Nancy talked on a chilly February night while standing just off Union Avenue waiting for customers. She spoke to a reporter, a photographer and volunteers for Magdalene Hope, a group that reaches out to help prostitutes. As she smoked, the thin woman in her late 20s talked of a dangerous life that requires her to work from early evening to 5 a.
She asked to be called "Nancy" and didn't want her identity revealed. She declined to be photographed, even in a way that wouldn't identify her. Nancy said she's trained to be a medical assistant, but doesn't see herself changing careers anytime soon. I don't want them to take my taxes out when I can keep all my money," she said. Nancy came to Bakersfield two years ago. She is from Arizona and got into prostitution after she, like many other young women, bought into a guy's lies.
That guy beat her up and broke some bones, Nancy said. Now, she doesn't work for anyone but herself, a fact she keeps quiet for fear pimps will harass her.
Nancy said police seem to be cracking down on prostitution on Union and men are getting scared reading about prostitution stings and arrests in the news. She has been arrested and held in county jail for prostitution, she said, but those misdemeanor charges don't deter her.
On a typical day, Nancy gets home early in the morning and goes to bed. On weekdays she wakes up in time to watch Judge Judy, then she might go to the mall or grocery store before returning to the street. Her teenage niece is staying with her and she hides what she does from the girl. Her niece thinks she heads out at night to stay with her boyfriend, Nancy said. Nancy describes her favorite corner to work on Union as a perilous spot that paradoxically is so lucky that she can't resist it.
