"Ladies of the night"

[vera_dicere]

I was on my way from work to Midnight mass yesterday [its Christmas here now,**MERRY CHRISTMAS btw]

On the way, I passed a woman standing on a corner in skimpy clothing - nothing new down here in the middle of Summer, so I figured she was waiting for someone to pick her up. Anyway, on the next corner, another woman, in equal levels of clothing, and while I thought that was odd since there didn’t seem to be any night clubs out this way, I figured she too was waiting for a pick up. I had to stop at a crossing and while stopped I over heard a man who I thought was there to pick her up as a friend, make a “transaction” as it were.

Anyway, so the rest of the ladies I saw, quite a few, I figured were… well… street ladies. Aside from the fact it made me sad that i was going to a great Choral Midnight Mass for Christmas and these ladies had to sell themselves, I got to wondering, what’s both our moral responsibility towards these women in regards to general treatement - ie. saying hello, verses, our over all treatment, ie. trying to get them out of this lifestyle?

I almost said “Merry Christmas, stay safe” to one of them who looked rather vulunerable, but I over thought it and figured “stay safe” could be seen to support contraception, and “merry Christmas” might come across as patronising.

Anyone have any ideas, or actually work with these women? Can a Catholic in good conscience work with these women - because I’ve heard a lot of Catholics getting in trouble for handing out contraception.

Or should we only be there for the ones who want to escape this miserable existance they find themselves in?

 

[puzzleannie]

I Anyone have any ideas, or actually work with these women? Can a Catholic in good conscience work with these women - because I’ve heard a lot of Catholics getting in trouble for handing out contraception.

Or should we only be there for the ones who want to escape this miserable existance they find themselves in?

well my question to you was going to be, should you be convinced that you have a duty to help such women, what form would this help take, and have you the resources to offer such help. But then your comment seems to imply the only logical help one could offer such a lady would be to hand out contraceptives. Can you possibly be so naive that you actually think contraceptives protect such a woman against all the hazards of this lifestyle?

 

[Mustang1971]

Hello and a Merry Christmas to you also! One thing you could do is talk to your Priest about the situation. He would be able to give you some good guidance on how to handle a situation like this. I understand where you are coming from. There are many situations where I want to help but sometimes I just don’t know how to. So in a situation like that I will take a moment out and pray for that person or persons. God Bless!

 

[Apollos]

Put yourself in their places. How would you eventually get yourself into it? And once you’re there, what do you think would get you out of it?

 

[CB_Catholic]

Around here, these “ladies of the night” are usually “protected” by some sort of unsavory character and are usually tied up somehow with the drug culture. Any attempt to approach them on your own for reasons other than their “business” might end up with you having a gun shoved in your face, or you being followed home some night.

However, you could probably safely wish them a Merry Christmas or give a pleasant hello if you are passing by. Usually the people who work with them are highly trained professionals and under the umbrella of a social services organization or something like the Salvation Army. That might be an interesting career choice, though, if you feel God is calling you to do this work.