This document is based largely on my own experience as a sex worker. But it has also been run passed number of colleagues for comment and expansion. It therefore draws on a wide range of experience from a number of diverse workers in various places, of different ages, ethnicities, sexuality and gender identities. While the document is based largely on the experience of female workers, male workers have also contributed. The document has roughly equal input from cis and transgender individuals.

This document is not intended for formal publication and will only deal with the social and cultural aspects of sex work. It will not include any information as to what actually occurs during a booking. It is strongly recommended that those who include sex work in a game confine this off screen.

Acknowledgements are given to Alysia, Bree, Cassi, Dee, Lana, Kayea, Peter and Ramon.

This particular profession has been with us since the dawn of civilization. It has defied all efforts to suppress it. Every port and city has its red light district. Many if not most smaller centres has some form of sex industry and the remainder are normally served by travelling workers. There is absolutely no reason to believe this industry will not exist in the far future. And sex work, at is core has been unaltered for millennia. Certainly the exact nature has varied, often widely, depending on the degree to which society accepts it and the legal framework within which it operates. However, the basic nature of the job, how you actually do it, has remained unchanged. Again there is no reason to believe this will be any different in the future.

Sex workers can make excellent NPCs either as patrons, allies or opponents. They have potential as player characters. The skill set is diverse and lends itself well to adventure. They can usually find employment at short notice on any world. Very little time needs to be devoted to the mundane of making a basic living. The itinerant boutique sex worker would lend itself well to a Traveller. Despite popular perception however, the job is not at all easy. It is an incredibly intimate job involving one of most personal of human experiences. It requires intelligence, excellent interpersonal skills, a great deal of emotional resilience and the ability to maintain professional detachment in one of the most intimate interactions you can have with another person. It is not a job for the faint hearted.

Some terms

Sex work: The provision of sexual services in return for financial reward.

Sex worker: A person who directly engages in sex work.

Procurer: A person who facilitates sex work and has authority over sex workers.

Pimp: A procurer who controls sex workers by the use of intimidation and violence.

Minder: A person who provides safety and security in some form for one or more sex workers.

Client: A person who engages the services of a sex worker.

Booking: An encounter where sex work takes place.

Solicitation: Directly advertising and promoting sex work to obtain clients.

Incall: A booking where the clients comes to the sex worker.

Outcall: A booking where the sex worker goes to the client.

Red light district: A location where sex work is concentrated.

Types of work

The industry can be divided in several broad categories

Commercial brothels: These are one of the most common forms of work. A brothel owned and run on a commercial basis, with the owner responsible for operating costs. There are often restrictions on where these are located, confining them to commercial districts or away from institutions such as schools or churches. These have a procurer in authority of the workers, setting the rules and vetting the clients. Usually a client will be presented with all the workers available at the time and select the one they want. Workers are most usually independent contractors rather than employees. The do not receive a wage but depend on the number of bookings they secure. The house will usually take a cut of these or require a fixed fee. Taking a cut is common where the industry is legal, a flat fee where it is not. There commonly other fees such as shift fees (a fixed fee for every day you work regardless of the number of bookings obtained). Penalties for things such as being late or failing to turn up for a shift and for refusing to take a particular client are also common. A bond may be required of workers, often substantial, before they commence working. In jurisdictions where the industry is illegal, failing to return this bond when a worker leaves the brothel is not uncommon. Workers personal safety from clients is high in this area, but substantial potential for exploitation also exists.

Cooperative brothels: These are very similar to commercial brothels except they are run by the workers themselves with no procurer. Here the workers share the operating costs. These are frequently smaller brothels, often the home of one or more of the workers. As with commercial brothels there may be restrictions on their location. If in residential areas, they normally required to be discreet, with no obvious signs of their function. The level of safety from clients is as good and sometimes higher and the potential for exploitation lower. However these may be actively discouraged, especially in jurisdictions where the industry is illegal or high levels of corruption exist.

Commercial escort work: This is the classic outcall organised by procurer where the worker goes to the client. Normally a worker will be accompanied by a minder. This person is primarily there to protect the work, however they may also be there to protect the agency's interests, ensuring the worker does not back out upon meeting the client. Most brothels will also offer escorts. In most other respects they very similar to commercial brothels. There is a manager in authority setting rules and vetting clients. The workers are normally independent contractors. Fees and penalties are frequently imposed. Safety from clients is good due to the presence of the minder but the potential for exploitation is also high.

Private escort work: Very similar to commercial escort work except it is usually done by a lone individual with no procurer. These individuals usually also do incalls having their own place of work, frequently their own home. This will function as a one person brothel. The same restrictions on location as cooperative brothels normally apply though these are sometimes ignored. Minders are far less frequent in this work, leading to significantly less safety from clients, though most works take precautions against this. However, the potential for exploitation is far lower as the worker is answerable only to themselves. As with cooperative brothels, these may be actively discouraged, though this is less common.

Street work: These are the classic sex worker on a street corner. Street work may or may not involve a procurer. Many procurers in Street work are pimps. This work is almost always confined to a specific red light district, either by custom or law. It makes it far easier to control, increases the workers safety, makes it possible for clients to find the workers and avoids public controversy. Street work is usually considered the lowest rung of sex work and frequently carries the greatest risk, both from violence by clients and exploitation in the form of pimping. Street workers will often band together in groups to mitigate against these risks. This is the most visible form of sex work and the one most frequently targeted for suppression.