The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry

Teela Sanders; Rosie Campbell; Stewart Cunningham; Jane Pitcher; Jane Scoular

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

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The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry

Teela Sanders, Rosie Campbell, Stewart Cunningham, Jane Pitcher, Jane Scoular

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 5)

Received: 25 August 2018 Accepted: 26 September 2018 Published: 22 October 2018

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Abstract

Study Aim: This paper tries to grapple with some of the questions about counting numbers in the sex industry as an adjunct to a much larger sociological study of the ways in which digital technology has changed the commercial sex industry. The project sets out to reflect on the ethics of counting online and what this means to the sex work community. Method: The data is provided by the largest online adult services advertising platform in the UK which is compared to our own counts of sex worker profiles on that same platform to illustrate some of the challenges related to counting the sex industry. Result: The data comparisons show that using front facing public profiles of adult sex workers is not an accurate measure of the size of the sex industry, and whilst the information can be used for some purposes it must be used with caution. The findings point to the need for researchers and others involved in mapping sex worker populations to reflect carefully on ethical issues and the impact of mapping on sex workers. Conclusion: It is suggested that the usefulness of counting profiles on adult websites should be approached with caution both as a researcher analyst and also as someone who uses or requests this form of quantification. With over 40% differences between outward facing and active profiles the margins for error are high.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
Page(s)	233-241
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Adultwork, Counting, Internet, Online, Population Size, Prostitution, Sex Work

References

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APA Style

Teela Sanders, Rosie Campbell, Stewart Cunningham, Jane Pitcher, Jane Scoular. (2018). The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry. Social Sciences, 7(5), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

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ACS Style

Teela Sanders; Rosie Campbell; Stewart Cunningham; Jane Pitcher; Jane Scoular. The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(5), 233-241. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

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AMA Style

Teela Sanders, Rosie Campbell, Stewart Cunningham, Jane Pitcher, Jane Scoular. The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry. Soc Sci. 2018;7(5):233-241. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15,
  author = {Teela Sanders and Rosie Campbell and Stewart Cunningham and Jane Pitcher and Jane Scoular},
  title = {The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {5},
  pages = {233-241},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20180705.15},
  abstract = {Study Aim: This paper tries to grapple with some of the questions about counting numbers in the sex industry as an adjunct to a much larger sociological study of the ways in which digital technology has changed the commercial sex industry. The project sets out to reflect on the ethics of counting online and what this means to the sex work community. Method: The data is provided by the largest online adult services advertising platform in the UK which is compared to our own counts of sex worker profiles on that same platform to illustrate some of the challenges related to counting the sex industry. Result: The data comparisons show that using front facing public profiles of adult sex workers is not an accurate measure of the size of the sex industry, and whilst the information can be used for some purposes it must be used with caution. The findings point to the need for researchers and others involved in mapping sex worker populations to reflect carefully on ethical issues and the impact of mapping on sex workers. Conclusion: It is suggested that the usefulness of counting profiles on adult websites should be approached with caution both as a researcher analyst and also as someone who uses or requests this form of quantification. With over 40% differences between outward facing and active profiles the margins for error are high.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry
AU  - Teela Sanders
AU  - Rosie Campbell
AU  - Stewart Cunningham
AU  - Jane Pitcher
AU  - Jane Scoular
Y1  - 2018/10/22
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 233
EP  - 241
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
AB  - Study Aim: This paper tries to grapple with some of the questions about counting numbers in the sex industry as an adjunct to a much larger sociological study of the ways in which digital technology has changed the commercial sex industry. The project sets out to reflect on the ethics of counting online and what this means to the sex work community. Method: The data is provided by the largest online adult services advertising platform in the UK which is compared to our own counts of sex worker profiles on that same platform to illustrate some of the challenges related to counting the sex industry. Result: The data comparisons show that using front facing public profiles of adult sex workers is not an accurate measure of the size of the sex industry, and whilst the information can be used for some purposes it must be used with caution. The findings point to the need for researchers and others involved in mapping sex worker populations to reflect carefully on ethical issues and the impact of mapping on sex workers. Conclusion: It is suggested that the usefulness of counting profiles on adult websites should be approached with caution both as a researcher analyst and also as someone who uses or requests this form of quantification. With over 40% differences between outward facing and active profiles the margins for error are high.
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Teela Sanders

Department of Criminology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Rosie Campbell

Department of Criminology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Stewart Cunningham

Department of Law, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
Jane Pitcher

Department of Law, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
Jane Scoular

Department of Law, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Teela Sanders, Rosie Campbell, Stewart Cunningham, Jane Pitcher, Jane Scoular. (2018). The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry. Social Sciences, 7(5), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

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ACS Style

Teela Sanders; Rosie Campbell; Stewart Cunningham; Jane Pitcher; Jane Scoular. The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(5), 233-241. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

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AMA Style

Teela Sanders, Rosie Campbell, Stewart Cunningham, Jane Pitcher, Jane Scoular. The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry. Soc Sci. 2018;7(5):233-241. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15,
  author = {Teela Sanders and Rosie Campbell and Stewart Cunningham and Jane Pitcher and Jane Scoular},
  title = {The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {5},
  pages = {233-241},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20180705.15},
  abstract = {Study Aim: This paper tries to grapple with some of the questions about counting numbers in the sex industry as an adjunct to a much larger sociological study of the ways in which digital technology has changed the commercial sex industry. The project sets out to reflect on the ethics of counting online and what this means to the sex work community. Method: The data is provided by the largest online adult services advertising platform in the UK which is compared to our own counts of sex worker profiles on that same platform to illustrate some of the challenges related to counting the sex industry. Result: The data comparisons show that using front facing public profiles of adult sex workers is not an accurate measure of the size of the sex industry, and whilst the information can be used for some purposes it must be used with caution. The findings point to the need for researchers and others involved in mapping sex worker populations to reflect carefully on ethical issues and the impact of mapping on sex workers. Conclusion: It is suggested that the usefulness of counting profiles on adult websites should be approached with caution both as a researcher analyst and also as someone who uses or requests this form of quantification. With over 40% differences between outward facing and active profiles the margins for error are high.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Point of Counting: Mapping the Internet Based Sex Industry
AU  - Teela Sanders
AU  - Rosie Campbell
AU  - Stewart Cunningham
AU  - Jane Pitcher
AU  - Jane Scoular
Y1  - 2018/10/22
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 233
EP  - 241
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20180705.15
AB  - Study Aim: This paper tries to grapple with some of the questions about counting numbers in the sex industry as an adjunct to a much larger sociological study of the ways in which digital technology has changed the commercial sex industry. The project sets out to reflect on the ethics of counting online and what this means to the sex work community. Method: The data is provided by the largest online adult services advertising platform in the UK which is compared to our own counts of sex worker profiles on that same platform to illustrate some of the challenges related to counting the sex industry. Result: The data comparisons show that using front facing public profiles of adult sex workers is not an accurate measure of the size of the sex industry, and whilst the information can be used for some purposes it must be used with caution. The findings point to the need for researchers and others involved in mapping sex worker populations to reflect carefully on ethical issues and the impact of mapping on sex workers. Conclusion: It is suggested that the usefulness of counting profiles on adult websites should be approached with caution both as a researcher analyst and also as someone who uses or requests this form of quantification. With over 40% differences between outward facing and active profiles the margins for error are high.
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download