Daily Record

Sick men use virus to exploit women in online classified­s

» Sick Scots men using Covid crisis to exploit ‘desperate’ women online » Vile punters post classified ads looking for mums and pregnant girls

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SICK men exploiting the Covid pandemic c to buy sex posted almost 1600 adverts s on a classified­s s website in Scotland.

An investigat­ion foundd 43 punters looking for street prostitute­s, with many hoping to take advantage of “cheap and desperate” women thrown into poverty by coronaviru­s.

Among 1550 men offering to pay for sex were those looking for “single mums” or pregnant women impoverish­ed by the pandemic.

There were also depraved requests for “young girls”, “rape play” and “damaged” women.

The adverts appeared on Craigslist, which carries classified­s for everything from garden furniture to hairdresse­rs.

The women are completely dehumanise­d in the posts, which refer to them as “whores”, “tarts” and “greedy bitches”.

One man requested sex for sale from “any single mums struggling with this lockdown and coronaviru­s”, while another was looking for a “desperate and cheap” woman.

The Scottish Government recognises prostituti­on as a form of violence against woman but paying for sex is not a crime.

The posts, logged between April and November this year, show no regard for the deadly health risks of Covid or sexually transmitte­d diseases.

One 41-year-old wrote: “Condom-free is preferred, students and single mums welcome. If you fancy getting pregnant that’s an added bonus. If you are already pregnant that’s cool too.”

A punter offering to pay £20 for 30 minutes of sex three times a week even joked about the pandemic, saying: “I’m not symptomati­c. No corona here. I might be horny but I’m not stupid lol.”

Between July and October, there was a surge in posts sharing tips on women involved in street prostituti­on in Glasgow – most too graphic to publish.

Some men named specific women, with one looking for a girl he had paid before, describing her as “mental and damaged” but sexually satisfying.

The investigat­ion also found men revelling in the despair of women during Covid, dismissing t hem as commoditie­s to “enjoy”.

An advert said: “Lots of girls desperate on the streets of Glasgow. Some of them are a bit manky and the likes. Anyway just letting you lot know. Doesn’t seem as if a lot of cops about so enjoy.”

Another man wrote: “Troops. I saw quite a few working girls in the city centre. I couldn’t indulge as I had my Mrs with me. Happy hunting.”

One joked: “Glad to see the drugs didn’t finish them in lockdown.”

Another said: “Thank god the Glasgow prossies are immune to the cold! Seen quite a few over the weekend even when it was freezing.”

Vulnerable women are increasing­ly being pressured into online sex work in Scotland Scot by unemployme­nt amid ami the pandemic.

But some men on Craigslist called for a boycott of webcamming sites such as Only Fans, claiming they curb the supply of destitute women having to meet for the sale of sex.

An enraged punter wrote: “If you want to meet girls then you have to stop paying these whores money online now. By buying pics/vids online the whores are making so much money they don’t need to meet.”

Another suggested driving down the prices of the “bitches” on websites and “stop making the girls greedy and give them a reality check”.

In one week alone in September, 101 men posted on Craigslist looking for a woman to pay for sex.

The Scottish Government is consulting over whether its current approach to tackling prostituti­on is sufficient to prevent violence against women and girls.

And Holyrood’s cross-party group on commercial sexual exploitati­on is exploring whether legislatio­n can be introduced to restrict sex for sale on websites.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant, the group’s co-convener, last night said the adverts demonstrat­ed how men prey on vulnerable women.

She said: “These adverts and comments show the mindset of men who buy sex. They fully understand that it is vulnerabil­ity and desperatio­n that lead women to sell sex – and they exploit that.

“The way they speak about the women they exploit shows no empathy or care. They’re only thinking of their own enjoyment and it would appear they get enjoyment from the vulnerabil­ity of those they exploit.”

Grant believes Scotland must criminalis­e the men perpetuati­ng the sex trade.

She said: “We need legislatio­n that brings these abusers to book and legislatio­n that stops these websites profiting from this trade in human beings.

“It is long past time for Scotland to criminalis­e the men who feed this trade and by doing so make our country attractive to trafficker­s, heaping further misery on the women involved. Prostituti­on and sexual exploitati­on is violence against women.”

Craigslist was approached for comment.

We need laws that bring these abusers to book RHODA GRANT MSP ON CRIMINALIS­ING MEN WHO BUY SEX

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 ?? Main picture: Getty Images ?? GRIM TIMES The pandemic has pressured desperate women into online sex work. Pictures posed by models.
Main picture: Getty Images GRIM TIMES The pandemic has pressured desperate women into online sex work. Pictures posed by models.

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