'I wanted to become a lawyer' - 19-y-o sex worker recounts her story...

... Hopes to give daughter a better life

WESTERN BUREAU:

Although prostitution has been her primary source of income for the past five years, it would be heartrending for Aldith, a 19-year-old Montego Bay-based commercial sex worker, if her four-year-old daughter follows her footsteps.

"Oh God, that would break my heart," she said. "It is a risky lifestyle. Going to bed with a total stranger could mean death ... . It is not only diseases one could get, say, in the case of a broken condom ... . Some of these men are freaky and could do dangerous things to you."

While Aldith is confident she can protect herself with her "street smarts" and her container of mace, she says her daughter, who she considers the dearest thing to her, might not be able to do the same thing.

"I wanted to become a lawyer, but because my family rejected me after I became pregnant as an almost-innocent child, I had to turn to the streets," said Aldith. "My hope is to live my dream through my daughter, so prostitution is definitely not a part of my plans for her."

While she is no longer bitter towards her parents for not standing up with her when she became pregnant, the young woman says she still can't help thinking about how much different her life might have been with a little more understanding.

"I did not get pregnant because I was bad. It is just that I took bad advice and got caught," she confessed. "I was a good student and I should not have ended up on the street for that one mistake."

Aldith wants parents to discuss sex with their children so that unscrupulous persons, who might not have their best interest at heart, won't get a chance to exploit their ignorance.

"I was told by a man that if I stand up right after sex nothing would happen to me and I believed him," said Aldith. "One daughter later, and with lots more experience, I now know I was a fool to believe him."

She said, while she knows some girls might be facing tough times, prostitution should not be a first option, but a last resort.

"This is no way to live, and I don't want my daughter to grow up seeing me doing this thing for a living," said Aldith. "Right now, I am exploring other options, because I intend to leave the streets soon."