The above witness statement, made by May McArthur on 16 May 1919, was taken during the trial against James Clinton, who was charged and convicted under the Immoral Traffic Act for living off the earnings of prostitution. This evidence fits with the common understanding of prostitutes as the victims of vicious pimps. However, the fact that McArthur was able to complain to the police frequently, testify in court, and ultimately help to secure the conviction of Clinton suggests that she was not powerless and that the relationship between these individuals was more complex than is sometimes assumed. We shall return to McArthur's story in more detail later, but, for now, McArthur's case stands as an example of how women's experiences of prostitution were varied and complex, and certainly worthy of further investigation.

Historical research on women's experiences of prostitution is especially pertinent considering that their experiences, although central to our understanding of commercial sex, have typically not been the main focus of historical studies. This omission is especially problematic, considering that their experiences are fundamental to feminist and policy debates concerning the nature and position of prostitution in society. Those historians who do examine prostitutes’ experiences primarily focus on the nineteenth century, or on countries other than Britain. The difficulties of finding sources that provide accounts of women's experiences of prostitution are in part responsible for this dearth in research. Most of the sources that are available, such as police, court, poor law, census and voluntary organisations’ records, were not written by the women themselves and are heavily mediated.