Ms Geraldine Rowley:

Ruhama's Next Step initiative was research carried out in the early part of the previous decade with women in our services who were involved in prostitution. It examined the barriers that affected women when they wanted to exit prostitution. It recognised that some of the barriers preventing women from leaving prostitution were internal, including addiction, mental health issues and poor self-esteem, while others were external, such as societal structures and poverty. Ruhama also recommended a range of best practice models which would help women to exit prostitution. The research was strongly focused on exiting prostitution and we have a clear exit strategy in our services to women in prostitution.