Sam – Head of Advice
Sex work safety
With the recent cost of living increase, it has become apparent that some of our student communities are engaging in sex work. For anyone unsure, sex work is where an individual offers sexual services or performances in which a second person provides money or some other economic marker. The economic markers could include money, food, shelter, drugs among other things.
Sex work can include porn performance, dancing, phone sex, trade sex and more. Sex work can also be licit or illicit. In illicit sex work, there may be a worker, a consumer and a manager and risk can exist for all parties involved.
There are three main reasons why people engage in sex work:
- Choice
Julia chooses to perform on Only Fans because the work is profitable, and she enjoys it.
Julia chooses to do sex work. - Circumstance
Mark is marginally housed and engages in a relationship with Peter to have a place to sleep. Mark’s sex work is circumstantial. - Coercion
Leah’s partner coerces her into trading sex with their supplier in exchange for drugs, even though she doesn’t want to.
This is a human rights violation and not the same as consensual sex work.
Sex Work is Work.
Everyone who engages in sex work has personal, unique reasons for doing so.
Sex work is one of the few trades in which someone without any formal education can provide for themselves at an equal level to someone with an advanced degree.
However, sex workers who hold marginalised identities are uniquely vulnerable to racism, transphobia, xenophobia, classism, and other forms of structural violence.
If you are engaging in sex work and feel like you could use some support, there are charities out there ready to help.
For women: https://beyondthestreets.org.uk/
Beyond the streets is a charity that works with women involved in the UK sex industry. They work to see women safe from coercion, violence, and abuse.
They collaborate to ensure women are not compelled to sell sex and to create routes out of prostitution by working with others including those with lived experience. Together they work to challenge the stigma that surrounds the sale of sex, to eliminate “survival sex” and more broadly to end violence against women and girls.
For Men: https://ourroom.org.uk/about-us/
The Men’s Room is an arts and social charity that works creatively to empower men. They support male sex workers, homeless men and men involved in the criminal justice system. They offer them opportunities to get involved in high quality arts projects whilst accessing one to one support for challenges they face in their everyday lives.
Their work engages young men experiencing multiple disadvantages, including homeless men, sex workers, men with experience of sexual exploitation, offenders, and men struggling with mental health problems and substance misuse. Their work with artists on a diverse range of projects throughout the year, whilst also offering outreach services and personalised support to their service users.
For all: https://nationaluglymugs.org/
NUM is a UK-wide charity working with sex workers to do research, design and deliver safety tools and to provide support services to people in adult industries.