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Thursday, January 06, 2011

POVERTY AND SEX

Every Hollywood romantic screenplay and lots of popular songs depict the magic of love but for many members of the working class the reality is much more sordid. "A fifth of homeless people have committed "imprisonable offences" to spend a night in the cells and more than a quarter of women rough sleepers took an "unwanted sexual partner" to escape their plight, new research out today shows. A  survey of more than 400 rough sleepers by Sheffield Hallam University reveals the desperate steps taken by the homeless to find shelter. ...Unwanted sex has become a way out of homelessness for many. One in seven men and 28% of women had spent a night or longer with an unwanted sexual partner to "accommodate themselves"." (Guardian, 23 December) The reality behind the Hollywood fantasy and the pop song magic is that poverty destroys the best of human aspirations. RD

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