A recent study has shown that one in three university students in Berlin--where prostitution is legal--have considered financing their studies by engaging in sex work. In addition to that 4 percent of those interviewed have done some work in the sex industry, be it prostitution, erotic dancing or Internet shows, according to Reuters. (Hence the title. It's Prostitution and the Scholar in German)"It's possible that because educational reforms have increased student workloads, they have less time to earn money," says Eva Blumenschein, one of the study's authors and a student at Berlin's Humboldt University. "Coupled with higher student fees, in this instance, leads students into prostitution."
I'm actually not surprised and it has nothing to do with Germans. University is just so expensive and student loans are murder. I understand that the sh!t load of money that thousands of students fork out every year goes into the maintenance and such of the university but as an institution that caters mostly to recent high school graduates, tuition is quite exorbitant. Don't even get me started on the competitive jungle of trying to get a scholarship.
Entering the sex industry to fund schooling is considered taboo but I can understand why the 4% would do it. Firstly, there is always a vacancy--come on, fetishes are vast. And the pay is rumoured to be better than waiting tables. The main reason (and I'm guessing here) could be that the requirements for many jobs in the sex industry are 'must be over 18' and 'must have a body'.
However I can't help but wonder if these students are taking the necessary precautions. Practising safe sex is a MUST when engaging in prostitution or the like. Is working in the sex industry their first choice or last resort? And now that Germany has this information in hand, what are they going to do about it? That a third of their Berlin students are willing to sell their bodies for a degree raises no alarms?
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