Seeking other academics concerned by student sex work

[PhilosophyOnlyRidiculous]

Hello. I'm an academic at a UK university, and am worried about this push to make universities "sex work friendly", and by the development and promotion of sex work "toolkits" (e.g., by University of Leicester, who also collaborate with the university I work at).
Obviously, I'm all for supporting students who are working in the industry, and absolutely do not feel any negative judgment towards the individuals who do.
But surely there are better ways of approaching this than the apparent encouragement in these toolkits? The promoters of these talk about "reassuring" students that what they're doing is legal, and say that universities should support students to balance studies with their sex work.
I get that the guides/toolkits are meant to be realistic about the fact that students WILL do this, and to reduce risk - and that's great. But I really don't think that's all they do.

Just wondered if any other academics are with me on this?

When I was a student (7 years ago) if I'd have felt it was 'ok' to be a sex worker and there was a 'safe' way to do it.. i'm sure I would have done it. Thinking it was probably fine, because if it wasn't the University wouldn't be talking about it as if it was an acceptable job.
I worked as a podium dancer in a nightclub, worked as a guest-list girl and a shot girl. So it would maybe have been the next step. But I felt there was a line there that was not one I would cross. Not sure I'd have felt that way under the circumstances you're describing.

A couple of my female friends were sex workers. At the time.

@PotholeHellhole

This is a serious issue.

The forum for teenagers thestudentroom was infested with people aggressively arguing that there is no difference between a job shelf-stacking and prostituting yourself to fund uni.

It's also popped up in the Open University's unofficial facebook group as a suggestion to women asking for advice about funding, but we're mature students there, so women aggressively pushed back.

Yes - how is this message being communicated to teenagers...? (Via hundreds of different channels, probably)

@BrilliantBetty

When I was a student (7 years ago) if I'd have felt it was 'ok' to be a sex worker and there was a 'safe' way to do it.. i'm sure I would have done it. Thinking it was probably fine, because if it wasn't the University wouldn't be talking about it as if it was an acceptable job. I worked as a podium dancer in a nightclub, worked as a guest-list girl and a shot girl. So it would maybe have been the next step. But I felt there was a line there that was not one I would cross. Not sure I'd have felt that way under the circumstances you're describing.

A couple of my female friends were sex workers. At the time.

Yep. I reckon I might have, too, if these guidelines had been available....

Jessica Taylor posted about this on Twitter - the comments make for depressing reading including a retired woman who was in sex work for 10 years banging on about it being a choice snd just as valid as any other work - zero interest in the fact that this is being pushed at very young women. Another banging on about being the friend of the woman who designed the toolkit snd that it’s purely meant to destigmatise sex work so the young women doing it aren’t ‘othered’

Sometimes it feels like MLM. You even get men openly saying, "I think you should try cam work/escorting. I have good friends doing it and they say it's great money and they enjoy the work".

And, just like MLM, only the people at the top really make the money, I wonder?

In fact, OF is a MLM!

The MLM connection is an interesting one and I am excited that readers are running with it

There are some interesting MLM rabbit holes leading from this event

www.eventbrite.com/e/step-into-your-greatness-a-workshop-with-pia-stanchina-cara-jane-tickets-92991334585#

Those of you who enjoy practicing your google-fu skills may find something interesting (albeit disturbing) down a rabbit hole, a door leading from a door...

I agree as a young libfem in the 90s I’d have probably looked for a safe way to do sex work had I been a little bit more skint. (And a bit less butch)

My big concern as a miserable unfuckable. Old SWERF is... do these poor young women understand the consequences of these cam Girl videos resurfacing when they are older, and have a career?

When you’re young, immortal and untouchable, you can convince yourself the whole world is a liberal place, and it won’t matter. But how many high flying, high profile careers will be brought down by this? By 2040 it’s going to be the obvious way wreck a rivals professional standing.

This is going to be yet another issue negatively affecting women’s careers whilst men sail by undiminished.

Female teachers got sacked around the turn of the millennium because someone uncovered photos they'd done to get through uni.

And this is the internet age. None of it will ever go away.

Oh and this happened last month
au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/onlyfans-mum-mrs-poindexter-shocked-children-expelled-catholic-school-010821023.html

Actually, the more I think about this, the angrier I get.

Again.

Does anyone have any links to sites where young people and students might hang out and be actively recruited?

Glad to see this thread being bumped on this incredibly busy board. It really needs massive coverage so parents can see just which universities are promoting this as a life choice for 18 year olds.

I've just had a quick look. This was a recent top result. www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6698978&page=2

I haven't been on TSR for a long time, but part of why I left was the unmoderated misogyny. It was a drip, drip of hostility that made me feel tense any time I ventured out of subject-specific topics. And the going on about sex work and threads from young men asking about how to hire an escort were part of that. When you are in an online environment where you are regularly confronted with posts discussing what they're entitled to expect from a woman for £, you can deduce that the same posters see you and other female forum members as objects to be bought too.

This isn't exactly the same thing per se, but this article came up on twitter yesterday, and I think it's linked. 4w.pub/kidschat-teenchat-pedophiles-porn/?fbclid=IwAR2haARYWt_anRbGbVtR0NYSlJik5a-aiXy55DvSjUGtE6Ap7f5MW1eiGC4

Not read the whole thread.

Read the toolkit been ranting at DH.

Fucking hell.

The stats. 5% of students have engaged in sex work and 20% of students have considered it.

Later. If you add 'identifed as female'and non binary together (note. No actual sex figures). Then it's 90%.

So is it more like 10% and 40% of female students..?

Who knows. And that's a huge problem.

Later they say that most involved are vulnerable in some way.

And then just move on :/

No mention of help to exit etc.
No mention really of harms.

Note that the list of things focuses on Mon contact (cam etc), mentions 'sugaring', and fails to mention prostitution at all.

What an utter fucking load of shit.

As a normal person. If I found out that an 18 yo girl I knew was working as a prostitute or a cam girl etc I would want to get them out.

But that's not even mentioned. No mention of what if they want to exit. What if there's a pimp involved. What if they are out of their depth or confused. What if the messages they are getting- the document says it's appealing because it's flexible- that it's AOK- makes them feel that even if they're not sure they should be ok with it.

18-21 is SO young. Many girls this age are not very sexually experienced at all.

It's a pile of shit OP, for sure.

I am furious too. And all this going on in parallel to the rightful uproar about VAWG. The connection between this message that Unis are giving to to kids in their care and the entitled attitude of men is plain to see.
OP - Julie Bindel does a lot of work in this area and it might be worth reaching out to her for advice on how to mobilise academics (and parents - because I agree with a PP that ultimately no parent waving their child off to Uni expects them to end up being exploited in this way).
Good luck and please keep posting because I would like to help in any way I can.

@Babdoc

Here in Scotland, many students starting uni are under 18. My DD was one of them. She was not allowed into many venues such as nightclubs. The uni has a duty to such students, and is in loco parentis. I imagine Social Services and the police would take a dim view of you encouraging and facilitating these children’s employment as prostitutes.

Yes I had Scottish peers who were 17 in the first year at an English uni.

I also had two friends who had been moved up a year at school and so were also through out the first year.

It's abhorrent.

I'm addition to all the excellent points raised by other posters, I'd also be really concerned that this will lead to a culture where financial support such as hardship funds, or on-campus jobs such as bar work, are biased towards males because they don't have access to the easy choice of sex work in the way that females do.

Thanks for starting this thread OP. I hope some actions can come out of this. A previous comment though

In the short term universities should commit to waiving fees when students are in dire financial straits with the government reimbursing them.

This won't help students. The vast majority don't pay fees upfront. The money for fees goes from the govt to the university.

Universities can create bursaries and hardship funds for students but they aren't bottomless pits of money.

@cheeseismydownfall

It's abhorrent.

I'm addition to all the excellent points raised by other posters, I'd also be really concerned that this will lead to a culture where financial support such as hardship funds, or on-campus jobs such as bar work, are biased towards males because they don't have access to the easy choice of sex work in the way that females do.

Good point

This is so fucked up. A toolkit? Why the hell would they not be putting every single breath of energy behind stopping this? It's horrific, backwards, insulting. Fucking hell surely it would be better to encourage people to drop out of their course than going down this road at age 18? It'd be better to get a minimum wage job and not have a degree surely?! This is so depressing. Honestly this country has its priorities all mixed up.

I'm addition to all the excellent points raised by other posters, I'd also be really concerned that this will lead to a culture where financial support such as hardship funds, or on-campus jobs such as bar work, are biased towards males because they don't have access to the easy choice of sex work in the way that females do

A few years ago I was chatting to someone in the homelessness and emergency accommodation space - they confirmed my suspicion that outside of women's refuges (often for women experiencing violence) that housing tended to be organised around men's needs because women could always fuck for a bed for the night. I think this is now formally called survival sex. The streets are dangerous for women. For young women the pathway into commercial sex is often very swift.

I've just had a quick look. This was a recent top result. www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6698978&page=2

Thanks - I'll have a look.

I'm not an academic, I'm a student but I totally agree with you. My university is also pushing the sex workers support. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for supporting people with their mental health etc. But normalising sex work (to me at least) is just wrong. Most people involved in sex work are vulnerable, they don't need it normalised!