BETTY

BETTY'S STORY

Betty is a 36 year old woman who is currently involved in street prostitution. She first became involved when she was 16.

Betty has struggled with heroin and crack addictions most of her adult life. She has also been in a series of abusive relationships with men from a young age. She is currently with a man who is very controlling, emotionally abusive and has started becoming physically abusive. He is very controlling of her drug use and gives her the exact amount that he thinks she should have. She doesn't want to be involved in prostitution anymore and only does it to feed her and her partner's habit.

Betty has linked with outreach workers from an Encompass service and has started to open up about how she is feeling. She is struggling to cope with the abuse she is experiencing and tells them she has suicidal thoughts because of this. She also wants to look at starting a substitute prescription.

Betty does not currently engage with other services and finds engagement difficult. The Encompass Service outreach is the only service she engages with. The workers have built a relationship with her and when she asks for support in the community, they are able to link her in with specialist Violence Against Women services, the Women's clinic for sexual health testing and crisis mental health services.