Executive Summary
- UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons describes adult services sites as “accelerators” of exploitation.
- Analysis of 63,000 listings found 59% displayed three or more indicators of potential trafficking.
- Referrals for suspected female victims of exploitation rose by 86% between 2020 and 2025.
- The report highlights marketing tactics targeting students with .edu email addresses.
- Commissioner Lyons is calling for a complete overhaul of the UK’s regulatory framework for these platforms.
The United Kingdom’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has issued a formal call for a comprehensive legislative overhaul of online adult sexual services platforms, following an investigation that identified these websites as significant “accelerators” of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The report, released by Commissioner Eleanor Lyons, argues that the current regulatory framework remains fragmented and ambiguous, failing to keep pace with the digital evolution of the sex trade.
The findings were published Thursday in a report titled Behind the Profile: Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Through Adult Services Websites. Investigators analyzed data from 12 major websites, reviewing approximately 63,000 listings over a brief period last month. According to the data, these platforms attracted 41.7 million visits during January. Utilizing a specialized “sexual trafficking identification matrix,” the research determined that 59% of the analyzed advertisements displayed three or more indicators of trafficking or exploitation, while 39% exhibited four or more.
According to the report, key indicators of exploitation included identical phone numbers appearing across multiple advertisements, references to drug use, menu-style lists of sexual services, and claims of being “new to the area.” While advertisements were identified across the UK, the research indicated a heavy concentration in London. The release of these findings coincides with a reported surge in known cases; the National Referral Mechanism recorded an 86% increase in exploitation referrals for women between 2020 and 2025, rising from 1,114 to 2,076 annually.
The investigation also highlighted aggressive marketing tactics aimed at vulnerable demographics. One platform reportedly offered free premium accounts to users with academic email addresses ending in “.edu,” explicitly marketing sex work as a method to service student debt. Survivors interviewed for the report described the platforms as gateways to coercion. One woman told investigators that being exploited via webcam desensitized her, acting as a precursor to physical trafficking, while another stated that the platforms’ structures were weaponized by buyers to coerce her into dangerous acts.
Commissioner Lyons emphasized that the era of physical advertisements in phone boxes has been replaced by a “vast digital ecosystem that operates in public sight.” She noted that while some individuals use the sites consensually, the lack of safeguards allows criminal gangs to create profiles, manage bookings, and retain earnings while victims remain under strict control.
Regulatory Outlook
The publication of this report underscores a critical gap between the rapid expansion of digital adult service marketplaces and the existing regulatory infrastructure in the UK. By characterizing these platforms as active facilitators of entrapment rather than neutral hosts, the Commissioner is signaling a potential shift toward stricter corporate accountability and verification standards. The proposed overhaul suggests that future legislative efforts will likely focus on closing the loopholes that allow exploitation to be obscured by the appearance of autonomy, necessitating a coordinated evolution of enforcement tools and victim support systems.
It is important to note that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
