Students Turn to Sex Work

Concerned campaigners are demanding that UK universities must stop ignoring the plight of an increasing number of students turning to sex work and should start offering non-judgemental support. 

Varsity students are turning to prostitution during their studies – in order to cope with the rising cost of living and university tuition fees. 

The English Collective of Prostitutes, a campaigning group which supports the decriminalisation of prostitution, told The Independent the number of students who have reached out to the organization about having to turn to sex work has risen in the past year. 

Laura Watson, spokesperson for the ECP, said serious financial hardship and cost pressures is the driving reason for rising sex work on campus. 

UK’s The Independent had already spotlighted on June 30, 2016 that more than half of those already in the industry – 67 percent – had turned to sex work to be able to pay for living expenses, such as food and bills, followed by 53 percent who need the money to pay for rent. And another 35 percent say their earnings are used to pay for university fees, while around a quarter use money earned to reduce post-graduation debt, or to avoid getting into debt. 

The above findings had come from the National Union of Students which worked with the Sex Workers Open University and the ECP to survey young people – a majority of the respondents were aged between 20 to 25 – working in the industry to shed more light on their lives and experiences. 

Of course, collating official figures on the number of sex workers is difficult because many are worried they will face negative consequences by becoming more visible. 

But figures from money advice website Save the Student this year found more than one in 10 students use their bodies – including sex work, sugar dating and webcamming – to make money. 

A Universities UK spokesperson highlighted that all universities have a duty of care to their students: “This means protecting their welfare in order to support them as learners, encouraging legal, safe and healthy behaviours but not dictating what these behaviours should be”. 

I believe that the right to an education is a fundamental human right. 

Therefore, the British government should devote more funds to education and make it much more affordable. That includes universities.