Behind the Profile: Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking through Adult Services Websites
About this Review
The rise of digital platforms has transformed the landscape of commercial ‘sex work’, with adult services websites becoming prominent spaces where individuals advertise and engage in sexual services. However, these platforms may also serve as environments where exploitation, coercion, and trafficking are facilitated and concealed.
Recognising these risks, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has conducted a review to examine the true scale and impact of sexual exploitation linked to online platforms. The review aimed to uncover whether digital spaces enable trafficking networks; identify gaps in policy and enforcement; and ensure that victims are better identified and supported.
The research combined three approaches:
- Survivor testimony
- Platform data analysis
- Legal and regulatory review
Key Findings
- ASWs are a vast and hidden online marketplace.
- The scale of potential harm on ASWs is significant and geographically dispersed. 59% of adverts displayed three or more STIM red flag indicators associated with possible exploitation.
- ASWs are easily accessible, including to children.
- Survivors who were exploited on ASWs explained how exploitation pathways are diverse and not confined to a single demographic.
- The design of ASWs embeds harm and restricts exit routes.
- Support systems are insufficient and inconsistent on ASWs.
- Current legislation and regulatory guidance are not preventing harm.
- Offline advertising of selling sex is restricted, yet equivalent online activity remains broadly permissible, reflecting a failure of the law to keep pace with technological change.
Questions and Answers
What is an Adult Services Website (ASW)?
The term Adult Services Website (ASW) is used to refer to any online platform that allows individuals or third parties to post, advertise, facilitate, or broker sexual services in exchange for money, goods, services, or other benefits.
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