Date of Event: Thursday, May 4th 2023

Time of Event: 9:30 AM — 1:15 PM

Place of Event: Webinar

There were believed to be 105,000 individuals in the UK who are involved in prostitution, up from 72,000 in 2016. The vast majority of these are women. The cost-of-living crisis is pushing yet more women into sex work and forcing them to take work from violent and exploitative clients. A 2015 National Ugly Mugs Our survey with Leeds University found 49% of sex workers were “worried” or “very worried” about their safety and 47% have been targeted by offenders. Meanwhile, 49% were either “unconfident” or “very unconfident” that police would take their reports seriously. It is estimated that 152 sex workers were murdered in the UK between 1990 and 2015. The charity Beyond the Streets highlights that 76% of those involved in prostitution experience some form of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of this work.

Currently, sex work is legal in England, Wales and Scotland, but many of the surrounding aspects remain illegal, such as solicitation or running a brothel. The UK government have stated though that whilst they do not intend to change the law around sex work, they are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation associated with sex work. The Scottish government has also been criticised for focussing their support in this area towards charities that are not backed by sex workers, and that are focussed on getting people out of the industry rather than supporting those in it.

The Home Affairs Committee’s 2016 report, Prostitution, recommended a shift to complete decriminalisation. Dan Vajzovic, the National Police Chief Council’s lead for prostitution, who is working alongside government officials to reassess brothel keeping legislation, has called on the government to review prostitution laws to ensure sex workers can work together on the same premises to remain safe. This would “better enable the police to focus our resources on protecting sex workers and tackling those who are controlling or exploiting,” Vajzovic argues. According to National Ugly Mugs, sex workers are ten times safer working indoors than on the streets.

Christine Jardine MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for women and equalities, who supports the decriminalisation of brothel keeping, has called for a proper government strategy to accompany it. Also supporting decriminalisation of brothels, Labour MP, Nadia Whittome, has highlighted that “Other laws aimed at sex work – such as soliciting – should also be repealed, to improve sex workers’ rights, safety and ability to leave the sex industry if they choose. Alongside decriminalisation, the government must urgently tackle the growing levels of poverty that are pushing more women into sex work to make ends meet.”

This timely symposium will provide sex workers, safeguarding boards, police forces, local authorities, and social care providers with an opportunity to identify and debate priorities for reform and develop strategies for protecting and expanding the rights of sex workers.

Universities need to wise up to when students are doing work that’s dodgy, unfair, or risky. That could be in pubs, shops, or other casual jobs – and it could be in sex work. The myth of student sex work is that it’s only done by 19-year-old students who want a sugar daddy to buy them fancy stuff – not a parent-student who’s taking a well-paid and flexible job in between juggling studying, housework, and looking after the kids. Not that I’m judging either way – I’ve seen both – but sex workers and their reasons for doing it are different (in fact, the English Collective of Prostitutes found in 2019 that most sex workers are mums).

Sex work is different, too. Sugarbabying (usually a sexual relationship with – often much older – person in exchange for money and/or gifts) and escorting (in-person paid sex) are common. The recent cost of living survey by Canterbury Christ Church SU found that of the (few) students who had done sex work, sending used clothes was the most common type of sex work done by their students, followed by intimate photos and OnlyFans. 58.3 per cent of the students who had done sex work in the past year said it was for money reasons – with a fair bit of these saying it was specifically to pay their way through uni. Whether we like it or not – students are getting paid for a kind of work to get through the cost of living crisis, And that’s work.

Do you remember what happened back in November 2021 at the University of Durham Students’ Union? They got a lot of flak for teaching their staff about student sex work. Some people even said they didn’t care about other kinds of work (that’s not true, by the way, they did).

They did the training because they wanted their staff to know the facts and the myths about sex work. That way, they could help student sex workers in different ways. Maybe they need some money, maybe they want to quit, or maybe they just want to feel supported. It’s important that student sex workers – and trust me, they are out there – feel that their institution is on their side.

Life is getting harder, right? More and more students have to work part-time, and some of them even do sex work. I’m worried about how many of them don’t know how to stay safe, because their universities don’t tell them anything. Maybe the universities are scared of what the media or the politicians will say if they do.

There was this student sex worker I met when I worked at a students’ union. She had a nasty client who knew about this thing called “morality clause” – it’s when the university can kick you out if you don’t behave the way they want, and they have used it against student sex workers. He was blackmailing her with that. She didn’t know that her university didn’t have one until three months later. If her university had shown her some support (I mean, support for sex workers, not for sex work), this wouldn’t have happened.

Some people always say bad things about sex work. They say it’s different from other work because it’s humiliating – but that’s just their opinion, and it says more about them than about sex work. Besides, from the students we talked to, it seems that humiliation is not something that only happens in sex work.

If we don’t tell students how to be safe, they will look for it somewhere else – and they might get the wrong information. I googled “escort” and checked out The Student Room. I saw some scary, wrong, and risky answers from students to students who wanted to be escorts. And nobody said anything about the laws or the problems that come with the work that students really need to know – like if two or more sex workers share a house or live together, that’s an illegal brothel and they can go to jail for seven years.

A guide has been published with information on the law relating to sex workers, and where to get help. The guide has information on working safley.

We are a glamour and escort photography service specializing in adult photography and adult content creation. We are two female photographers with over 20 years of experience in the adult industry between us.

website xphotography.co.uk

Derelict farm/ Chic Hippie Location

Swings – Use one our swings from tyre swings over stream, rope ladder swings and tree rope swings.

Barns and outbuildings – Two main barns and sheds to shoot in. The one barn has a beautiful Welsh stone outside staircase leading you to the barn loft. The barn loft features wooden floor and oak beans, beautiful Welsh stone walls and Welsh slate roof.

Derelict farmhouse – old derelict farmhouse although it’s perfectly safe to enter.

Derelict old kitchen, old dark bedroom, old stone and wood Mantle place, old stone walls with oak beams, and beamed walls in living room, old wood burner, cottage garden with old stone wall background.

Streams, natural springs, picnics

Are you brave enough for a nude stream glamour shoot? Or be adventurous on our robe tyre swing over the stream. We also have natural springs and ponds to shoot next too as well.  

Ever fancied a nude picnic shoot out in the countryside? Well, now is your chance! Put down your picnic blanket, set out the picnic table and strip off and start sexily posing in your birthday suit.

Old stonework backgrounds – The 18th century barns and outbuildings are built from Welsh stone and Welsh slate. Perfect for an Urban explorer feel photo shoot.

Haybale barns – Roll around in the haybales and have a farm country girl shoot!

Yurts, Tepee & Touring Caravan – shoot a hippie chick look in a luxury yurt, tepee, or touring caravan. Perfect for a relaxed hippie chic look or gypsy caravan shoot.

Gates and fences – pose sexily naked, topless, or simply in your wellies over gates and fence posts.

Wild gardens, Trees, woodlands and plants and flowers

Explore wild gardens with beautiful green fern background and pretty foxgloves. Shoot in beautiful green pine tree forests, oak woodlands, ash trees and crab apple trees and during the springtime shoot amongst the blossom’s trees and bluebells!

Mud shoot -ever fancied a mud fight or a mud wrestling match? Then our location is perfect for you! Plenty of rain and mud pools in Wales. Remember to bring your wellies or boots, raincoat, and water.

Sandwiches, snacks, and flask of tea / coffee will be provided.

The Nordic Model Now, a group of ill informed protagonists delivered a list of signatures to Leicester University.  Leicester University had made the mistake of advising those students who participate in sex work on their rights and how to be save. They also advised staf on how to approach sex workers.  All very well intentioned, but not what the Nordic Model Now campaign wants to here.  The official statement from Leicester University was.

“The University of Leicester has a responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of our whole university community.

“Our priority remains the care and wellbeing of all our students – they have the right to be safe and free from harm, whether they are studying or working.

“We do not take this responsibility lightly and we are seeking to provide students this may affect with all relevant support. As such we will be reviewing this petition.

“We emphasise that we are categorically not encouraging students into sex work. We understand that some students may decide to undertake sex work for a number of reasons, and this is a reality at universities across the world.”

The facecious response from the Nordic Model Now was "Yes, Geoff Green. And pigs can fly."

How can this organisation be taken seriously? Indeed they must be taken seriously, because their canpaigning hurts sex workers every where, and if they have their way, then all sex workers will be hurt. Leicester University had many academics researching into the saftey of sex workers, and their conclusion is totally at odds with the Nordic Model campaign. 

Who do I trust, the experts. Those who have dedicated their lifes to working with sex workers and researching their needs.

Student escorts need to be supported. This article is about a student escort who worked as a full-service escort during her undergraduate degree and then continued after her degree. She enjoyed the job. After she wanted to leave she had no choice but to continue because of poverty and then started to feel trapped by the job.

It is important in this job to plan your exit strategy, save your money and invest it to secure a way out in the future. (editor)

She then approached counselling and found no help. She was even discharged from a rape recovery centre because she was deemed as putting herself in debt. 

After many years she finally met a Community Psychiatric Nurse who believed her and told her there was no shame in being an escort.

From her experience, she has set up a group called Support for Student Sex Workers, a sex worker-led organisation. It is the only one in the country.  Her group has trained universities throughout the UK.

It hurts her that people have said we are ‘pimping out’ our students because it simply isn’t true.

If you are a student and want their help, the contact http://supportforstudentsexworkers.org/

The University of Leicester has published a leaflet on sex working students. The intention to provide advice to lecturers and other students. The aim is to destigmatise those selling sexual services so that they are not bullied. Many students selling sex have found difficulty in their education when the tutors and other students find out. They may be bullied by other students. Tutors have been known to be dismissive and prejudiced, making it hard for the student to progress.

Leicester University is to be congratulated on the stance. They do not deserve to be condemned and called PIMPS.  There has been a hideous social media campaign from so-called feminists.