Prostitution is just like bar work for students, claim academics – as 1 in 5 would say they would consider sex work
Professor Tracey Sagar and Debbie Jones shared their controversial findings
CONTROVERSIAL new research has suggested that working as a stripper or prostitute at university is now considered as normal as working at a bar.
Tracey Sagar and Debbie Jones - researchers studying student sex work - claimed that as many as one in 20 students sell their bodies to cover the cost of tuition and living expenses while speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival.
Meanwhile, the pair revealed that the study indicates that one in five students are considering working in the sex industry.
The study also said that sex work is as common among male students as it is female undergraduates - with lads in demand for "butler in the buff" jobs, which are often offered to hen parties.
The research, called The Student Sex Work project, was a three-year study which surveyed 6,773 university students thanks to almost £500,000 of funding from the National Lottery.
Commenting on her work, Professor Sagar, a former Met Police officer and member of the criminology department at Swansea University, said: "If somebody is doing sexual work and it's not harming them physically, it should not be an issue."
She added: "What's the difference between doing (sexually explicit acts) on a webcam and working in a bar?"
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The academics also expressed their opinion that sex work is not "inherently harmful" to students - and they shouldn't be "stigmatised" or disciplined for offering escort services on campus.
And when asked if earning money through sex work would become as common among students as working in a shop, Professor Sagar said: "Look at the data – 22 per cent are considering sex work. It's on the student radar...the indicators are there."
She added: "I've got a daughter who went to university. I would want the university to have the right support services.
"Universities ought to recognise some of the student population are engaged with work in the sex industry and not to stigmatise them. They should offer help where it's needed."
But their remarks have been branded "incredibly irresponsible and stupid" by campaigners.
Margaret Morrisey, of pressure group Parents Outloud, told The Daily Mail: "I think it's an incredibly irresponsible and stupid comment to make. What adults choose to do is up to them.
"But whilst you're in university, still being educated, learning and getting experience, then I think it is physically and morally a corrupt thing to do, or to encourage a young person to be involved in. It can lead to all sorts of terrible issues – blackmail, depression, all those things – which obviously are detrimental to young people's future.
"I have an 18-year-old granddaughter, and it would break my heart if her need for money to survive in university led her to even consider doing something like that.
"I do think that if anyone at the university is aware of this happening then they really have a moral responsibility to inform the students' parents."