[size=14pt]If you've always thought that runz girls and rent boys are only found in Nigerian universities, bin that idea right now. This business is well and alive amongst UK university students, male and female.[/size]

[size=18pt]'Why we've turned to prostitution': British university students reveal why they have resorted to selling their bodies[/size]

While some undergraduates say they could not have got through uni without selling their bodies, some women say it is a lifestyle choice


Student Sex Worker

Financial desperation is not the only reasons British undergraduates are turning to prostitution, with some continuing to work in the sex industry after leaving university, students have revealed.

Many students claim they resort to illicit sex industries as they have no other way of paying their way until graduation, with claims of girls offering sex to their landlord in lieu of rent. But some are being drawn to it purely as a better paid option than bar tending or waiting tables, or even for pleasure and power kicks or the dream of being a "kept man" in one case, it has emerged.

In a series of frank interviews, current and former students who are on the game have told how and why they got into the seedy world and how it makes them feel. The women and a man, who asked to remain anonymous spoke to www.vice.com after a research project revealed more than a fifth of students have thought about being involved in the sex industry and males were more likely to get involved than female counterparts.


Stigma: None of the student sex workers would be identified

One of these, Harry appeared to enjoy being a male prostitute believing "having the ability to make men pay" for him gave him "a certain power over them" and dreamed of life as a gigalo. He said: "Men hire me by the hour, either for sex, company or dates. I got into the sex industry because I had no money left to pay my bills or do anything socially. I signed up to a website, thinking I wouldn't get much of a response, but I did. And it felt good. My idea of a positive experience in this industry would be finding a rich man to pay me thousands every month to be his boyfriend. My friends know what I do but I don't blab about it to anyone and everyone, as there's definitely a great deal of stigma. One of my friends actually tried to get me down about it and tried to say I was "a dirty hooker on the street", but it isn't like that at all. It lets me pay off my bills and I have money left over to spend on my social life. The income isn't steady, though."

He described a "particularly negative experience" was when a married man asked him to go to his office for sex, telling the receptionist he was there for an interview as a cover story. He said: "As he instructed, that was what I told reception. Eventually, someone took me up to his office – but then they sat me in a large room and began to interview me for a job thinking I was there to be interviewed, which was pretty humiliating. I messaged him later, but he played the "I don't know you" card and even got the police involved since someone gave me his personal details."

Abigail, who graduated last summer, worked as a prostitute, dominatrix, and also did phone intimacy and webcamming throughout her degree. She said this was her only way to pay the bills, but has continued in the often illicit industry while job hunting for a "proper job" to avoid falling into the unpaid internship trap. She said: "Sex work was a ruthlessly pragmatic decision for me. My motivation for work has always been the same – to earn money. Sex work was no different in this regard. It afforded me the time to concentrate on my studies while I was earning. I could work just a couple of hours a week and not be too exhausted to study effectively, which is what I'd found when working part time in minimum-wage retail and bar jobs. I enjoyed sex work as it allowed me to pay my bills and my rent without difficulty, and I always knew that I'd be able to afford food and to engage in leisure activities without having the stress of completely depleting my bank account. As a graduate who has continued to work in the sex industry, this avenue of work has been useful to me as many internships are unpaid; I don't have a family who could support me so I'm not privileged enough to work for free. It has allowed me to not get into debt while applying for jobs related to my degree. Sex work has allowed me to pay off some of my debts, just as any other job would. I don't think a 9-to-5 job would have allowed me to pay off any more."

But she fears coming out as a prostitute due to stigma. She said: "The misinformation and moralising that goes on is probably the worst aspect; it denies sex workers a fully decriminalised environment that would be the safest for them to work in. I've found any negativity I've encountered as a sex worker has been the feeling of betrayal from feminists and policy makers who base their party lines and policy on pure ideology."


Study: Swansea University where research was carried out


Claire, a history and politics student who moved to a London university from the north of England, told how getting into prostitution through a network of underground student contacts meant she could escape the traditional "noisy and overcrowded" digs most freshers end up living in.
The escort, who fears her identification could affect future career prospects, claims she could not afford her studies without her prostitution she advertises through a website, but admitted it allowed her more comfortable accommodation than most other students.


phone intimacy: Other legal industries like live phone intimacy lines also attract hard up students

She said: "I didn’t know anyone in London so when I moved here it was starting from scratch.." Initially she lived in student accommodation in the city. “It was an overcrowded, noisy flat with other students,” she said. But after setting up her website selling sex, “I could afford a place of my own” she said.

She said: “I started working after my first year and tried various part time jobs: in a coffee shop, a pub and as a waitress. “None paid enough. The student loan didn’t cover even my housing, let alone living expenses, food, books and travel costs."

About 6,750 students from across the UK took part in an online study by Swansea University. It claims nearly 5 per cent of them had actually worked in the sex industry. Claire heard about sex work from other students. She said: “In my first year at university I started hearing about students turning to sex work. "After a time I met someone on another course who’d been working as a stripper in a bar. Through her I met another student doing escorting, she clued me in, said where to advertise, and how to avoid bad clients and work safely." She was given a rights card given out by the English Collective of Prostitutes’, a campaign group calling for decriminalistaion of prostitution and better rights for sex workers, which tells advises on laws around the sex industry. “I’d had no idea it was illegal for two women to work together. “I have regular clients. “I visit them at home, in hotels and occasionally at their workplace. It is flexible and fits around my course. I can work the hours I want to and scale back around exam time or if I have extra course work,” she said. Although fearing arrest or tarnishing future prospects, the student believes the risks outweigh the financial gains and headstart it gives over colleagues.


Filmed: Many students don't want to be outed as sex workers but are willing to beam images of them in the act over the net through webcams
She said: "My biggest worry is about being arrested because if I get a criminal record it would stay with me for life. “It would be massive obstacle to getting other jobs. But sex work is far batter paid and suits my time more than any other work I know of. Friends at university are working 10 hour shifts for under the minimum wage. Others are working on zero hour contracts and never know how many hours they will get. Sometimes they get none at all so it is very hard to budget and pay bills. I know students who’ve dropped out and left courses due to financial pressures. Mostly students doing sex work don’t talk about it. If it comes out, it could affect your future and job prospects. Since I started escorting I’ve heard that a former roommate exchanged sex with her landlord to cover the rent. Another woman I know worked as a part time sex worker to earn enough to travel home to visit her family. Sex work among students is much more common than people think, and it is likely to increase as long as fees, rent and the cost of living is so high.”

The Student Sex Work Project, a three year initiative to provide non-judgemental advice on the sex industry in universities funded by the Big Lottery, says their stories show "a need for more dialogue about sex work in UK universities". Dr Tracey Sagar, who helped do the research for the project, said: "Most of the students who took part in the survey and who were working in the industry did so for economic reasons, some because they just wanted to and others because they were curious or for sexual pleasure. Most students do not need support or assistance but some do – even if that is just the opportunity to offload about their work, and the importance of this shouldn't be underestimated. The biggest challenge for the project has been tackling the stigma associated with sex work."

SOURCE: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/why-weve-turned-prostitution-british-5525504

[size=18pt]I hope your girlfriend or boyfriend studying in the UK isn't on the loose there, ladies and gentlemen?[/size]

Sick, twisted and disgusting.

Who's got time to read this long epistle?

Na everywhere thing this matter come b so

And to think i have a friend in the same Swansea university

Nah i trust my nigga

Jacksparr0w1207:
Who's got time to read this long epistle?

Your comment resonates with the timeless saying, "If you want to hide something from a black person, put it in a book."

Nawao

EreluY:


Your comment resonates with the timeless saying, "If you want to hide something from a black person, put it in a book."

ok. Maybe yur right, maybe yur not.
But how will reading this long epistle benefit me? Let's just say the topic is not too important for me to waste energy and time reading. I can only manage to read first and last paragraph where I can get the intro and conclusion