New Report: Behind the Profile: Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking through Adult Services Websites

“…how do you go behind a webcam to make sure that the woman isn’t being coerced?”

These are the words of one of the survivors who bravely contributed to this report. They capture, with painful clarity, the central challenge confronting policymakers, regulators, and law enforcement in the digital age: exploitation has evolved and is happening online behind screens, profiles, and advertisements. It is now easier for perpetrators to reach victims and cause incredible harm. 

Increasing numbers of women and girls are being identified as victims of sexual exploitation. In recent years, we are seeing more UK national victims of sexual exploitation and at a younger age. This is unacceptable and must change. We must proactively be looking at why this rise is occurring and doing everything within our power to stop it and protect the victims.

During my time as Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, I have spoken with victims of exploitation.  Although their stories are individual, their testimonies point to a deeply troubling trend: whilst the online world has provided enhanced protections for some, for many women it has been central to how their exploitation was facilitated.

That is why I have listened to survivors of sexual exploitation and have carried out this research into Adult Service Websites (ASWs). These sites are easy to access and to browse explicit images of predominantly women for sale, accompanied by lists of the sexual services available.

The era of adverts in phone boxes is behind us and has been replaced by a vast digital ecosystem that operates in public sight and offers what appears to be largely unregulated access to sexual services. For this research I spoke to survivors, collected data from these sites to analyse the adverts for signs of exploitation and conducted legal analysis to understand how these sites were not being scrutinised.

The scale of the marketplace should give us pause. The 12 ASWs I collected data from had nearly 63,000 listings recorded in a single point in time and attracted 41.7 million visits in one month. 59% of the adverts on the sites had three or more indicators of exploitation and trafficking, and 39% had four or more indicators.  Indicators of exploitation include the same number appearing across multiple ads, references to drug use, being ‘new to the area’, offering a broad range of sexual services and low-price points. UK nationals were the largest cohort on the sites and the average age was 25.3 years old. There were adverts in every corner of the UK.

Behind these numbers are real harms endured by survivors who were exploited on these sites. Survivors spoke to us about how they were groomed, controlled, and advertised online without their knowledge or consent. Traffickers and abusive partners created profiles, arranged bookings, and collected profits while the women themselves were left controlled and intimidated.

Survivors said subscription platforms acted as a gateway to normalising the sale of sexual access and lowering barriers that led to offline exploitation. They were encouraged to join these sites at school and university, offered discount codes for signing up, and told it would lead to a life of glamour and financial independence.  A survivor described the ‘gentrification’ of sexual exploitation and how the internet is allowing perpetrators to reach across every cohort of society.

The level of harm on ASWs is exacerbated by a lack of safety features, protective measures and reporting systems to report sexual exploitation. There was weak verification, anonymous buyer access, menu-based service listings, third party profile control. The harms associated with ASWs are often structurally embedded within platform design, shifting risk onto those advertised while shielding those who profit.

These features do not simply fail to prevent harm; they can perpetuate it. When victims sought help in the offline world the response did not always reflect the complexity of trauma they have experienced. We must ensure that the expansion of trauma informed, survivor centred support is a priority.

This report is published at a moment of significant change, as dedicated national funding for the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOICU) is set to end in March 2026, creating new risks for the UK’s ability to respond to modern slavery.

Government must act if it is to deliver on its promise to better protect women and girls. Legislation and regulation must keep pace with risk and harm identified in this report. Exploitation now operates behind screens as well as on the streets. If we are to confront this reality, our regulatory frameworks, enforcement tools, and support systems must all evolve together accordingly. 

Eleanor Lyons, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner

You can read the full report here.