Dear rector,

they exist: An international scoping review on student sex workers
Worldwide, higher education institutions often willingly ignore the existence of student sex
workers on their campuses. This ignorance results in a scarcity of scientific research on student
sex workers which makes them invisible and, therefore, more vulnerable for stigmatization and
discrimination. This international scoping review selected 28 studies that met the inclusion
criteria. Based on the selected studies, it was clear that research on student sex workers mostly
focuses on four aspects: (1) prevalence, (2) risk and protective factors, (3) motivations, and (4)
risks of the profession. Further, several studies focus on the reactions and, often missing,
policies of higher education institutes. Therefore, we suggest focusing future research on, inter
alia, the experiences of student sex workers, the prevalence of (online) student sex workers in
Belgium, and the experiences and unique difficulties for male and trans student sex workers.
For this to succeed, cooperation of the higher education institutions is essential, and possibly
the biggest challenge.