Vulnerable teenagers are being recruited at school and university to sell sex under the guise of legal prostitution before being sexually exploited, a major report into modern slavery in the UK has warned.
Eleanor Lyons, the independent anti-slavery commissioner, warned that sexual exploitation of women and girls is on a “clear and sustained rise” in the UK, with pimps using the internet to reach new victims and advertise them online – with subscription platforms then acting as a “gateway” to abuse.
Survivors said women and girls were sometimes being offered discount codes for signing up to adult service websites and told it would lead to a life of glamour and financial independence. One survivor said platforms deliberately targeted young women by offering free premium accounts to students with a university email address.
But many go on to be sexually exploited, the report warned, with criminal gangs among those using adult service websites to recruit, control and profit from vulnerable victims.
Among the cases highlighted in the shocking report is a survivor who recalled a “university-issued manual” promoting prostitution as a way to pay off student loans.
Another woman, described as a well-educated professional and mother, told how she signed up for an adult service website to get money following a divorce, but quickly found herself being controlled by a pimp. The man ran a group on the website, which the mother thought would provide income stability, but instead he took control of all her communications and accommodation, leaving her “trapped”.
The report, titled ‘Behind the Profile’, warns there is a “concerning cultural shift in which sexual exploitation is increasingly mainstreamed and reframed as empowerment”. One survivor, who was from a stable, supportive family, said that the mainstreaming of online subscription platforms that sell sexual content had made it seem normal.
Another girl recalled being influenced to join a sugaring website by a school friend when she was just 16. The platforms connect men who provide financial support for women in exchange for companionship or intimacy.
The girl said that this quickly escalated into selling sex, describing her experience saying: “There was a girl in my English class...she was meeting older guys on this website...I made an account on there...It was just a weird sort of very insidious transition...suddenly you’re walking up to hotel rooms to meet guys you’ve never met before for money.”
The report, published on Thursday, draws on testimony of survivors and analysis of 62,900 adverts across 12 sex for sale websites. One survivor, who was initially trafficked through an escort agency at age 19, said that the agency operated under the guise of legal escorting but actually used violence, isolation and control to traffic girls and young women.
She told researchers she knew of one girl who was 17 at the time and had been exploited by the agency from the age of 13 or 14.
Another woman created an online account to make some quick money in her early twenties after she had come out of a difficult relationship. Within weeks she met a man who offered to help with messaging, saying he would deal with difficult buyers and make the process safer. Soon she was locked out of her account and he controlled all her earnings, using money and intimidation to gain control over her.
The report found that organised criminal gangs were using adult service websites to recruit, control and profit from vulnerable victims. The criminal activity was both UK-based and transnational, with women trafficked across borders as well as throughout the UK.
Another survivor described how online accounts create an illusion that the woman is acting freely. She said: “[I was] being raped on webcam essentially. And of course, the people watching aren’t aware of that...the profile is written so it sounds as if I’m independent and enjoying it.”
However others said that some men openly discussed having sex with trafficked women on the platforms. “You will see men sharing about... ‘these girls are trafficked’... ‘you can get away with doing this to her’... it’s just right there on the page”, one survivor said.
Survivors interviewed for the report warned against these potential gateways into sexual exploitation. They also said that online platforms use of “menu” systems and niche categories were contributing to escalating violence.
One women said she had had multiple encounters where she thought she would die, saying: “I thought if I had tattoos, then if a buyer killed me, they’d at least be able to identify the body. I would be suffocated.”
Another recalled a university-issued manual that promoted prostitution as a way to pay off student loans. The Independent has previously written about training offered to support Durham University students working in the sex industry.
Between 2020 and 2025, referrals of women for modern slavery support increased by 86 per cent - from 1,114 to 2,076.
While the majority of adult female trafficking victims in the UK are foreign nationals, British nationals account for a substantial majority of child victims. Sexual exploitation of children is also on the rise, with referrals rising from 370 in 2020 to 568 in 2025 - a jump of 54 per cent.
According to online web traffic estimates analysed by the anti-slavery commissioner, the 12 adult service websites she looked at attracted nearly 42 million global visits in the month of January.
British, Brazilian and Romanian women were the most advertised nationalities on the sites. London was the most common UK city listed as a location for the women, followed by Glasgow, Manchester and the South East.
Of the nearly 63,000 adverts analysed for the report, 59 per cent showed three or more indicators of trafficking and exploitation.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
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