[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16157522

Greater numbers of students in England are turning to prostitution to fund their education, the National Union of Students (NUS) claims.

The NUS also says students are turning to gambling and taking part in medical experiments to fund their studies.

The NUS also told BBC 5 Live Breakfast it estimated about 20% of women working in lap dancing clubs were students.

It says increased living costs and fees, and cuts to the education maintenance allowance, play a part.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Breakfast programme, Estelle Hart, the NUS's national women's officer, said government cuts had put more pressure on students.

"Students are taking more dangerous measures," said Ms Hart.

"In an economic climate where there are very few jobs, where student support has been massively cut, people are taking more work in the informal economy, such as sex work.

"It's all dangerous unregulated work, simply so people can stay in education."

It is not just university students who are turning to the adult industry to pay for their education.

Eighteen-year-old Clare - not her real name - turned to escorting during her A-levels when she found out her education maintenance allowance (EMA) was in danger of being cut.

"I couldn't go to college without EMA. My travel costs are £70 a month, without it I don't know what I'd have done. I didn't know who I could go to in college, and I didn't want to rely on my family."

"I began looking for jobs, but the hours were unsociable. A lot of my friends have gone on to shop work, and have ended up leaving college. I didn't want that to be me."

"I had a friend who'd been trying to get me to join his escort agency since I was 16. He was telling me stories about how much I could earn, how the hours would fit around me, that I could control who I saw, when I saw them and how often.

"It just sounded more desirable. I couldn't see any other option."

Definitely a - the "sex industry" is not particularly well-known for its' "gentlemen and scholars" .....

[Benjamin]

How bloody ridiculous. That female (Clare) turned to prostitution not because she couldn't find a job, but that the hours were unsociable for the jobs she did find. She doesn't deserve an education if that is her attitude.

[Marc]

It happens to the best of us