Students selling sex to pay off study debt | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

By Rachel Tiffen

Some female students are selling sex in Tauranga to pay off tertiary debt - with one recently making $5000 in one night.

A Western Bay brothel owner, who spoke on the condition he was not identified, told the Bay of Plenty Times he had three or four tertiary students on his books.

An escort could bring in up to $100 an hour, he said. One had recently made $5000 in a night.

"My girls don't walk out of here with less than $500 a day."

Student prostitution has gone on in the Bay since the practice was decriminalised in 2003. A stringent application process was undertaken with potential workers.

At his agency, each girl had a profile card, allowing clients to choose according to their own specific taste. This detailed everything from age and measurements to personal attributes and work preferences.

Other Western Bay agency owners spoken to would not divulge personal details about their student "girls" and had little knowledge of their home lives.

They stressed workers were well-educated on safe sex practices and encouraged to set boundaries in their work, before taking on clients. New recruits were given a "starter kit" - provided by the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective - a group established to protect the rights of sex workers. A co-owner of the Maiden Heaven escort agency did not have students on his books, but said he knew it went on in Tauranga.

He said students were notoriously popular with clients.

"Especially the 18 to 25s ... they are pretty much the prime market," said the man, who also refused to be identified.

"We could actually do with some students, to be honest. It's a great way for the girls to pay off their loan and live and party and juggle all of these things."

The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective's regional representative Bernie Bryant also knew some local students were selling themselves to learn. But she had a warning for those considering it.

"It's a very transient industry and there's no guarantee that you will make the same amount of money every day," she said.

Ms Bryant stressed each escort had the right to say 'no', regardless of whether clients asked for special treatment.

"I would tell them (prospective student escorts) it's actually a one-on-one thing and I would tell them wherever they go to work, the client is a client and they should all be treated the same.

"Just look at the client as a business transaction. Say 'I'm going to keep myself safe and no matter how much he offers me I'm going to stick to my guns."

Denise McEnteer, counsellor and clinical supervisor for the Bay's sexual abuse centre Tauranga Help, did not work with student escorts, but had done in the past.

If a student came to her for advice, she would stress the dangerous nature of the job.

Family Planning Association national medical adviser Dr Christine Roke had a similar warning.

" We are just interested in the fact that anybody choosing to do this thing is doing it freely and making sure they are safe."