A student needed to find a way to fund his medical degree. Did he make the right choice?
“D” moved to the United Kingdom for his medical studies and had to pay tuition fees at an international rate. Not long into his course, he faced the prospect of dropping out of medical school because he could not afford the fees; subsequently, he began working as an escort, organising his dates and booking his clients via the internet.
He went on his first “date” 15 months ago, with a middle aged businesswoman seeking a pleasant, “no strings attached” evening with a young attractive man—a desire, she explained later, resulting from her busy work life, which left her with little time to develop personal or sexual relationships with men. When completing the online booking for this date, D was also given the choice of selecting an “evening of unlimited fun.” This option came with extra pay, but D did not take up the option that time. He has since been on more than 50 dates and currently goes on an average of three dates a month. He still sees his first customer and has had many “evenings of unlimited fun.”
D has been able to expand his client base and currently sees about 13 wealthy women. After he saw some women more regularly, a few started to have strong feelings for him and believed that they were in some sort of relationship. He has since promised at least four of these women that he has given up his sex work, although they are unaware that he continues to have other clients. Although some clients have openly stated that they would rather start afresh with him, D thinks this is unlikely because he only dates them for the money; he strings the women along and tells them what he thinks they want to hear.
D currently lives in a rent free flat, has his own car, and is comfortable financially—as a direct result of the funds provided by these women. By now, his initial reason for entering the escort trade—to fund his medical degree—must have been met.
https://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2228