‘Good afternoon.’ Lucy’s voice is strong, like she’d shout if she wasn’t on live radio. ‘I’m a sex worker and have been working in and around Waverly for – wow – almost twenty years now, and although I’ve never called in to any radio show, today I felt I had to after listening to Anna.’
‘Hello, Lucy,’ Anna says, warmly, but Rosie recognizes a little wariness in her tone.
‘Hi, Anna. I’m wondering how many sex workers you actually know. How many have you spoken with?’
Anna doesn’t say anything; Rosie can practically hear her frown through the radio.
‘Just as I thought …’ Lucy continues.
‘Well, obviously, I know one!’ Anna blurts, desperate to claw back some authority.
‘For fuck’s sake, Anna!’ Rosie shouts at the radio, missing whether it’s Lydia or Lucy who asks, ‘Who?’
‘The woman – Seb Kent’s prostitute – has moved to Waverly.’
Suddenly Rosie feels like a mosquito is trapped, whining inside her head.
‘Poor woman!’ Lucy mutters.
‘Is that confirmed information?’ Lydia asks, in an uncertain tone.
‘It is,’ Anna replies, and Rosie knows from her clipped tone that Anna will be jutting out her chin, trying her best to ignore the doubts that will already be poking her conscience. Rosie remembers Lily and Margot sitting around the table she sits at now. She thinks about the repercussions for them of this, Anna’s fifteen minutes of fame, and kicks the table leg.
‘Have you talked to her much about her life and experiences?’ Lucy asks Anna.
This time the silence stretches on longer, turning into a clear ‘no’.
‘Because you seem to think you know an awful lot but there are a few major things, in my humble opinion, that you’re missing.’
Lucy quickly clears her throat, not giving either Lydia or Anna the chance to interrupt. Rosie sits up to listen better as Lucy starts talking again.
‘Firstly, I do this work even though I have other options. I don’t love it. I do this work because it pays the bills better than anything else I’ve found.’
Lucy talks like a woman who has been unplugged, who has been forced to hide her real thoughts and feelings for too long. Rosie feels something chime within her, clean and clear: Lucy isn’t a victim. ‘Secondly, it’s not sex workers or drug takers themselves that destroy communities. It’s poverty. It’s critical services like nurseries and mental health support groups closing. It’s benefits decreasing as everything gets more expensive. Most sex workers are just women, many are mothers – and some men, I might add – trying to survive in these completely untenable circumstances – like most of the population. And lastly, I must admit I swore pretty loudly when you called yourself a feminist. You’re not a feminist, Anna, you’re a middle-class woman on a completely stupid, hare-brained crusade. My guess is you’re bored as anything, possibly angry about something as well. Because how else could you delude yourself into thinking you’re helping anyone by further stigmatizing an already vulnerable group – us sex workers – and perpetuating centuries-old lies and propaganda about us to the non-sex-working community? It just makes no sense. No sense at all. You are more dangerous to me, Anna, than the men I let through my door.’
For the first time, Lucy pauses, and Lydia jumps in with, ‘Thank you for your views, Lucy,’ before adding, ‘I’d love to know what you think about Sebastian Kent, the head teacher who has been engaging sex workers.’
‘Listen, I’ve got regulars who are teachers, GPs and, yes, I’ve seen more than one politician in my time. Even police officers. An urge to have sex is very, very human and cannot and should not be legislated against. Furthermore, I think this public shaming thing is awful. Who hasn’t done something in their private lives they don’t want everyone knowing about?’
‘You don’t think he’s done anything wrong?’
‘Well, I think he’s been stupid using his work computer and doing it on work time. But we don’t know if that is even true, given all the other misinformation Anna’s spouting out today, and I don’t want to give her any more oxygen until her claims have been proven.’
‘One final question, Lucy,’ Lydia asks. ‘What about those women who aren’t like you, working out of choice – what of those people forced or coerced into it?’
Lucy sounds weary as she replies, ‘Look, I’m not claiming to have all the answers, but I will say we should start with decriminalizing sex work so sex workers can enjoy the same rights as everyone else, like the right to work free from discrimination and violence. That would be a good start. Then I’d look at the root causes of why some people end up in terrible circumstances – poverty and lack of opportunity, to name a couple. But really, please, just start listening to us and not to people like Anna.’
‘Some strong feelings there from Lucy – thank you, Lucy. Anna, in the final few seconds, have you got anything you’d like to say in response?’