Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's this type of attitude that makes most on the right cringe at the left. The notion that if someone isn't living their life in a way that you deem to be of value, then there must be a "power imbalance" that needs to be corrected. Has it occurred to you that not everyone wants to be a doctor, or "businesswoman". And that many young women actually like sex and furthermore like using their sexuality to get things in…
Who said anyone’s life lacked value? There’s nothing wrong with being a market clerk, or a restaurant server, or a farm laborer, or a fashion model, or an administrative assistant, or a factory worker, or a janitor, or a soldier, or a mail carrier, or a taxi driver, or a stay-at-home parent, .... The problem is that many people in many places are stuck with a choice of either working themselves to death at a job they…
There are porn stars who live comfortably yet remain in the business. There are even wives who like to be pimped out by their husbands because it's kinky to them; that's technically still prostitution.
I don't think the 'happy hooker' is just a theoretical thing. I think it exists, and it happens all the time. The fact that there is prostitution doesn't imply there is a power imbalance. Maybe if prostitution wasn't so stigmatized, it would be even more common.
Having said that, in this context there is obviously a power imbalance. Somebody says they're scared to leave because of the threat of violence. I'm sure this also happens in way too many cases around the world. I share your view that possibly a significant chunk of this misery can be done away with by getting rid of poverty. However, let's not forget the contribution to said misery by the mere psychopathy that drives people like Epstein.