Hard-up students ‘turn to vice’ Part1
Thursday, November 8th, 2007Leading health care experts have blamed changes in the student grant system for a rise in the number of cash-strapped students turning to prostitution.
One student leader estimates that 60% of all sex workers in Leeds are full-time students.
The country’s leading clinic for prostitutes, the Praed Street Project in London, says a growing number of the 2,000 sex workers they treat annually are students.
“We’ve noticed a significant increase in the last three to four years, of students who have entered into the sex industry with a goal to finance their studies,” said manager Jane Ayres.
“They have clearly said that changes in the grant system have affected their choice.”
By their third year, most students face an average £8,000 debt, studies have shown.
Researchers at Westminster University in London estimate that 3-4% of indebted students turn to the sex industry to earn extra money.
Student leaders in Leeds claim the problem has reached worrying levels.
“The Leeds sex industry is primarily composed of students,” said James Cemmell, education officer at Leeds Student Union.
Mr Cemmell, who gathered evidence from local groups which help prostitutes, said: “The figure being touted is that 60% of sex workers in Leeds are students.
“It’s obviously not a good state of affairs if our students are having to resort to such drastic methods.”
Students targeted
Brothel owners have even begun targeting campuses to recruit new workers.
Local newspapers often carry advertisements calling on students to become escorts, which can be tantamount to prostitution.
The lure of earning up to £1,000 a week has led some girl students to work in massage parlours and have their pictures put on sex sites on the internet.
Author-Matthew Chapman
