Earlier this week, Channel 5 tweeted out a clip from a documentary called Sex On The Streets. The documentary looks at various aspects of sex work, but the part that is making waves is the section that deals with sex worker review websites.
It makes for uncomfortable, almost painful watching, as the presenter Storm Huntley meets a man who describes himself as the 'Go Compare of prostitutes'.
Review websites for sex workers are not a new concept. They've been around almost as long as the internet has, and they're used by men who give feedback about women they've paid for sexual services. Reviews can be complimentary, but they can also be vile.
Last year there was a petition to get websites like PunterNet, where men leave reviews of sex workers, shut down. It has, thus far, been unsuccessful.
Reviews on the website don't make for pleasant readings, with lines such as: 'Similar to photos although a little older looking and gravity was taking hold more than the photos indicate' and 'bigger frame girl, messy teeth, small tits'.
Very often in discussions about sex work, the voices of the actual women who do sex work are ignored, replaced by people who have never done sex work trying to make 'helpful' rulings.
Carla, 30, is a sex worker who has been reviewed on various sites. She says: 'I understand the idea of these websites, because there are a very small number of girls who will scam men, either by having them intimidated into giving them cash when they arrive without providing an actual service, or by using photos that are 20 years old. But those girls are really rare, and so the security part of the reviews is very small.
'Most of the time men like to leave reviews if they didn't get everything they wanted, even if it was made clear you didn't do specific things. I've had men complain about the fact I insist on using protection, even though that is very clear on my profile.
'It's hard knowing that if someone doesn't like you they can stop you from getting work by leaving a bad review. But good reviews have the opposite effect.
'Some girls find it humiliating that they are reviewed like an Airbnb or something from Amazon. I don't find it so bad. When I hire someone to do work on my flat, I look at a website that reviews painters and decorators. I guess this is the same in some ways.'
Sophie, 25, doesn't agree. 'What I do isn't a service like fixing a dishwasher. It's way more intimate than that. I hate the stress of knowing that after a session there might be some nasty little comments about me if I've gained a few pounds or I'm looking tired. If a review is unfair or malicious there's very little that I can do about it, which is not right.
'I don't dislike the idea of a place for men to share warnings about scammers, but that's not what PunterNet does. It should be regulated and they shouldn't be allowed to write horrible things about us. It's not fair.'
If the Twitter response to Channel 5's clip is anything to go by, Punternet is a shocking reality that those outside of the sex industry are largely unaware of. And whether sex workers want it banned or see it as an undesirable but inevitable occupational hazard, there seems to be a consensus that it should at the absolute least be better regulated.
You can sign the petition for PunterNet to be shut down here.
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