Sex Working

How can SASH support you?

At SASH, we provide specialist services for those working in the sex or adult industry, such as our Platinum Clinic 'drop ins' where we can offer support, advice, as well as direct access to STI testing contraception through our clinic partnership.

What is sex working?

Sex Working or 'working in the adult/sex industry' is when someone provides sexual services in exchange for money or something of value.
Services sold can range from in-person activities to the sale of online content that is sexual in nature.
Relationships built in during sex working are Transactional between the sex worker and client.

• How can SASH support me?
• Is sex work legal?
• Age of consent
• How can I sex work safely?
• If I am sex working can I say no to sex?
• How can I self-care while sex working?
• Are there options if I don't want to sex work anymore?
• National Ugly Mugs

How can SASH support me?

SASH is here to support you with your sexual-reproductive health and relationship wellbeing, whether your support needs are related to your work or not. This includes if you are selling sex, seeing clients online, selling sexual images of yourself, doing porn, dancing or Dom work, whether it is regularly, occasionally or have done so in the past.

Through our Care Coordination, Counselling, Coaching or Peer Support services, we can support you with:

• Safer sex working
• Knowing your rights
• Developing boundaries in your work to support wellbeing
• Creating work-life-study-self care balances
• Support with sober sex
• Improving your emotional wellbeing
• Stigma and discrimination
• Maintaining person and intimate relationships
• Personal and professional development
• Complimentary therapies including reflexology and shiatsu
• Free condoms and access to online and face to face STI and HIV prevention, screening and treatment services as well as contraception support and advice
• Some of our staff are speakers of Spanish, Urdu, Farsi-Persian and Arabic, we can also provide you an interpreter for some SASH services

At SASH we pledge to offer you support from experienced, non-judgemental and sex work aware staff who won’t make assumption about what you need and who instead will listen and give the time to explore what you need and support you to meet your goals.  Our staff wear our ‘sex worker inclusive’ badges with pride. 

Is sex work legal?

Yes, it is legal to buy and sell sex. However some areas surrounding sex work are illegal:

• Brothels: While not illegal to sell sex at a brothel, it is illegal to keep, manage or control a brothel, or any premises selling sex used by more than one person, even if not there at the same time. This makes it challenging for sex workers to conduct their work safely.
• Advertising: It is legal to advertise sexual services, however not in all circumstances, e.g. it is illegal to advertise in public phone boxes or publish ads with ‘obscene’ content.
• Solicitation: This includes the act of trying to find clients in public places, as well as clients soliciting for sex from sex workers on the street/in public (kerb-crawling) which is illegal.

Age of consent

Although 16 is the legal age for sex consent, any paying for sex of anyone under 18 is child sexual exploitation. While paying a sex worker being forced into sexual activity without their consent (sex trafficked) is illegal. People can be arrested even if they were unaware the sex worker was forced or under 18.

Adult/sex working is a term only referred to people aged 18 and over who have capacity and consent to choose this work, free from coercion, manipulation, threat or force.

If you are worried about your safety or that of someone else, please contact 999 in an emergency or www.modernslaveryhelpline.org or call 08000 121 700 for advice.

How can I sex work safely?

There are different options to sex work safely, which can very depending on the type of work you are doing.

• Online: If working online, consider your privacy, using working names and separate email addresses and social media from your personal life; and ensuring no identifiable information is visible in any videos or images.
• In person: If doing direct sex work, using working name and contact information is useful, alongside sharing about your work or your location with a trusted person, planning your journeys ahead of time, being observant of exit and escape routes when entering a property, carrying a personal safety alarm and ensuring your phone is on full charge. Trusting your instincts is important. Sign up to NUM to receive alerts about potential unsafe clients.

Part of sex working safely is to consider your sexual health, checking you have accessed any vaccinations such as HPV and M-Pox you might be entitled to, or PrEP and PEP, as well as knowing where to get condoms, regular STI screening and contraceptive choices.

If you are engaging in Chemsex, London Friend can support you with harm reduction advice and to reduce/stop if that’s something you would like to do.

If I am sex working can I say no to sex?

Whether you are sex working or having sex for pleasure you have choices about who you have sex with, the type of sex you have, whether to use condoms, and to stop at any time.

If you have agreed to use condoms and your client or sex partner removes the condom during sex without your knowledge or consent this is called ‘stealthing’ and is a crime.

How can I self-care while sex working?

Maintaining self-care is really important for your emotional and physical wellbeing. The work can include late hours and be quite isolating and there are different ways you can self care. This includes trying to ensure you get enough sleep, keeping water and snacks if you are working a long shift, creating a work-life balance, setting boundaries for when you will work and when you will switch off, spending time outdoors in the fresh air, having opportunities for healthy social interactions and activities outside of the work that you enjoy.

Are there options if I don’t want to sex work anymore?

If you are new to the industry or have been sex working a long time, there are options if you want to reduce or stop sex working. One of the first steps is recognising all the knowledge and skills you have utilised during your work, such as self-organisation, communicating with different people, responding to challenges, managing finances, IT and social media competencies.

National Ugly Mugs

National Ugly Mugs is a reporting tool for sex workers to share information about risky clients without alerting the police. You can sign up with them to receive alerts relevant to your location. Violence and crimes against escorts and sex workers is never acceptable. 

At SASH, we can provide support and advice around sex working and also put you in contact with other services and organisations who can help you with legal information and proceedings where needed.