After seven years of medical school in Myanmar, May finally achieved her goal of becoming a doctor. But a month after she graduated and found a job, her dreams started unraveling.

In February 2021, Myanmar¡¯s military seized power in a coup, and the country¡¯s economy, already hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, started to buckle. Prices soared, and May¡¯s paycheck, the equivalent of $415 a month, evaporated even faster. With her father suffering from kidney disease, she grew more and more desperate.

Then, she met ¡°date girls,¡± who were making twice as much as her. The money was enticing ¡ª even if it involved sex with men.