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Do you know of any medical students that have become escorts or prostitutes to get money, accommodation, food, ect?
Medical schools' attitudes towards student prostitution
By: Jodi Dixon
Published: 28 February 2012
DOI: 10.1136/sbmj.e913
Cite this as: BMJ 2012;20:e913
Often dismissed as immoral or alternatively described as nothing more than sex between two consenting adults, the acceptability of prostitution sparks immense debate. Mounting evidence suggests that more university students are engaging in prostitution as a means to pay increasing tuition fees, growing debts, and high living costs. The BBC recently reported that "greater numbers of students in England are turning to prostitution to fund their education."[1] This report followed claims by Estelle Hart, National Women's Officer for the National Union of Students, that: "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."[1]
How accurate are these claims? If prostitution by students becomes more widespread and acceptable, what are the implications for medical students?
Top
A direct correlation with rising tuition fees?
In a cross sectional study published in 2010, researchers surveyed 315 undergraduate students at a London university.[2] More than a quarter of those surveyed knew of a student who had worked in the sex industry. Surveyed students listed pole or lap dancing as the most popular type of sex work they knew of students engaging in, stripping was second, but prostitution was the next most common type of sex work. About 10% of those surveyed knew of someone who had worked as a prostitute or escort, and when asked why they thought students undertook sex work, 93% gave the need for money as the main reason for doing so.
In 2007, the Journal of Further and Higher Education published the results of a survey exploring students' attitudes towards sex work, in which 130 undergraduate students from a London university were interviewed.[3] Compared with similarly obtained data from 2000 and 2010, the proportion of students who knew of students using prostitution to support themselves financially increased from 3.99% in 2000 to 6.3% in 2006 and 9.8% in 2010,[2] correlating with a rise in tuition fees from a maximum of £1345 (€1623; $2120) to £3000 per year. These trends suggest a direct association between increasing debt and the prevalence of prostitution among students.
The average student today will graduate with a debt of about £25 000. For medical students, who generally study for another two to three years, with more intense working hours and less time for paid employment, the levels of debt are higher. When the current coalition government's plans go ahead to allow universities to charge fees of up to £9000 per year, the British Medical Association (BMA) estimates that medical students' debts could increase to almost £70 000. With this estimate not including overdrafts, credit cards, and professional loans that many students depend on, final debt levels, especially in major cities, could be much higher.
Top
Dangers of the media
With escalating debts, students in the United Kingdom may view prostitution as an easy way to get rich quick. This view could be fuelled by recent coverage of prostitution in the media—for example, the UK television dramatisation of the popular book Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. The television series portrays the life of Belle de Jour, a high class London call girl. Working for an escort agency, Belle is paid hundreds of pounds an hour to attend classy parties and travel abroad on luxurious holidays. She is also paid to have sex with men, and the show makes prostitution seem alluring, because Belle seems to enjoy her job. Danger is never an issue and she oozes glamour and sophistication.
The book was based on the real life experiences of its author Brooke Magnanti, now a research scientist. While studying for her PhD in informatics, epidemiology, and forensic science at the University of Sheffield, Magnanti worked as a high class call girl for a London escort agency. She told the Sunday Times she wanted a job that "doesn't require a great deal of training or investment to get started, that's cash in hand, and that leaves me spare time to do my work in."[4] Magnanti would charge £300 an hour (£200 for herself, £100 for her agency), her appointments would last on average two hours, and she would have two to three appointments each week. With potential earnings of £800 to £1200 per week, it is not difficult to see the financial appeal of prostitution.
The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) is the UK based branch of the International Collective of Prostitutes. The organisation offers help, advice, and support to sex workers, and is campaigning to change the law to decriminalise sex work in order to improve the safety and welfare of prostitutes. The ECP does have medical students as part of its network, and has received a rising number of calls from students in general considering sex work.
ECP spokesperson Sarah Walker stresses that prostitution is not glamorous and students are driven to it by poverty: "For many students prostitution is the only means of financial survival and not an easy way to make cash to fund luxuries through a frivolous attitude to sex. Jobs in shops and pubs that students usually take up to cover living costs are increasingly scarce and low paid." Walker also comments that "Ever since grants were done away with and loans introduced, we (the ECP) have been contacted by increasing numbers of students considering or involved in prostitution. Considering that it is common for a student to be saddled with a debt of £30 000 plus at the end of their course, this is no surprise. For women—it's a survival strategy they are driven into by poverty."
The ECP states that "Prostitution appeals to students as it offers greater flexibility to work around studies and higher pay than alternative part time jobs." But the collective does emphasise that prostitution is dangerous work. No official figure exists, but estimates suggest that more than 134 sex workers in the UK have been murdered since 1990, with countless more subjected to rape and assault.
Although one can empathise with students considering prostitution to reduce financial pressure, is it acceptable for future doctors to work as prostitutes?
Top
No precedent for medical students
Clare Owen, policy lead for student fitness to practise for the General Medical Council (GMC), is not aware of any instances in the UK where a medical student has had action taken against them for prostitution in relation to fitness to practise. Consequently, no precedent has been set as to what action would be taken.
The BMA has never discussed the issue at its general meetings, nor is it something that the Medical Students Committee has considered. The BMA does not consider the prevalence of medical students partaking in prostitution to be widespread. According to the GMC's declaration of fitness to practise, students with criminal convictions must declare their convictions when applying for jobs as a junior doctor.[5] Although prostitution itself is not illegal, activities surrounding it, such as soliciting sex or running a brothel, are against the law.
Similarly, medical schools do not have any specific rules on the matter, and believe that prostitution is not widespread among students. Tony Freemont, head of undergraduate medical education at the University of Manchester, says, "Current members of staff in the school are unaware of any cases for fitness to practise involving such circumstances." When asked if his medical school would consider prostitution by their students to be acceptable, Freemont responded: "Such cases would need to be considered individually taking all available information into account and therefore we cannot confirm a definitive answer."
The University of Birmingham has also never formally considered the issue. Sue Grant, college student services manager at the university's medical school, says: "There is no policy or guidance from the medical school about students working as prostitutes. There have been no referrals under fitness to practise procedures for students working as a prostitute. I think that if we knew of a student who was working as a prostitute, they would be referred to their year tutor to discuss the impact it may have on their professional reputation, but I'm not sure that they would be referred under fitness to practise as there has been no precedent."
Top
Open interpretation?
The University of Birmingham medical school highlights that students must act within the GMC's guidance for medical practice, Duties of a doctor.[6] This publication outlines standards of behaviour that all UK medical students must adhere to. The GMC guidance for good medical practice includes: "Probity means being honest and trustworthy, and acting with integrity: this is at the heart of medical professionalism. You must make sure that your conduct at all times justifies your patients' trust in you and the public's trust in the profession."
These GMC guidelines raise implications for doctors who are viewed as professional members of society and who have chosen to prostitute themselves. But the guidelines do not necessarily state that a doctor cannot also be a prostitute. Whether prostitution negates a doctor's ability to "act with integrity" and "justify a patient's trust in them and the profession" remains unclear. The interpretation of these standards depends on each patient's moral standpoint on prostitution, a view that would undoubtedly vary widely.
No evidence can prove that a prostitute cannot meet these qualities, and no case has been recorded in which a patient's health has suffered because their doctor was also a prostitute. Furthermore, medical regulating bodies do not have official guidance on the issue, meaning that no clear answer is available as to whether prostitution by a medical student is acceptable. However, what is unacceptable is a student being forced into prostitution out of financial desperation.
A medical student in the final year at the University of Birmingham states: "Being a medical student can be financially crippling. The cost of petrol or public transport just to get to placements is incredibly high and continuing to rise. Student loans and available bursaries do not go far with high living costs, and as a medical student you have so much university work you have little time to get a part time job. Prostitution seems to offer the perfect job for medical students—good money earned quickly. I would not dare to do it because I would be scared about my safety and the opinion people including patients might have about me if they found out, but I can definitely empathise with those who do."
For students to think they have no choice but to resort to prostitution is unacceptable. With tuition fees rising from September 2013, we are yet to discover whether the hike in fees will lead to an increase in students turning to prostitution. Speaking to the BBC World Service, a female owner of a massage parlour from Leeds said, "In my day, people went to university in order to avoid this kind of life, but now they lead this kind of life in order to go to university."[7]
SOURCE: http://student.bmj.com/student/view-article.html?id=sbmj.e913
Medical schools' attitudes towards student prostitution
By: Jodi Dixon
Published: 28 February 2012
DOI: 10.1136/sbmj.e913
Cite this as: BMJ 2012;20:e913
Often dismissed as immoral or alternatively described as nothing more than sex between two consenting adults, the acceptability of prostitution sparks immense debate. Mounting evidence suggests that more university students are engaging in prostitution as a means to pay increasing tuition fees, growing debts, and high living costs. The BBC recently reported that "greater numbers of students in England are turning to prostitution to fund their education."[1] This report followed claims by Estelle Hart, National Women's Officer for the National Union of Students, that: "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."[1]
How accurate are these claims? If prostitution by students becomes more widespread and acceptable, what are the implications for medical students?
Top
A direct correlation with rising tuition fees?
In a cross sectional study published in 2010, researchers surveyed 315 undergraduate students at a London university.[2] More than a quarter of those surveyed knew of a student who had worked in the sex industry. Surveyed students listed pole or lap dancing as the most popular type of sex work they knew of students engaging in, stripping was second, but prostitution was the next most common type of sex work. About 10% of those surveyed knew of someone who had worked as a prostitute or escort, and when asked why they thought students undertook sex work, 93% gave the need for money as the main reason for doing so.
In 2007, the Journal of Further and Higher Education published the results of a survey exploring students' attitudes towards sex work, in which 130 undergraduate students from a London university were interviewed.[3] Compared with similarly obtained data from 2000 and 2010, the proportion of students who knew of students using prostitution to support themselves financially increased from 3.99% in 2000 to 6.3% in 2006 and 9.8% in 2010,[2] correlating with a rise in tuition fees from a maximum of £1345 (€1623; $2120) to £3000 per year. These trends suggest a direct association between increasing debt and the prevalence of prostitution among students.
The average student today will graduate with a debt of about £25 000. For medical students, who generally study for another two to three years, with more intense working hours and less time for paid employment, the levels of debt are higher. When the current coalition government's plans go ahead to allow universities to charge fees of up to £9000 per year, the British Medical Association (BMA) estimates that medical students' debts could increase to almost £70 000. With this estimate not including overdrafts, credit cards, and professional loans that many students depend on, final debt levels, especially in major cities, could be much higher.
Top
Dangers of the media
With escalating debts, students in the United Kingdom may view prostitution as an easy way to get rich quick. This view could be fuelled by recent coverage of prostitution in the media—for example, the UK television dramatisation of the popular book Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. The television series portrays the life of Belle de Jour, a high class London call girl. Working for an escort agency, Belle is paid hundreds of pounds an hour to attend classy parties and travel abroad on luxurious holidays. She is also paid to have sex with men, and the show makes prostitution seem alluring, because Belle seems to enjoy her job. Danger is never an issue and she oozes glamour and sophistication.
The book was based on the real life experiences of its author Brooke Magnanti, now a research scientist. While studying for her PhD in informatics, epidemiology, and forensic science at the University of Sheffield, Magnanti worked as a high class call girl for a London escort agency. She told the Sunday Times she wanted a job that "doesn't require a great deal of training or investment to get started, that's cash in hand, and that leaves me spare time to do my work in."[4] Magnanti would charge £300 an hour (£200 for herself, £100 for her agency), her appointments would last on average two hours, and she would have two to three appointments each week. With potential earnings of £800 to £1200 per week, it is not difficult to see the financial appeal of prostitution.
The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) is the UK based branch of the International Collective of Prostitutes. The organisation offers help, advice, and support to sex workers, and is campaigning to change the law to decriminalise sex work in order to improve the safety and welfare of prostitutes. The ECP does have medical students as part of its network, and has received a rising number of calls from students in general considering sex work.
ECP spokesperson Sarah Walker stresses that prostitution is not glamorous and students are driven to it by poverty: "For many students prostitution is the only means of financial survival and not an easy way to make cash to fund luxuries through a frivolous attitude to sex. Jobs in shops and pubs that students usually take up to cover living costs are increasingly scarce and low paid." Walker also comments that "Ever since grants were done away with and loans introduced, we (the ECP) have been contacted by increasing numbers of students considering or involved in prostitution. Considering that it is common for a student to be saddled with a debt of £30 000 plus at the end of their course, this is no surprise. For women—it's a survival strategy they are driven into by poverty."
The ECP states that "Prostitution appeals to students as it offers greater flexibility to work around studies and higher pay than alternative part time jobs." But the collective does emphasise that prostitution is dangerous work. No official figure exists, but estimates suggest that more than 134 sex workers in the UK have been murdered since 1990, with countless more subjected to rape and assault.
Although one can empathise with students considering prostitution to reduce financial pressure, is it acceptable for future doctors to work as prostitutes?
Top
No precedent for medical students
Clare Owen, policy lead for student fitness to practise for the General Medical Council (GMC), is not aware of any instances in the UK where a medical student has had action taken against them for prostitution in relation to fitness to practise. Consequently, no precedent has been set as to what action would be taken.
The BMA has never discussed the issue at its general meetings, nor is it something that the Medical Students Committee has considered. The BMA does not consider the prevalence of medical students partaking in prostitution to be widespread. According to the GMC's declaration of fitness to practise, students with criminal convictions must declare their convictions when applying for jobs as a junior doctor.[5] Although prostitution itself is not illegal, activities surrounding it, such as soliciting sex or running a brothel, are against the law.
Similarly, medical schools do not have any specific rules on the matter, and believe that prostitution is not widespread among students. Tony Freemont, head of undergraduate medical education at the University of Manchester, says, "Current members of staff in the school are unaware of any cases for fitness to practise involving such circumstances." When asked if his medical school would consider prostitution by their students to be acceptable, Freemont responded: "Such cases would need to be considered individually taking all available information into account and therefore we cannot confirm a definitive answer."
The University of Birmingham has also never formally considered the issue. Sue Grant, college student services manager at the university's medical school, says: "There is no policy or guidance from the medical school about students working as prostitutes. There have been no referrals under fitness to practise procedures for students working as a prostitute. I think that if we knew of a student who was working as a prostitute, they would be referred to their year tutor to discuss the impact it may have on their professional reputation, but I'm not sure that they would be referred under fitness to practise as there has been no precedent."
Top
Open interpretation?
The University of Birmingham medical school highlights that students must act within the GMC's guidance for medical practice, Duties of a doctor.[6] This publication outlines standards of behaviour that all UK medical students must adhere to. The GMC guidance for good medical practice includes: "Probity means being honest and trustworthy, and acting with integrity: this is at the heart of medical professionalism. You must make sure that your conduct at all times justifies your patients' trust in you and the public's trust in the profession."
These GMC guidelines raise implications for doctors who are viewed as professional members of society and who have chosen to prostitute themselves. But the guidelines do not necessarily state that a doctor cannot also be a prostitute. Whether prostitution negates a doctor's ability to "act with integrity" and "justify a patient's trust in them and the profession" remains unclear. The interpretation of these standards depends on each patient's moral standpoint on prostitution, a view that would undoubtedly vary widely.
No evidence can prove that a prostitute cannot meet these qualities, and no case has been recorded in which a patient's health has suffered because their doctor was also a prostitute. Furthermore, medical regulating bodies do not have official guidance on the issue, meaning that no clear answer is available as to whether prostitution by a medical student is acceptable. However, what is unacceptable is a student being forced into prostitution out of financial desperation.
A medical student in the final year at the University of Birmingham states: "Being a medical student can be financially crippling. The cost of petrol or public transport just to get to placements is incredibly high and continuing to rise. Student loans and available bursaries do not go far with high living costs, and as a medical student you have so much university work you have little time to get a part time job. Prostitution seems to offer the perfect job for medical students—good money earned quickly. I would not dare to do it because I would be scared about my safety and the opinion people including patients might have about me if they found out, but I can definitely empathise with those who do."
For students to think they have no choice but to resort to prostitution is unacceptable. With tuition fees rising from September 2013, we are yet to discover whether the hike in fees will lead to an increase in students turning to prostitution. Speaking to the BBC World Service, a female owner of a massage parlour from Leeds said, "In my day, people went to university in order to avoid this kind of life, but now they lead this kind of life in order to go to university."[7]
SOURCE: http://student.bmj.com/student/view-article.html?id=sbmj.e913
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some people just have a higher % chance of posting something that fits the criteria..... 
