Marine biologist selling her body to pay off student debt
As police allow brothels to operate ‘as long as call girls are safe’
A GRADUATE yesterday went on national television to say she is selling her body to help pay off her £20,000 of student debt.
She said she would rather work as a prostitute than in a petrol station on minimum wage. Known only as Louise, she said she can earn up to £900 a week.
‘I’m stubbornly defiant about my right to do this kind of work without people inflicting their moral judgements on me,’ she told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire.
‘I don’t want people to think I’m on drugs or that I’ve been forced or coerced or trafficked.
‘I’m just here as a normal person who wants to make money, secure a future for myself and do this kind of work because I choose to.’
Louise, who has a degree in marine biology, works from a smart two-bedroom flat in a Victorian residential block in Westminster, central London. Clients are charged £70 for each half hour – £25 of which goes to the brothel. A busy day for Louise might involve nine clients.
‘People can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact I want to do this job. It’s my choice – I enjoy this kind of work and I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t want to.’
A senior police officer admitted last night that brothels were being allowed to operate as long as the prostitutes were safe.
Dan Vajzovic said arrests alone had proved an ‘ inadequate response’ and protecting those involved was his top priority. The assistant chief constable, who is responsible for the policing of sex work nationwide, said prosecutions were not always the answer.
‘Officers will now consider a range of factors, including the safety of those sex workers involved, before deciding on whether prosecution is the most appropriate response to an offence,’ he said.
One brothel owner, a former policeman, revealed yesterday that his former colleagues had shown no interest in shutting him down.
The father of one is responsible for three brothels in west and central London that are used by up to 20 women, including Louise.
All the businesses are advertised online, and housed in rented flats. In England and Wales it is illegal to operate a brothel but it is not illegal to for individuals to buy and sell sex.
The owner, known only as Karl, said he has been involved in the sex industry for 15 years and earned around £60,000 a year.
The 45-year-old said he was not exploiting the women and had no problem with breaking the law because he did not agree with it.
‘We don’t allow drugs, no underage girls. We check everyone’s passports,’ he told the BBC.
‘If we’ve got any doubts that they’re not there under their own free will, we will call the police.’ The businessman, who lives in a £800,000 detached home in the Home Counties and drives a Range Rover, said his brothel was operating as an escort agency with the ‘full knowledge’ of the authorities.
‘If they close us down, I could go to prison,’ he added. ‘They might be thinking “Let’s police this by visiting them regularly and making sure everything is in order”.’
In a statement, Mr Vajzovic, of Cambridgeshire Police, said: ‘Sex workers are all too often individuals who are abused and profited from. Our priority is to keep these people safe and crack down on those who use their position to exploit the vulnerable.
‘We will work with those involved in sex work to exchange information, improve safety and increase trust in the police so victims have the confidence to report crimes.’