Students turn to sex work to help pay for university
HUNDREDS of university students in Victoria have turned to prostitution to pay their way through higher education.
Up to 40% of the female sex workers in Melbourne's brothels are attending the city's eight universities and other colleges.
Many of the women cite the costs of course fees, increased rent and a rise in the general cost of living for their decision to join the "oldest profession".
One 22-year-old Monash student, who has been working as a prostitute and escort for 18 months, said: "In an ideal world I wouldn't be doing this work but it's well paid and there's no way I could afford to complete university and live out of home if I had any other part-time job."
The huge earning potential for these girls is the biggest attraction of sex work. According to managers at numerous brothels across the city, a pretty woman can pocket as much as $1400 on a busy night.
Glen Barnes, general manager at Melbourne's largest brothel, the Daily Planet, said that university students often made the best workers. He explained: "We've got nearly 200 girls on our books and I'd say at least 35% are students, and they're nearly always a pleasure to deal with.
"Typically they're very career-oriented and know exactly what they want to get out of the job. Going to uni is obviously getting more and more expensive, and for many who haven't got wealthy parents, this is the best way to make ends meet. Most of the girls say it's the rising costs of fees and being a student in an expensive city like Melbourne that is making them consider the sex industry.
"We're happy to have them and try to provide an environment which supports them. That means that if it's quiet and they're not with a client we allow them to get out their laptops and study in a spare room."
Although there is no official register of sex workers in Melbourne's brothels, industry insiders believe there are up to 2000 women who are selling their bodies in the city.
A spokeswoman for Top of the Town, another large brothel in the CBD, with about 90 girls on its books, said that girls from all backgrounds were involved.
"You really can't generalise about the type of girl that will become a sex worker," she said
"We've got workers who went to the most prestigious schools in Melbourne and come from very affluent families. In their cases I think they've made the decision that they'd want to earn their own money rather than accepting handouts from their parents.
"We've also got girls who come from more disadvantaged situations, who can't live at home while they study, or perhaps they don't want to be a burden on their parents.
"By working in the sex industry they can earn a lot of money in a relatively short period of time.
The Top of the Town spokeswoman said one former sex worker had paid her way through a law degree by working one or two nights a week and, once qualified, had returned to the brothel to give legal advice to some of the girls.
"A lot of the time with students, the girls are very clear that they'll only work while they're studying," the spokeswoman said. "Once they've got their degree or qualification that's it, they'll walk away.
"It's not necessarily a choice for the rest of your life, just a way of paying your way until you get to where you want to go."