‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’
Universal Credit is forcing more women into sex work for just £5 to survive, charities tell MPs
UNIVERSAL Credit is forcing more women into selling sex for as little as £5 in order to survive, MPs have been told.
Experts said that more women were telling them they were facing hardship under the new benefits system - while they waited for cash and due to other errors.
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Desperate women, mainly who have children, are being driven into so-called survival sex while they waited for benefits payments, and because their money wasn't enough to cover their basics.
There are thought to be around 72,000 sex workers in Britain today, it was claimed.
One of the women the charity was working with said they were homeless and tried to find punters to let her stay there in exchange for sex.
Others were accepting as little as £5 to top up their electric, food, or to do their laundry.
The Sun has told how single mum Charlotte was forced into selling her body for cash to help her when she moved onto the new benefits system, and now can't afford to quit it.
We're campaigning to reform Universal Credit to make it work for everyone - by slashing the time it takes to get paid and allowing Brits to keep more of what they earn.
Executive director at Changing Lives, Laura Seebohm, told the powerful Work and Pensions select committee earlier: "As things like Universal Credit exacerbate financial hardships, we see more women coming to our service saying they are finding themselves in situations where they are selling sex because of the poverty they find themselves in."
She said that Universal Credit had "really exacerbated" economic hardships.
"We are told time and time again that they are getting involved in selling sex directly because of issues around Universal Credit.
"There are increases in the numbers of women starting to sell sex, when they haven't done it before."
And some who had escaped sex work had gone back due to the new benefits system, another charity boss said.
Dr Raven Bowen, chief executive of National Ugly Mugs, an organisation to end violence against sex workers, claimed that women are "sanctioned when they're found out".
She said there was "definitely a strong correlation" between the new flagship benefits system and survival sex.
What to do if you have problems claiming Universal Credit
IF you're experiencing trouble applying for your Universal Credit, or the payments just don't cover costs, here are your options:
Apply for an advance - Claimants are able to get some cash within five days rather than waiting weeks for their first payment. But it's a loan which means the repayments will be automatically deducted from your future Universal Credit pay out.
Alternative Payment Arrangements - If you're falling behind on rent, you or your landlord may be able to apply for an APA which will get your payment sent directly to your landlord. You might also be able to change your payments to get them more frequently, or you can split the payments if you're part of a couple.
Budgeting Advance - You may be able to get help from the government to help with emergency household costs of up to £348 if you're single, £464 if you're part of a couple or £812 if you have children. These are only in cases like your cooker breaking down or for help getting a job. You'll have to repay the advance through your regular Universal Credit payments. You'll still have to repay the loan, even if you stop claiming for Universal Credit.
Cut your Council Tax - You might be able to get a discount on your Council Tax or be entitled to Discretionary Housing Payments if your payments aren't enough to cover your rent.
Foodbanks - If you're really hard up and struggling to buy food and toiletries, you can find your local foodbank who will provide you with help for free. You can find your nearest one on the
MORE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT
Sarah McManus, CEO of Way Out, added: "There is a link between them starting to go back out in sex work or increasing the frequency of which they are sex working because of the financial hardship universal credit is causing."
The six-in-one benefit system has been riddled with errors since it was rolled out in Britain.
And Amber Wilson from Basis Yorkshiresaid "we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in our area" and claimed it would get worse when more people were put onto Universal Credit in the future.
The warnings from charities come on the same day as a PR campaign was launched by the Government to try and reverse negative publicity around Universal Credit.
The Sun wants to Make Universal Credit Work with new campaign
Universal Credit replaces six benefits with a single monthly payment. One million people are already receiving it and by the time the system is fully rolled out in 2023, nearly 7 million will be on it.
But there are big problems with the flagship mew system - it takes 5 weeks to get the first payment and it could leave some families worse off by thousands of pounds a year.
And while working families can claim back up to 85% of their childcare costs, they must find the money to pay for childcare upfront - we’ve heard of families waiting up to 6 months for the money.
Working parents across the country told us they’ve been unable to take on more hours - or have even turned down better paid jobs or more hours because of the amount they get their benefits cut.
That's why The Sun has launched our Make Universal Credit work. We demand the Government makes the following changes to help hard-working famililes before it's too late.
We want you to:
- Get paid faster: The government must slash the time Brits wait for their first Universal Credit payments from five to two weeks, helping stop 7 million from being pushed into debt.
- Keep more of what you earn: The work allowance should be increased and the taper rate should be slashed from from 63p to 50p, helping at least 4 million families.
- Don’t get punished for having a family: Parents should get the 85 per cent of the money they can claim for childcare upfront instead of being paid in arrears.
Together, these changes will help Make Universal Credit Work.
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