One of largest ever surveys of industry reveals pressures that lead people to sex work, including inability to meet living costs on low NHS pay

More than 70% of UK sex workers have previously worked in healthcare, education or charities, while more than a third hold university degrees, according to one of the largest surveys of the industry ever undertaken.



The academic research, carried out by Leeds University and funded by the Wellcome Trust, also reveals the pressures that lead people to enter the sex industry, with one respondent saying she could not keep up her mortgage repayments while earning £50 a day as an NHS care assistant.

The study of 240 sex workers – including 196 women, 28 men and 12 transgender people – focused on those who were not trafficked or coerced into selling sex but had chosen to do so, and most worked from within premises rather than on the streets.

Of those surveyed, 172 (71%) had previously worked in health, social care, education, childcare or charities. The second most common former area of employment was retail, with 81 people (33.7%) having worked in the industry.



Some of the more unusual previous jobs of sex workers to emerge in the study include road haulier manager, merchant navy caterer and life coach.

Ninety of those surveyed had an undergraduate degree (38%), while 40 (17%) had a postgraduate degree. More than 97% of those surveyed had either GCSEs, A-levels or their equivalents.

The Leeds University study, carried out by Dr Teela Sanders in partnership with National Ugly Mugs, a scheme to encourage sex workers to raise the alarm about violent men they encounter, precedes a much larger study funded by the European Social Research Council, which starts in September.

Sanders said: “This research focuses on working conditions for sex workers and the degree of job satisfaction sex workers have. It also looks at the safety of sex working.



“We hope to get a real picture of working conditions for sex workers. Around 70% of sex workers are indoor workers so this study is more representative than many others that are used to reflect sex work as a whole.”



Use of the internet as a medium to sell sex has exploded in recent years, and in some parts of the UK has largely replaced brothels and saunas. Adultwork and Punternet are two of the most popular sites,



which offer a range of local sex workers available within 30 minutes.

It is not illegal for individuals to buy or sell sex from each other but soliciting and sex workers working together as a group are illegal.

Listen to sex workers – we can explain what decriminalisation would mean | Niki Adams Read more

The study invited 2,800 sex workers from across the industry and from different parts of the UK to take part.

Sanders said: “Sex workers from across the board were invited to respond. Many of those who did were women doing escort work but we did get a minority of responses from sex workers working in other parts of the sex industry.”

Fourteen per cent of respondents said they felt they were being exploited and just under a quarter of respondents said they did not feel able to leave sex work, Sanders added.

One sex worker in her early 50s, known as Abbie, said the research reflected her experience. She had worked for many years in the NHS as a care assistant in a hospital before deciding to change direction and become a sex worker.

“I was doing six 13-hour shifts a week in a hospital just so that I could keep up my mortgage payments. Even working such long hours I failed to keep up the repayments and lost my home. I decided I wanted an easier life and as a sex worker that’s what I’ve got. In the NHS I was earning £50 a day, now I earn £100 an hour and work on average just 163 days a year.

“I worked in the care sector for 20 years. A lot of empathy is required for that work and the same is true of sex work. Eight out of 10 of the men I see don’t actually want to have sex with me, some just want affection and someone to talk to.

“As a care assistant I spent all my time cleaning up shit and watching people die. I woke up one morning and decided I wanted an easier life – that’s what I’ve got now. I didn’t get into sex work until I was in my late 40s but I wish I had started sooner.”

Many of the sex workers surveyed earn less than £1,000 per month and some combine sex work with other work. A minority surveyed earn more than £5,000 per month.

While 91% of respondents found their work flexible and 56% found it rewarding, 71% experienced stigma and said they had lied about their job and lived in fear of being recognised.

The research found 113 sex workers (47%) had been victims of crime, including rape and robbery, while 86 (36%) had received threatening texts, calls or emails.

“I’ve had a stalker for almost the entire time I’ve been working,” said one respondent. Another said: “I am single because most men don’t want to date a prostitute.”

Intimidation was another problem raised, and one sex worker cited “clients that mess with your head” as a problem. “There are some very clever, sick men out there who abused my mind,” she said.

One woman asked what the negative parts of the job were said: “Rape, not being able to fall in love, and the things some men ask you to do in order to make lots of money.”

The policing of sex work was another issue raised. Some sex workers reported a positive response when they reported crimes to the police, while others had had a more negative experience. Police enforcement such as regular brothel raids was cited as another reason for the reduction in brothels and move towards the internet.

Leeds is one area where there has been a lot of police enforcement against brothels and very few now remain, with many sex workers in the city working off the internet. In contrast, in nearby Manchester where police have a less enforcement-based approach towards brothels, there are more of these establishments.

Sanders said: “We recommend that sex workers be allowed to work legally together. This is the main way they believe their safety will be enhanced. Societal attitudes need to change in order to minimise the stigma underpinning sex work and consequently reduce the harm that prejudice has on sex workers.

“A policy with decriminalisation as its focus ought to be recommended to improve relationships with police by removing threats of enforcement. Police resources should be channelled into dealing with exploitative situations in sex work.”

The research will be launched at a conference in Manchester on Monday.