Students Turning To Sex Industry To Pay Way

SOME students at Swansea University are turning to the sex industry to fund their studies, the Waterfront can reveal.

We have obtained evidence that students are using social media and private adverts to get into the industry to help pay their way through university.

The evidence shows both males and females have been willing to take part in sex, porn videos and escorting, all for payment.

Our investigators also found that massage parlours in the city have been approached by students looking for work.

There are no lap dancing clubs in Swansea, but we contacted two in Cardiff who also said they have interest from students, and although they could not say if any were from Swansea, they could not rule it out.

Swansea University Students’ Union welfare officer Charlotte Britton said: “If anyone is having money issues, there are lots of ways the union and university can help.

“The financial contingency fund is there for anyone who has run out of options for money.

“You can collect a form from support services in Kier Hardie.

“Students should never feel like they have nowhere to turn – that’s what the Students’ Union and the university support services are here for – to help you.”

Swansea University has been given £489,143 of the Big Lottery Fund to investigate the growing problem of students turning to prostitution, as well as providing support to those who currently

work in the sex industry.

The study, which begins in June, will be primarily carried out by Dr Tracey Sagar and Debbie Jones, who work in the centre for criminal justice and criminology at the university.

It will be supporting a study, which will be conducted with the aim of uncovering the number of students in Wales now working in the adult industry.

The SU’s women’s officer Eleri Jones added: “It’s excellent that Dr Tracey Sagar and Debbie Jones are doing this research into sex work in Wales, based here in Swansea.

“By looking to support sex workers by including them in the research process, they are allowing those involved in this sort of work to help drive the project.

“Women students are more likely to turn to this sort of work due to the culture of objectification and sexualisation which is so rife and normalised in our society.”

“This research will vastly improve our knowledge of how sex work is affecting women across Wales, and go towards helping us discover more about these issues.”