Prostituting the student body
by Ann Farmer, The Conservative Woman:
The University of Brighton has been accused of encouraging prostitution after a sex workers’ support group ran a stall offering help for students at its freshers’ fair.
The stall was run by the Sex Workers’ Outreach Project Sussex (SWOP), a branch of the Brighton Oasis Project charity, self-described as a ‘discreet and confidential service for women in the sex industry who live or work in Sussex’. Considering the concerns expressed about an alleged ‘rape culture’ in colleges, it seems bizarre to promote prostitution on campus. Feminist campaigner Julie Bindel, co-founder of the law reform group Justice for Women, said: ‘This is beyond disgraceful. It makes me so angry that the sex trade’s become normalised and pimped to women as though it is a harmless way to earn a living.’
Likewise, activist Sarah Ditum told the Sunday Times: ‘This is essentially a grooming operation, pitching prostitution as a manageable, desirable lifestyle.’
With enormous loans to pay off, it would not be surprising if students took up the suggestion, especially when some feminists have latched on to the idea of prostitution as a pathway to female empowerment, especially for poor women – that sex in itself is never ‘bad’ as long as consent is obtained. And the stall was defended by academics. Alison Phipps, professor of gender studies at the University of Sussex, thanked SWOP for its ‘great work’, while Gemma Ahearne, ‘a lecturer and sex industry researcher at Liverpool John Moores University’ maintained that its work was ‘amazing’.
SWOP promoted its stall with a series of tweets, one saying: ‘One in six students does sex work or thinks about turning to sex work. We can help.’ Defending its position, the group insisted that it had ‘never idealised sex work’, but added: ‘However, we understand why students may turn to sex work, and navigating the legal precariousness as well as potential danger mean that students are extra vulnerable and we will help.’ It insisted that it was not ‘encouraging or suggesting’ that students become sex workers, adding that it would offer ‘support and advice without judgment’.
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