Abstract
Student sex work is a current phenomenon all over the world, increasingly reported by the media in recent years. However, student sex work remains under-researched in Germany and is lacking direct first-hand reports from the people involved. Further, sex work remains stigmatized, and therefore, students practicing it could be at risk of social isolation and emotional or physical danger. Therefore, this study examines students working in the sex industry focusing on their personal experiences and attitudes toward them. An online questionnaire was completed by 4386 students from Berlin universities. Students who identified themselves as sex workers (n = 227) were questioned with respect to their motivations to enter the sex industry, characteristics of their job, feelings after the intercourse, and perceived risks. Student non-sex workers (n = 2998) were questioned regarding knowledge of and attitudes toward student sex workers. Most student sex workers reported that they entered the sex industry due to financial reasons (35.7%). The majority reported offering services involving direct sexual intercourse. Disclosing their job to friends, family, or others was associated with less problems with social isolation and in romantic relationships. With a total of 22.9%, student non-sex workers reported never having heard about students working in the sex industry. The most frequent emotions mentioned by them with regard to student sex workers were compassion and dismay (48.9%). There was no difference in happiness between student sex workers and non-sex working students. Through this research, it becomes evident that there are similarities between the student’s motivations to enter the sex industry, their feelings, and the problems they have to face. Moreover, prejudices still prevail about the life of student sex workers. Increasing understanding of student sex work might help those sex workers to live a less stigmatized life and thereby to make use of support from others. The universities as institutions could form the basis for this, e.g., by openly supporting student sex workers. This could help to encourage the rights of student sex workers and to gain perspective with respect to the sex industry.
Highlights
Sex work is one of the oldest known professions present across different countries
There was no difference in happiness during the last 3 months between student sex workers and non-sex working students (z = 0.79, p = 0.43); the median of happiness in both student sex workers and non-sex working students in the last 3 months was 8.0 (IQR = 2). The aims of this exploratory study were (a) to gain a first insight into primary motivations driving students in Berlin, a major German metropolitan area, to enter the sex industry and to examine characteristics of their work, their feelings, and risks connected to the work; and (b) to investigate judgments and attitudes by non-sex working students toward student sex workers
This research provides further insights into the topic of student sex work, as it is the first study in Germany focusing on both student sex workers and non-sex working students as well as comparing these two “groups”
Summary
Sex work is one of the oldest known professions present across different countries. A commonly used definition of “sex work” is the process of offering a sexual act for money or material goods (Comte, 2010). Only a few studies have concentrated on students’ motivations to enter the sex industry (Roberts et al, 2010; Sagar et al, 2015a) These studies were carried out in countries that demand relatively high student fees and the primary motivation of the sex workers was to fund their education. The project shows that the phenomenon of student sex work is often tabooed in society (Sagar et al, 2015b) This makes it hard for students engaged in the sex industry to openly talk about their fears and other feelings and make use of any support, but it means that students involved in the sex industry may have to face severe stigmatization and prejudice (Sagar et al, 2015a). Addressing the characteristics of the job, the motivations to engage therein, and the feelings of the student sex workers is important as it provides a better understanding of student sex workers and the support services that they require
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
