Support for sex workers
New research project
Our new project aims to support all UK based sex workers and content creators by providing online safety advice. We hope to produce a website resource to become a hub of preventative advice, practical solutions, informative content, and signposting based on the experiences of sex workers and those supporting sex workers in the UK.
If you are a sex worker in the UK with lived experience of online harms; please consider completing the survey below and have your voice heard.
We support all victims of intimate image abuse.
Our service is 100% sex worker-friendly. Regardless of what you do for a living, we will always aim to provide non-judgemental and confidential advice. If you feel comfortable telling us of your sex worker status, this will help us to provide you with the best advice we can and also signpost to you more specific help and support services.
The following is basic advice for various issues we see frequently on the Helpline which may help but please do not hesitate to get in touch for further information and support.
You can find more online privacy advice for sex workers here
Frequently asked questions
My professional webcam content has been shared on a website that I didn’t consent to. Can you help me get it removed?
When intimate images are uploaded to a public forum (such as Adultwork or OnlyFans) the images would not be included under the current UK law of disclosing intimate images without consent, this is because the images are not classified as 'private' and are considered professional.
Whilst this may not breach this particular law, it may fall under different legislation such as copyright infringement or harassment (depending on what other behaviours are going on). We would advise you to look at the terms and conditions of the website you use to create and share content and see what their policy is on this and who owns the copyright to the images. You might be able to get in touch with the platform for further help and support.
We are limited in what we can do to help report the content for removal however we can provide advice on the best way to report this content for removal, you can also find more advice on DIY reporting here.
I am a sex worker and someone my private sharing intimate images that I took in a relationship. Are they still breaking the law even though other explicit content is available of me online?
It is against the law in the UK to share an intimate image or video without consent and with the intention of causing distress. If the images being shared are your private intimate images, not shared or sold on any online platforms, then this law has been broken.
I am a sex worker and I was filmed without my consent by a paying customer and has been shared online. Is there anything I can do?
It is a sexual offence called Voyeurism for someone to record a private sexual image or video of someone without their knowledge or consent for sexual gratification. It is also against the law in the UK to share an intimate image or video without consent and with the intention of causing distress. Regardless of how this footage was obtained, it is against the law. It is your right to report what has happened to the police, an outreach organisation or sex worker service may be able to help you further with this.
We can help to report the video that has been shared online without consent. All we need is a direct URL link to the content and we can report this for you on your behalf. We cannot guarantee any removals but we do hold a very high takedown rate and have trusted flagger relationship with many adult sites to remove content quickly. Alternatively, you can find more information on DIY reporting here.
Someone is threatening to use my professional images to out my sex worker status. What can I do?
If someone is threatening to share images or out your status, we would encourage you to collect evidence of the threats, block, and stop all communication. Blackmail is a serious crime in the UK and depending on what else is happening, this may be covered by Harassment laws. We would encourage you to report this to the police and also make a report to National Ugly Mugs which can help to protect other sex workers from the same crime.
Threats to share intimate content is not yet a specific offence under UK law, but threats to share personal private sexual content to cause distress is included under the sentencing guidelines of the Communications Act (2003).
It may also be a good idea to review and raise your privacy settings on all personal social media accounts, you can find more about this here.
Regional and national services
We believe it's important to try and provide as much information and support as possible. Below you can find some more national and regional services and further access to more advice and information.