Fairwork Sex Work Project
Online sex work platforms like OnlyFans have now entered popular culture, yet there has been little public conversation surrounding the working conditions experienced by those who use them to earn a living.
Online sex work platforms are digital intermediaries that enable interactions between sex workers and their clients. Platforms shape and condition workers’ activities in powerful ways based on the decisions made by the companies that run them.
This report presents research into working conditions experienced by sex workers using four different digital platforms: OnlyFans, AdultWork, Streamate and Chaturbate. It presents findings concerning the issues workers encounter and the role that platforms play in shaping their experiences of work.
Our report shows the poor conditions present throughout the industry, including insecurity and precarity, widespread abuse and harassment by clients, stalking, doxing, workers have their content stolen and reposted, no access to collective representation, and woefully inadequate support from platforms.
We present 10 principles, grounded in our empirical research, which set out basic minimum standard for what constitutes fair platform sex work. These are a guideline to help reimagine in practical terms what changes could be implemented to help improve the working conditions for online sex workers.
Want to learn more about online sex work? Check out our podcast episodes on the topic: