For some, sex work is not a life-long choice. The process of leaving the industry is called exiting. Below we have provided you with information regarding the exiting process for a sex worker.

• While some sex workers do very well in the industry, others eventually desire a lifestyle change.



• Most female sex workers exit with the birth of a child.



• Some sex workers exit through the support of a special relationship where they are given the motivation to move on.



• While some services are available to assist sex workers in their exiting process, more supports are needed to ensure a successful exit, especially for the male and transgendered populations.



• The male and transgendered experience within in the industry differs from the female experience. More organizations and supports need to be designed to represent more fully their exiting process.



• With the decrease in income that often comes with exiting, sex workers find it hard to maintain themselves financially because working in the industry has been their main source of income.



• The lack of safe affordable housing is a common challenge for sex workers wanting to exit.



• For some street level sex workers, a criminal charge may follow them into the mainstream and make it hard for them truly to leave “the life” behind.



• It takes an average of six attempts before a sex worker leaves the industry for good.



• For many sex workers the industry has been their family and exiting usually requires them to walk away from all that they have known for many years.



• Sex work is a lifestyle and in most cases exiting is a process that includes unlearning an old way of life and learning a whole new one. For example, most sex workers work from 6pm until 6am, while in the mainstream, life happens from 6am to 6pm.



• Sex workers have witnessed many things a regular person would find traumatizing and in most cases are living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.



• Sex workers deal with the after effects of trauma and the recognition of how close they came to losing their lives. When exiting, many sex workers experience flashbacks and the memories of their past experiences haunt them.



• Dealing with the constant reminder of the industry through running into clients and other sex workers adds to the difficulty of exiting.



• First stage exiting for sex workers deals with the emotional impact the work has had on them and their reasons for entering into the industry. If addiction is an issue then the first step would be to consider detox or treatment.



• Self esteem and confidence issues contribute to the overall personal self worth and self doubt one might experience when wanting to exit the industry.



• Some sex workers leave the industry without any prior experience in a mainstream job and have a large gap in time unaccounted for on their resumes.



• Sex workers are employable and need to be given a chance when entering the mainstream work force, but employers tend to look for experienced applicants and are not always willing to train and mentor.



• Sex workers have many skills and abilities that are transferable onto a mainstream resume, time management, sales, negotiation skills, shift work, personable etc… however because of the stigma attached to sex work, they are unable to reference their time in the industry.