Advice for a friend

[ajp1993]

One of my friends confided in me she was raped at 12 by an ex-bf and then from 15 was sexually abused and the basically pimped out by her dad.
Since then she no longer lives with her father but finds herself sleeping around, etc, because thats what seems 'normal' for her.
I know its a very personal thing has anyone any experience of this and/or advice to try and help my friend out from this cycle of virtual sexual explotation?

[Syvelocin]

This sort of situation is pretty much the basis of the novel I've been writing for a while, so I can attempt to help out.

Honestly, therapy mainly. The goal here would be to basically reteach her the cultural norms. That's often a bit of an issue with women who are in or have left brothels and such, they are brought up to think that everyone sells their bodies, that trafficking is normal and love and sex go to the highest bidder. Because of this, it's often hard for these women to cope well in the outside world so they will either go back to the brothel or act just like they did when they were in the brothel. They need to relearn how the world works as far as love and sex goes. My psychologist talks sometimes of the work she does related to that, conditioning people who have come from homes like that on how to dress and act properly, etc. That's what I recommend, but there's not much you could do other than advise her of that. Just be there for her beyond that.