The Seductive Scholar

Words by Sol Blue & Kat Morrison

There’s something wonderfully wholesome and celebratory about furthering your education; whether it be a political science degree, or a diesel mechanics course, society applauds the learner. We venerate and romanticise the ‘poor student’ narrative. We joke about ramen noodles and pulling all-nighters. But the reality is much harsher. Tertiary education is expensive – financially, physically, and spiritually. Lectures, tutorials, papers, research, workshops, reports.... the list goes on. And there are only so many hours in the day, right? We live in a capitalist construct, and everyone needs cash. Fitting that waiting job around your full-time study is brutal, at best. But some students have found an alternative....

“Sex work is legitimate labour, it’s skilled labour” says Kat Morrison, General Manager of SIN, the South Australian sex worker peer organisation. Funded by SA Health, SIN has been promoting the health, rights, and wellbeing of SA sex workers for over 30 years. “Sex work is the consensual exchange of sexual services for reward. It’s an umbrella term that encompasses many different types of services and activities. We find students are drawn to sex work due to the flexible working hours and potential income”, Morrison says. Sex work can be an accessible job that is available for university students. Subsequently, universities need to create environments free from stigma and discrimination so students can disclose their sex worker status to appropriate faculty and support staff without fear of reprisal or vilification.

Studies from Canada found that anywhere between 2% - 7% of students at a university have engaged in sex work. In South Australia, statistics about sex workers are difficult to obtain. The current legislative framework, as it pertains to sex work in SA, is full criminalisation. SA is the only Australian state or territory to fully criminalise adult, consensual, commercial sexual services.

“Criminalisation harms sex workers. It creates barriers to accessing services, and it is the number 1 reason sex workers don’t report crimes committed against us. In SA, the police are both our protectors and our prosecutors. It’s unworkable and, quite frankly, it’s frightening” Morrison explains. Sol Blue, a South Australian sex worker, university student, and peer educator, shared their story with us. “Late 2019/early 2020 I couldn’t survive on youth allowance any longer. After paying my rent I could barely afford food. So, I reached out to a friend who was a sex worker and I asked them what I needed to do to enter the industry. Like many other Flinders Uni students I know, sex work gave me a job with flexible hours and high pay, where I was my own boss. For the first time since starting university I was able to start saving, I had the time to exercise, and talking to my clients fulfilled an inherently social part of me. It is for these reasons and many others that I and other university students became sex workers.” Sex work is a financial pathway that may also be accessed by international students. Because of unfair labour laws and visas regulations, international students sometimes choose sex work. In Australia, international students are only allowed to legally work 20 hours a week when their course is in session (this has currently been relaxed from January to April 2022 because of work shortages, as well as evidence of a predatory approach to international students by the Australian federal government). International students get the standard minimum wage; working within the parameters of the law, international students can receive a maximum weekly income of $473.20. However, it must be said that studies have found ¾ of international students get paid less than the minimum wage. The Australian job market for international students is predatory, unfair, and often casually or overtly racist. Sex work gives many international students the ability to achieve economic freedom.

Like any other industry, ensuring you’re informed before entering may provide the best personal and professional outcomes. Sex work isn’t for everyone. SIN offers peer education and new worker information to people interested in exploring or entering the sex industry. Sex workers have been evidenced to have better sexual health than the general population. Safer sex activities and products are the norm in the sex industry. Accessing and correctly using safer sex products is key in minimising the spread of sexually transmissible infections and blood borne viruses. Organisations like SIN and SHINE SA can deliver guidance on appropriate safer sex product use. Sex workers in South Australia, and around the world, face stigma and discrimination. Sex work is still demonised, derided, and criminalised. Sex workers have found themselves booted from social media platforms, shadow banned, outed, and refused services and products. In other jurisdictions around the world (and EVERY other jurisdiction in Australia) sex work exists within a framework of legality or decriminalisation. Sex work is a human rights issue. Sex workers provide necessary and desired services to a range of diverse clientele. There is no one size fits all stereotype for either sex workers or clients. University campuses are often a microcosm of the wider culture and its norms. People in positions of power at tertiary institutions need to reflect upon the inclusivity afforded sex workers – despite the legislative framework in SA. If tertiary institutions are serious about doing no harm, then the erasure and othering of sex workers on campuses must cease. Campaigns celebrating personal choice, bodily autonomy, consent, and informed consent must be inclusive of sex workers. Flinders university, in particular, should prioritise their students feeling welcome and safe; therefore, anti sex worker stigma or bias must be condemned and addressed.

Universities and other tertiary institutions can lead the way in eradicating stigmatising and discriminatory practises. Full-Service Sex Worker Charlie said that “sex work phobia is ingrained in educational systems. Flinders University needs to be an advocate to change and teach in all levels of education that sex work is a legitimate job and that sex worker rights are human rights.” The creation of welcoming spaces and inclusive policies is a necessary first step. The sex industry is full of diverse individuals – male, female, trans, gender and culturally diverse. The decision to participate in the provision of commercial sexual services is often a considered and nuanced one. Sometimes, it’s predicated simply by the need to survive, to eat, to pay rent; other times, it’s based upon a plethora of reasons that are none of your (or my) business. The decriminalisation of the sex industry in SA is long overdue. Decriminalisation will provide pathways for sex workers to report crimes without fear of reprisal, access industrial protections and rights, and be recognised as a legitimate industry. As sex workers like to say - “My body, My business”.