SHE CHOSE. Introducing Mia

Mia’s Story.

When you are assaulted people often ask, “Why didn’t you just leave?” But women are always the best at determining what they need to do. I believe that about every single part of a woman—including her reproductive rights. Women should not be forced to have children to people that abuse them.

I was 24 years old and working as an escort for about two months when a client, whom I had consented to have sex with, ripped off his condom. It’s called “stealthing”, where a man takes the condom off and continues without consent. Even before I went to the police, I knew that I immediately needed to go to the chemist to get the emergency contraceptive. It’s distressing to me that other women may experience this, and that if those options aren’t available to them, they’d have to bear that person’s child.

So many women take the emergency contraceptive—how many women [in the United States] are now going to end up with a pregnancy they don’t want?

I feel really strongly about women’s reproductive rights. I think it’s really important that sex workers rights are also protected. We all have the right to choose what we want to do with our bodies.

That doesn’t mean that other people can do what they want with our bodies. Working in the sex industry, you realise that there are men out there that are respectful, but on the other hand, there are men who think putting money on the table means they can take anything.

A woman knows when she’s not ready or doesn’t want a child. For whatever reason—actually, there doesn’t need to be a reason. If I didn’t have the privilege I have here in Australia, I could have been forced to have a child to that client. But it’s not even a privilege—it’s a right.

If you have a personal story or find SHE CHOSE. inspiring I’d love to hear from you. You can leave comments below. Stay tuned for the next instalment where I’ll be introducing Katie.

Thanks for visiting and reading about a project I have been truly passionate about!

G x