Prostitution has long been hailed as the world “oldest profession”, but it has certainly garnered one hell of a stigma in that time. In the U.S., the sex trade, prostitution, and what is labeled as sex trafficking (bringing prostitutes into a country or across state lines), has been met with a mixture of disgust and pity. Often prostitutes are seen as victims in this narrative, with their pimps or “handlers” being the real criminals. However, a recent study in England may have exposed this characterization as a myth, as 94% of the respondents to a study funded by the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) indicated that they were not coerced or threatened into prostitution.

Unveiled at the ESRC’s annual Festival of Social Sciences on October 31^st in London, the study found that a vast majority of “professionals” in the sex trade are doing it of their own free will. The study polled 100 foreign males and females, immigrants living and working within London, and asked how they came to be prostituting themselves in the UK. A majority responded that they had not come to the UK with the sex trade in mind, but rather pursuing another job opportunity, to make more money for family members in their nation of origin, or for greater civil liberties. Asked how they came to prostitution, most reported that they enjoyed the flexibility, earning potential, and “the ability to meet new and interesting clients”. The immigrant prostitutes were of various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, some possessing enough personal wealth that working in the sex trade was not essential to their livelihood. Much of the violence and inherent risk in the lifestyle comes not from clients, but from the criminal organizations that many tend to work within.

The ultimate findings of the study supported that, for the most part, individuals working within the sex trade were doing so of their own free will. They maintain that the majority of their contacts with clients are consensual and appropriate, but that if law enforcement were able to guarantee safety for sex workers, that they would have more success in prosecuting criminal organizations. The criminalization of clients and the sex trade, many respondents felt, would not reduce demand. Instead it would push sex workers into the very underground criminal organizations that law enforcement attempts to disrupt. Finally, all of the respondents felt that decriminalizing the sex trade, and making it easier for migrants to receive documentation and legalized status would improve the living and working conditions of those in the industry.