Paul Calvert spoke with Streetlight

Helena Croft

One in 10 men has paid for sex in the UK and the average age of entry into prostitution in the UK is just 12. Based in Horsham, Streetlight is a new project offering choice for change to women caught up in the sex industry. Started by Helena Croft in 2012 Streetlight acts as a regional hub of awareness-raising and also as a front-line-support service. To find out more Paul Calvert spoke with Helena.

Paul: Helena, what is Streetlight?

Helena: Streetlight is a project that was launched in March 2012 and it's offering choice for change to women caught up in the sex industry, particularly off-street prostitution and those who've been trafficked into the sex trade; so those who are working in massage parlours, escort agencies, which effectively are just brothels, or individuals working on their own.

Paul: Why did you start this organisation?

Helena: It was a dream of mine from about seven years ago. I've worked with women for 20 years pastorally; with a lot of women that have come out of domestic violence. I've seen the effects of prostitution on women and I can't imagine a lower point that a woman would find herself in than actually prostituting herself to survive. I don't believe it's a career choice; I think it's a choice of circumstances that people find themselves in. I often use the analogy that no little girl dreams of growing up to become a prostitute, so that's what motivates me; just seeing that there's a bigger destiny and call that's on the lives of these women and it's not to do what they're doing right now. It came out of a motivation to see women at the bottom of the pile totally set free.

Paul: Are you based just in Horsham or around the world?

Helena: We're based in Horsham, but we've set Streetlight up as a regional project, so we work right across the Horsham district. Because I am involved in local government, I am the deputy leader of Horsham District Council; I have got opportunity to promote this at a strategic level; working with the police, working with a lot of other partners in the council, Samaritans and Neighbourhood Watch scheme. We've set Streetlight up so that it can be a regional hub of awareness-raising and also of a front-line-support service. We have teams going out into Horsham on a Friday night, a little bit like Street Pastors, but we're looking out for vulnerable young girls. The question I get asked most often is, Sussex, Horsham, market town, beautiful affluent place, is there really a problem? Even last week we had a report of a young 12-year-old girl in the centre of Horsham at midday approached by two men who were basically traffickers trying to abduct this young girl. We're working with the police on that particular case and others like it, because there's a lot of evidence that traffickers are targeting rural communities where people feel safe.

Paul: So what are the statistics for prostitution in the UK?

Helena: They're really unknown to be honest; it's the tip of the iceberg. I think a Home Office report in 2010 said there were about 80,000 involved in prostitution, but again I think that's the tip of the iceberg. It's quite a difficult industry to nail down the actual figures. One in 10 men has paid for sex in the UK. The average age of entry into prostitution now in the UK is just 12 which is sickening; 10 years ago it was 16. There is a sickeningly increasing demand for younger and younger girls, which effectively means its child abuse at the end of the day.

Paul: And how does a young girl find herself in prostitution?

Helena: There's no one route into prostitution. Some of it comes from social background; some of it comes from poverty; some of it comes from lack of fathers; lack of good role models in the home; but we hear cases of girls who've come out of what we would call normal, whole, healthy, even Christian homes that have found themselves in prostitution. One wrong relationship can end up in being pimped and finding yourself working for someone.

Paul: And why are you doing what you're doing?

Helena: I've worked with women for a long time and I really felt that there's no lower point that a woman can find herself in and as a Christian my faith motivates me and I think if I could have faith to believe for transformation for a woman who's been involved in prostitution then I can have faith for any woman. I've seen the devastating effects of prostitution. There's one lady that stands out, who had been in prostitution her whole life and she's 68 years old and she still falls back into that lifestyle. It's been a lifelong battle for her. I've known women that have sold themselves for a can of baked beans they have been that desperate. It's just a horrendous, soul-destroying activity that a woman would find herself involved in, so I'm motivated by my Christian faith to do something about that.

Paul: Is there a lot of drug abuse involved in prostitution?

Helena: Yes, it's very high. It's up in the 80s, 90s per cent in terms of drug users involved in prostitution and of course a lot of the trafficking issues now are being controlled by what were the drug barons and the drug lords. What they've realised is that there's more money to be made in selling women. You can sell a packet of cocaine once; you can sell a woman night after night after night. So drugs are very much used as a control method, but also by the girls themselves just to numb the pain. Most of them suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome, when they come out of it it's extremely damaging to their personalities, to them living what we would consider just a normal life, it's very, very difficult for them.

Paul: And what's your prayer for these women who want to get out of prostitution?

Helena: My prayer for them is firstly that they will see that their life is worth more; that God places value upon them and that they have a choice. That there are people out there like Streetlight; there are lots of projects across the UK where there is choice. That they need people to come alongside them and help them to make those choices, because they are not easy choices, but that there is another option and that they were destined for much more than that and that their value and worth is not what they're living right now.