Durham University student sex workers 'made hundreds of pounds'

Two Durham University students say they have been given hundreds of pounds and free foreign flights through sex work.

Anna*, 20, said she could make £800 a month and James*, 22, said he had been taken to cities around the world.

Last week Durham University defended its students' union's decision to offer training sessions to those working in the industry alongside their studies.

Anna said she would have found training helpful as "there were times where I felt quite scared of what I was doing".

She said she had a support network of other sex workers her age but said many felt "quite isolated" and she was sometimes threatened.

"They can be really scary people and you can find yourself in scary situations that you get yourself into through this line of work," she said.

Psychotherapists have previously warned intimate work could lead to anxiety and depression.

However, James said he was "not very interested in what the students' union have to say about it".

"I really don't need to hear tips about sex work from anyone other than sex workers," he said.

He did not "actively go looking for it", he said, but men would message him on gay dating apps and offer money for sex.

"I've done it for cash, for meals at some amazing restaurants or even foreign holidays - including one coming up to a city in the US," he said.

"I did it for the thrill of it and maybe a bit of an ego boost."

Anna, who said she gave up sex work when she met her boyfriend, said she was predominantly a "sugar baby", working on dating websites which match women to older men who give gifts and money in return for companionship or, sometimes, sex.

She would be paid for specific conversations, sexting and pictures.

"I think, because it was all day, every day, that you kind of have to engage with these people," she said.

"It's a lot and you are essentially marketing yourself as a product."

She also worked on websites selling used underwear, socks and other personal items.

The National Union of Students has information about dealing with stress, managing finances and support for student sex workers.

Durham University defended the students' union training sessions after the Further Education Minister Michelle Donelan accused it of "legitimising a dangerous industry which thrives on the exploitation of women".

It said it was "emphatically not seeking to encourage sex work" but acting responsibly by offering vulnerable students advice on how to stay safe and ensuring "social stigma" did not stop them accessing support.

* Names have been changed as both students wish to remain anonymous.

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