Majority of sex workers 'not forced or trafficked'

12 April 2012

Most foreign prostitutes in London are not trafficked and choose to sell sex because it earns more money than other jobs, a study has found.

The majority of sex workers questioned believe that working conditions were better than in other occupations and gave them more free time.

Other perceived advantages cited in the government-funded study include "the possibility of meeting interesting people", travelling and the ability to help their families.

But six per cent of women questioned in the study, which was conducted among "off-street" prostitutes in central London, had been "deceived and forced" into selling sex without any control over their work.

Several of these are said to have voluntarily continued prostitution after being freed by police from their oppressors. Other negative factors cited in the study include the stigma of working in prostitution, which forced them to lead a "double life", and the risk of robbery, violence and sexually transmitted diseases.

The most contentious finding, which is likely to anger anti-trafficking campaigners, is that few prostitutes working in the capital are forced to sell sex.

The study, carried out by Dr Nick Mai of London Metropolitan University and funded by the Government's Economic and Social Research Council, states: "The large majority of migrant workers in the UK sex industry are not forced or trafficked.

"Working in the sex industry is often a way for migrants to avoid the unrewarding and sometimes exploitative conditions they meet in non-sexual jobs."

The research also covered men and nine transgendered people selling sex in London. The women worked as escorts or strippers and the men were largely escorts.

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