Female students being offered 15,000 pounds 'scholarships for sex' with strangers in UK
London, Nov. 29 (ANI)
Students are being offered up to 15,000 pounds a year to cover their university studies in exchange for having sex with a stranger in the UK, an undercover investigation has revealed.
The investigation by The Independent has revealed that the website SponsorAScholar.co.uk claims to have arranged for 1,400 women aged between 17 and 24 for wealthy businessmen seeking 'discreet adventures'.
In a secretly filmed encounter with a reporter of the Independent posing as a student, a male 'assessor' from the website asked that she undertake a 'practical assessment' with him at a nearby flat to prove "the level of intimacy" she was prepared to give before being permitted to find a sponsor online, the report said.
He said this was required for 'quality control'. He told her that the more she was prepared to do, the more money she would get, the report added.
The website's claims to have a roster of hundreds of students could not be verified.
The requirement for potential 'scholars' to submit to a 'practical assessment' has, however, raised fears that young women students could have been exploited.
According to the report, young women facing financial hardship who could not afford their studies were urged not to be tempted into using the website.
"Meeting a complete stranger in private could be highly dangerous at any time but when it is in connection with a scheme like this, the risks are sky-high." The National Union of Students accused those behind the website of seeking to "capitalise on the poverty and financial hardship of women students", Rachel Griffin, director of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which promotes personal safety, said.
According to the report, SponsorAScholar.co.uk offers young women 'up to 100pc of your Tuition Fees' in return for two-hour sessions with men in hotel rooms or private flats up to four times per term.
"Because of the considerable sums of money our sponsors are offering in scholarship, they tell us that they have expectations of a high level of sexual intimacy with their chosen student," the website said.