The national average wage for a prostitute has been revealed - and it may not be as high as you were expecting. But the big difference between prostitution and other professions is that more than half of sex workers worked 10 hours or fewer per week. And despite the risks involved, they have a high level of job satisfaction as they can decide what work they choose to do, Devon Live reports.
More than four fifths said the internet allowed them to work safely and to get help from other colleagues through social media and messaging apps. But nearly half feared being "outed" and four fifths still experienced at least one form of work-related crime.
Around three fifths reported persistent or repeated unwanted contact or threatening or harassing texts, calls or emails. A half said they had client who refused to pay or attempted to underpay and had suffered verbally abused. But they experience lower levels of violence and other crimes than street workers.
Yet only under a quarter who were crime victims reported it to the police, two fifths said they were reluctant to and a third said they would never come forward. Researchers from the Universities of Leicester and Strathclyde carried out the first UK-wide and largest survey of online sex work, examining working conditions, safety and policing of the industry. The study included the largest online surveys carried of sex workers of all genders and 1, clients.
The majority of sex workers who took part were escorts, webcam workers, phone sex workers, "Miss Whiplash" bondage workers or sexual masseurs. Other sex work jobs included adult films, modelling, agency work, brothel work, exotic dance and street sex work. The majority - 72 per cent - were self-employed sole traders working alone rather than in brothels. Principal Investigator Professor Teela Sanders at the University of Leicester said: "There is little research about online sex work despite it being the largest sector of the UK sex industry.
