“I have, for the most part, been grateful to my customers. I have been a very lonely person, so I appreciated the company. For many years, my customers treated me really well. As my addiction got stronger (alcohol and cocaine), my customers became more abusive because I started working in scarier areas and loving myself a lot less. I didn’t respect them. I became more cold.”

According to Canadian sex industry workers, most clients are kind and generous. The stereotypical image of clients as mentally unstable outcasts is both untrue and unfair. Sex is a natural, primal desire of humans. The fact that some people feel inclined to pay for it does not make them bad people.

However, due to stigma towards sex industry workers, bad people do find us to be easy targets. They know they can harm us with near impunity (legal or moral), unlike harming Teacher Tammy or Doctor Doris. For this reason, and many others, it is important for all of us to manage our relationships with clients with the big picture in mind.

This chapter will focus on managing clients and reducing the need to take risks with strangers by nurturing relationships with regulars who are safe and consistent.