Sex workers reveal most shocking requests

Sex workers at the notorious Back Road strip in Portmore, St Catherine, have revealed some of the most bizarre and unsettling requests they receive -- often less about sex and more about power and control.

From being asked to perform acts involving bodily fluids to encounters with adult toys and unusual equipment, the women say the demands can be shocking and sometimes hard to process.

"Some crazy people come around here," said Steph*, who has been working on the strip for about a decade.

"Some a dem even come with tools for you to ride them," Steph said.

Another worker, Trish*, said the demands often revolve around domination, humiliation and surrender, which she believes reflect deeper emotional and psychological needs.

Many of the men making these requests, she said, are married or business professionals who appear respectable in their public lives, a contrast that makes their private demands more jarring.

"You have all kind a people weh come 'round here," she said. "People weh work in bank, nurse, all kinda people."

The weird requests, the women say, has no special season. When the women agree to fulfil these requests they normally charge a premium.

"I charge up to $50,000 to $100,000," Trish said. "It depends on what him want."

A normal session is in the region of $5,000.

But not every man who turns up at Back Road and books a session is looking for sex. Steph told THE WEEKEND STAR that some are having marital problems and are just seeking to clear their heads.

"Sometimes dem not even request anything," she said. "Dem just want somebody fi talk to."

Keisha* says many of their regular customers are there not just for sex, but for comfort.

"We rub dem head, massage dem foot, listen how dem feel," she said.

Some clients show affection, and while she knows it's often temporary, the attention feels enjoyable, especially from regulars. Over time, these interactions can develop into a kind of bond.

"Of course, over a period a time we a go build a bond," Keisha said. "That's why the man dem like side girl."

Although prostitution and related activities are criminalised under Jamaican law, sex work continues to be widely practised across the island. Public solicitation, procuring for prostitution, and living off the earnings of prostitution are criminal offences.

Meanwhile, Dr Jeremiah Agustus warned that sex workers face a heightened risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections due to the nature of their work and repeated exposure.

Repeated intercourse, he explained, can lead to micro-abrasions -- tiny tears in the delicate mucosal lining of the vagina or anus -- creating direct entry points for infection. When those microscopic injuries are exposed to bodily fluids, the danger escalates sharply.

"So when you have those micro-tears plus bodily fluids, it creates a very opportunistic environment for the transmission of disease," he said, noting infections such as HIV, syphilis and gonorrhea.

Dr Agustus added that condom failure further compounds the danger. Even as he outlined the mounting risks, he said prevention must be part of the conversation -- not just warnings about what can go wrong.