25% Strippers and Lap Dancers are Students in UK
A statement form The English Collective of Prostitutes shocked with the news that British students studying in colleges and universities are approaching them to meet their expenses and to pay their student loans. And the number is growing rapidly as number of students approached them to fund their studies are double compare to last year.
University/College students are the one majorly hit with current on going economic slowdown and increase in unemployment up to 2.64million(Highest since 1992) in UK. According to stats 1.03million students are unemployed among total 2.64million unemployed people in UK.
Sarah Walker from English Collective of Prostitutes, a welfare body for sex workers, spoke to reporters, She said: “(The government) know the cuts and the austerity programmes and the removing of grants, they know when they remove those resources they know it drives women further into poverty. The way that women survive poverty is often through sex work. The government knows that and they don’t seem to care frankly.”
Sarah Walker added: “It’s right across the sex industry. With sex work, you can work for maybe one evening a week and make enough money to cover all your expenses. It’s younger students who are just starting out in university and also women who are going back trying to get a degree or increase their skills.”
According to study published last year at London University 16% of students are willing to work as prostitute to pay their studies and 11% would work for some escort agencies. Also another study published recently by Leeds University found that 25% strippers and lap-dancers are students.
Estelle Hart, A women Officer at National Union of Students, said that government should have taken action regarding this serious issue and should decrease tuition fees especially in university and graduate level education.
However, Government said it is providing 180million/year for vulnerable teenagers and also no student has to pay up-front for their studies.
Government spokesman said: “Our reforms will make the system even fairer, with more financial support and lower monthly repayments once you are in well-paid work.”