He would take some of the girls to Duha Aramoun to freshen up and buy clothes. If she was tired from work and needed a break, he allowed it.
Most of Dar Al Amal’s beneficiaries work in the Daoura area in Beirut, where the organization’s outreach team also operates, providing them with valuable field information. In Daoura, most street sex workers operate independently without pimps, creating a unique situation.
The organization reports that in this area, men frequently extort money from women in exchange for ‘ensuring their safety.’ These men could be random locals.
“The women are free to work elsewhere, but the system requires them to pay the men for protection if they want to work here,” says Abouchakra from Dar Al Amal.
While the guards take a portion of the women’s salary, the arrangement’s advantage could be the protection it provides. Abouchakra doesn’t encourage this arrangement, but acknowledges that the protection of women can sometimes be necessary.
Sex work as a means of survival
Hiba Abouchakra from Dar Al Amal often asks the sex workers she’s in contact with why they don’t pursue certifications or acquire skills to transition into other professions.
The women mention they can only find work as house cleaners. In this situation, they prefer sex work because it involves fewer hours, less effort, and offers more money.
Simultaneously, leaving this line of work is immensely challenging for these women.
“They’re trapped amidst societal norms, legal restrictions, and poverty,” explains Abouchakra.
According to Dar Al Amal’s 2021 report, ‘Sex Workers in Crisis-Hit Lebanon,’ many sex workers face constant fear of stigma and discrimination, leading to isolation and demotivation in integrating into society. Incarcerated sex workers with ‘prostitution’ on their criminal record face additional barriers in securing employment, reinforcing stigmatization.
The report highlights that rising rent prices often lead to eviction for many sex workers, causing significant stress and forcing them to rely on sex work for survival. A sex worker participating in the Dar Al Amal research expressed a preference for prison, where at least she could access shelter and meet her basic survival needs.
Aren’t there women who are happy with their work as sex workers and wish to continue?
“There are. They find it flexible and can control their time and choose their clients,” says Abouchakra from Dar al Amal.
According to Sayah from Caritas, some women are financially stable and still choose this work because they enjoy it, possibly for entertainment.
“Sometimes these women even force other women to sell sex, making more money as their pimps,” she adds.
Internalizing hatred
After five years as a sex worker, Abir found herself unable to recognize the woman staring back at her in the mirror. This wasn’t the life she had envisioned for herself.
“I reached a stage where my psyche got tired, and I couldn’t take any more customers in. I hated my body, and I hated men,” Abir says.
That’s when she decided to leave the industry. But what happened on the other side when Abir left the world of prostitution? What are the consequences for the women working in the industry, and how can society provide security for the prostitutes when they are actually engaging in something illegal? Beirut Today explores these aspects in the third and final part of our series ‘When I Was A Sex Worker’.
Abir is not the real name of the former sex worker. Although Beirut Today is aware of her true identity, we have agreed to use a different name to safeguard her family’s privacy.