Stories from sex workers: ‘It won’t be long before customers can buy a robot from the drug store and they won’t need us at all’

It may be commonly referred to as the world’s oldest profession, but prostitution only became known as ‘sex work’ as recently as 1978, thanks to a term coined by the activist Scarlot Harlot. Since then, those words have come to encompass a wide array of services: ‘camming’ or camera work, independent escorting, phone/online sex, brothel work, hostessing, porn, stripping, ‘sugar’ relationships and individual sexual entrepreneurship of many stripes. In more recent times, a debate has emerged.

On one side are the commentators who say that sex work is work, attracting people because of its opportunity and autonomy. On the other, there is the growing anti-sex work global movement, which some believe has made sex work less safe thanks to policies affecting all sex workers and targeting communication platforms..