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A woman in her 40s has told how she ended up in prostitution after becoming addicted to heroin.

Hannah grew up in an abusive home and moved out at a young age, before finding herself in a bad relationship.

She and her boyfriend had children together, but her addiction issues led to them being taken away.

“I fell into the arms of the first man who gave me any bit of attention, but I thought he would mind me,” she told RSVP Live.

“He was very coercive and controlling, I was miserable and my drug use got worse and worse.

“I trained in the hospitality industry and I worked but my addiction just spiralled out of control. I would wake up in the morning and the first thing I needed to do to get out of the bed was use.

“Social services got involved, the kids were taken off me and I had to leave the family home.”

Homeless and addicted to heroin with nowhere to go, Hannah fled to a women’s refuge.

“Everyone in there was affected by addiction as well, and they were all on the game,” she explained.

“I couldn’t even get into a methadone clinic at the time, you had to have three clean urine samples and I just couldn’t stop using.”

Hannah needed money, and prostitution seemed like her only option.

“I didn’t intend to have sex with anyone,” she went on.

“My initial idea was - I’ll sit in the car, I’ll ask for the money up front and then I’ll do a runner.

“I was always afraid but I stood up for myself as well, I was feisty. I thought I could outsmart the Johns.”

So Hannah went out on the street and was picked up in a car by a man, who gave her money for sex up front.

“He drove me out to a quiet secluded place, we pulled up and I said I needed to go to the toilet.

“I got out of the car and ran, he chased me in the car - he mounted the footpath to try to mow me down.

“Another guy saw this happening and said ‘Jump into my car’. But obviously he was a John as well so I ended up having to have sex with him.

“That’s when I realised - there’s no outsmarting them.”

After that, Hannah was in prostitution for four years.

“When I initially started out I could ask for €80 because I was what they would call ‘fresh meat’,” she went on.

“And I was popular - I suppose I was striking, I had long blonde curly hair.

“When you’re coming from a place where no-one ever paid you any attention, in a sad way there’s something compelling about being noticed.

“Even though you’re being paid to be raped, that’s how I always saw it. That’s the way it felt.”

Her environment was dangerous and there were several violent incidents.

“I was being harassed by this wannabe pimp, and he had a few of the other girls under his control as well,” she said.

“I was collecting drugs for him, doing drug runs for him because I was someone who could stay under the radar.

“I have scars on my hands from him smashing a vase, trying to smash it into my face and me putting my hands up to save myself.

“He got his girls to jump me and I was stabbed into the side of the head, then he came out looking like a saviour. It was total manipulation.

“I just did what I could to avoid getting beaten. Think of the money, think of the money. That was my mantra.”

Hannah felt trapped and as if she had nowhere to turn.

“I needed to use drugs in order to be on the game, and I needed to be on the game in order to feed my addiction.

“I didn’t even have anyone to talk to. There’s such a stigma attached to being a heroin addict, there’s such a stigma attached to being a prostitute. I just felt complete shame.

“Every day I woke up and I thought ‘I hope this is my last day alive’ because every day was a nightmare.”

Her physical health also started to suffer as she lost weight and her hair and teeth started to fall out.

Eventually she got in touch with a mental health nurse who went out of his way to get her into a treatment centre.

“I finally exited prostitution because I got clean,” she said.

“And I remember feeling compelled to go back into it again - I was absolutely deluded.

“I started working with a therapist and I realised what I’d been through.”

While many people who have engaged in sex work are against the 2017 laws that made it an offence to buy sex in Ireland, Hannah disagrees.

"This piece of legislations gives people like me a voice, it tells me that I matter and my experience matters," she argues.

"When you grow up in a society where it’s OK to buy sex, are you ever going to question it?"

Hannah is still working with a therapist and says she’s at the best place she’s ever been in her life.

“I’ll never be 100%,” she said.

“I suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Some days I wake up and it’s heavy.

“I find it hard to trust men, I’ve had to do a lot of work with a therapist on my own sexuality and how to have a healthy relationship.

“I’m building a new life for myself, I’m doing a degree and I’m working in a job I love. I'm a survivor."

She shared her advice to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

“Reach out. Tell somebody. You don’t have to stay in it if you’re feeling unhappy.

“Remember that you have something to offer, and you deserve love the same as anybody else.”

If you are in a difficult situation in the sex trade, you can freetext the word REACH to 50100 for a free, confidential call back.