Subscription platforms like OnlyFans a 'gateway' to sexual exploitation

A new report from the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has highlighted the rise in commercial sexual exploitation, and the role that Adult Services Websites (ASWs) have in this. The report found that subscription services, such as OnlyFans, normalise the sale of sex and lower the barriers to in-person exploitation.

The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, published her report Behind the Profile: Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking through Adult Services Websites on Thursday. In it, she collected data from 12 ASWs which post information about women for sale and sexual services offered.

The twelves sites studied had 63,000 entries at one point in time and had over 41 million visits in one month alone. 59% of entries on the sites showed at least three signs of trafficking and exploitation, with UK nationals from across the UK being the largest group represented.

Talking with victims of exploitation, the report found that popular subscription services were used as a ‘first step’ into prostitution. Victims were lured by promises of wealth and glamour, only to find themselves controlled and pressured into in-person sex, as part of a wider criminal network. As one survivor said, “…how do you go behind a webcam to make sure that the woman isn’t being coerced?”

The report also found that women were encouraged to sign up to these subscription platforms at school or university. They were even offered discount codes to encourage sign-ups. These platforms “acted as a gateway to normalising the sale of sexual access”, the report said.

Survivors were listed on ASWs without their consent, with the sites designed to allow third-parties to control profiles, bookings and earnings, aiding the abuse. A tick-box menu of sexual services exerted pressure on women to perform increasingly extreme acts. At the same time, ASWs are easily accessible, using a self-declaration rather than robust age verification, allowing children to access explicit material.

Eleanor Lyons said: “Increasing numbers of women and girls are being identified as victims of sexual exploitation… This is unacceptable and must change.” She identified a ‘deeply troubling trend’ that “whilst the online world has provided enhanced protections for some, for many women it has been central to how their exploitation was facilitated.”

“The era of adverts in phone boxes is behind us and has been replaced by a vast digital ecosystem that operates in public sight and offers what appears to be largely unregulated access to sexual services”, she said.

The new report comes at a time of increasing sexual exploitation in the UK. From 2020 to 2025 the number of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism for modern slavery rose 86% from 1,114 to 2,076.

The report highlights some of the work which is going on across the UK, including the Online Safety Act, which CARE was instrumental in making happen, and amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill currently being considered in Parliament. The report also calls attention to Ash Regan’s recent Bill to introduce the ‘Nordic model’ to Scotland, which was rejected by the Scottish Parliament, and the All-Party Group on Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation in the Northern Ireland Assembly and their inquiry into ‘pimping websites’ that CARE is closely involved with.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Eleanor Lyons concludes: “Government must act if it is to deliver on its promise to better protect women and girls. Legislation and regulation must keep pace with risk and harm… Exploitation now operates behind screens as well as on the streets. If we are to confront this reality, our regulatory frameworks, enforcement tools, and support systems must all evolve together accordingly.”