Recession's impact on sex industry examined

By Rachael Canter
Reporter, BBC Somerset

Some prostitutes are risking their safety to make money

Kelly has been working as an escort since the age of 17 but in the past 18 months she has seen her business boom.

"I've seen more clients last year and this year than I have done before. A lot of them are just fed up with work.

"The sexual side's probably only a quarter of what I do. They're looking for escapism and they want to chat with someone who's bubbly and fun."

The 35-year-old charges £130 an hour and overnight stays are £750.

In June she has been asked to go to Las Vegas with one of her regular clients, with whom she has agreed "a sum between £6,000 and £7,000".

"He'll be playing golf most of the time and I guess I'll just be sunbathing, I guess."

Not all of Kelly's clients have that kind of money to spend.

She told me one man who has lost his job is spending his redundancy money on her.

"I did feel a bit bad - I mean he's coming to see me and spending all that money, he must be mad."

Sex change

Eighteen-year-old Ella, from Taunton, is working as an escort to support her young child after being inspired by the ITV drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

She says she makes more than £3,000 a month and is saving up to go to university.

"If I wanted to make three times as much I could because I've increasingly received calls from stressed out men wanting to cut loose.

"I'm in the process of putting my prices up to £200 an hour so I can work for less for the same money."

While some private escorts appear to be thriving, it is not the story everywhere.

Helen, 51, used to work for a tour operator before her husband revealed he was gay, had a sex change and left her.

She moved back to Somerset three years ago and began escorting.

We've had numerous reports of sex workers being raped and violent robberies Melissa Fulton UK Network of Sex Work Projects Male prostitute: 'It's like a production line'

"Before the recession I used to make a living purely from advertising for free on websites, but a year ago clients started to fall away."

Helen now spends £267 each month advertising her services.

"The number of girls working in this area has also increased from around 125 to 180.

"I think that's down to redundancies and businesses going bust," she said.

Massage parlour owner Mark told me he had been approached by a woman who was made redundant by a large chain store.

"She was earning £30,000 a year and working about 30 hours a week.

"I think she's earned at least that working for me in the last three months."

As well as newcomers there are those who are returning.

Mother-of-two Lisa used to work on the streets and has recently started work at a massage parlour.

Business saturated

"I've had to start doing occasional evenings but it's quite difficult to find a babysitter."

It is an even tougher story for the women on the streets of Bristol.

The decline in kerb crawlers is thought in part to be due to a recent clampdown by the police, but two women told me their prices were being undercut by indoor sex workers moving from London - where business is saturated - to areas where there is more demand.

One worker said: "These girls are mainly Polish and Thai and some of them have full sex for as little as £15 - that's less than what street prostitutes are charging (£20).

"Our regulars are going indoors because it's now within their price range."

The street workers said they had felt obliged to take more risks by getting into cars with men that they would normally have turned down, either because they were "really gross" or requested things that they were not comfortable with.

They seemed to have resigned themselves to the fact that being beaten up and raped regularly was something to be expected.

Melissa Fulton from the UK Network of Sex Work Projects said: "It's far from a bowl of cherries out there.

"We've had numerous reports of sex workers being raped and violent robberies.

"Evidence shows that street sex workers often have very poor physical health.

"Even indoor sex is dangerous because you're putting yourself in close proximity with a complete stranger."

And the English Collective of Prostitutes said it had been busier over the past few months with calls from its members.

Support worker Sarah Walker said: "We've had lots of reports of violent robberies on women who are unlikely to go to the police.

"Men are also leaving without paying. They are used to getting a service and even when they don't have the money to pay for it, they still want it."