Students turning to sex work to cope with rising tuition fees and living costs

Students in the UK are being driven to work in the sex industry in order to cope with the rising cost of living and university tuition fees.

More than half of those already in the industry - 67 per cent - have turned to sex work to be able to pay for living expenses, such as food and bills, followed by 53 per cent who need the money to pay for rent.

Another 35 per cent say their earnings are used to pay for university fees, while around a quarter use money earned to reduce post-graduation debt, or to avoid getting into debt.

The startling findings have come from the National Union of Students (NUS) which worked with the Sex Workers Open University and the English Collective of Prostitutes to survey young people working in the industry to shed more light on their lives and experiences.

The majority of respondents surveyed were aged between 20 to 25, and also mainly LGBT+, something NUS said provides a valuable insight into the experiences of those workers who do not define as straight.

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