Internet reduces violent crime and physical assault against sex workers, new study suggests

The Internet has reduced the number of violent attacks against sex workers and has made the job more safe, a new study has shown.

Participants who were surveyed said that the Internet provided them with more safety precautions in their line of work.

Sex workers said that conducting business online allowed them more control over their career with 85 per cent said they used the Internet to screen potential clients.

They reported that online forums provide sex workers with a platform to discuss safety concerns with peers.

The research conducted by academics at the universities of Leicester and Strathclyde, reported that only 5 per cent of the 641 sex workers interviewed had experienced physical assault in the past year.

Teela Sanders, professor of criminology told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “one of the really interesting findings is that the types of crimes that sex workers are experiencing have changed.

“So there was a much lower incidence of violent crime, sexual and physical assault than in other studies. But there was high levels of digitally facilitated crimes – harassment by email and and text, for example.”

Participants who were interviewed for the study reported that online peer forums were a good resource for workers to access safety alerts and other “business-related” information.

Milena, 32, who is also an independent escort and provides BDSM services, said the forums were good for talking to other workers about safety concerns.

She said: “girls are very open because obviously we started talking about the safety from the very get-go… If you didn’t have that Internet …everything would have been underground and everybody would be scared”.

Among the participants the main safety precaution taken to protect online identity was to use a different name, 91 per cent said they used a pseudonym when talking to clients.

More than 70 per cent said they would not give out personal details online.

An organisation called National Ugly Mugs allows sex workers to check phone numbers to see if a potential client has been reported.

Of the participants surveyed, 33 per cent said that they used the organisation to do background checks on their clients.

The vast majority of sex workers surveyed were well educated. More than a fifth had a degree and 14.4 per cent had a post graduate qualification.

The sex workers reported rarely feeling stressed at work and more than half said that they thought they were well paid.

Of those surveyed 80 per cent said that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their working conditions.