Nonetheless, the numbers of young women, aged 18 – 25, working as escorts and sex workers is on the rise

Whilst our societal attitudes towards sex and sex work are in constant movement, University students who turn to such work lack support from their institutions. As a society, we seem to be progressing towards further sexual liberation but a stigma still remains surrounding the sex industry. This stigma has led to University students, working as local escorts being threatened with expulsion or removed from their student accommodation. Despite some students only pursuing this work to support themselves in their studies. If these barriers are present which prevent these students from completing their degree, they may struggle to exit the sex industry in the future, if they wish to do so.

It would be silly to assume that all Fort Wayne sex workers are not under duress, of course, which leads to some sticky ethical messes

Instead of isolating and demonising the students who choose this industry, perhaps there should be more support which focuses on keeping these students safe.

You won’t find many young women who would rank the worlds ‘oldest profession’ high on their aspirational career list (at least not publicly). In fact, NUS (the National Students Union) found that 5 – 10% of respondents to their survey had engaged in general sex work, for example, the selling of nudes or used underwear, stripping, or escort work. Furthermore, there has been a drastic rise in prostitution in Fort Wayne and sex work amongst teens, and men, in the last ten years according to the Irish Times. The question, of course, is why.

Of course, as many will be quick to say, there is a difference between prostitutes in Fort Wayne and offering escort services. The latter is legal while the former is not, for a start. Women offering escort services in Fort Wayne are also more likely to be well-paid and in the business of their own volition.

With that said, however, the teen escorts in Lafayette surveyed by NUS and found on reputable escort sites are working voluntarily and they have a host of reasons for doing so. NUS findings show that 67% of the sex workers polled were working to cover living costs while 53% were doing so to pay their rent. Furthermore, 35% of young adult and teenage escorts polled said that they were using the money to pay their tuition fees.

The sex industry is only continuing to grow and the costs of University shows no sign of decreasing, so it is likely that the percentage of students contacting an escort agency in Fort Wayne will continue to increase

This should be no shock; sex work has always been dominated by working-class women, women of colour, and disabled women (55% of respondents said they classes themselves as having a physical or mental disability).

What is most interesting, however, is that over half of the sex workers in Indiana who responded said that they enjoyed their work and were only worried about how their family, friends, and future employers might react if they found out.

Looking beyond surveys which focus upon part-time Fort Wayne escorts and sex workers provides a different perspective. Sites such as Fetlife, Tumblr, and Twitter are replete with freelance sex workers who have made it a fulltime career. It is common to hear, in these communities, that female escorts in London started out because they were desperate to make ends meet, but stayed in the business because of the freedom, flexibility, and improved lifestyle that successful sex work enables them to afford.

In the ‘gig’ economy, teenage escorts and young women also turn to sex work to afford little extras; many have surprisingly professional careers, too. Of course, this leaves out the, admittedly marginal, minority of young women who turn to such work purely for enjoyment. As society becomes more accepting of female sexuality this number has risen but remains the minority (at least in surveys and studies).