KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's university students, faced with growing debts, are going online to sell themselves for sex to clients. The move has sparked worries that the sex trade in the Southeast Asian country has moved into new media as a way for sex-seekers to find a suitable girl. According to local reports, girls are charging clients between RM250 and RM800 per session. Using nearly nude images of themselves, they post profiles on major social networking sites such as Facebook in the hopes of landing a client. In June, Bikyamasr.com spoke to one girl who had used Facebook as her medium for sex work, landing a number of clients within a matter of days. She had met the man, in his early 30s, on Facebook after she had sent him photographs of herself and conditions for her services. They had sex three times during the evening and Susanne (name has been changed) pocketed over $500, excluding hotel fees. “Since then, I have a solid base of customers who pay for me to go out with them," she told Bikyamasr.com. “Most of the time, the men are just looking for some kissing and a companion, but there are a few who want sex. It pays well." The 19-year-old university student from Kuala Selangor in southern Malaysia, said that she turned to the online sex work when she couldn't pay her debts and her family refused to assist her. “It was really hard, but now I have a way to make money. In the past month, I have made almost $10,000. I charge more now, especially if I am spending the night with the client," she argued. Worrying women's rights groups in the country is that the phenomenon appears to not be as isolated as previously thought. Girls as young as 16-years-old are posting photographs on their Facebook accounts as well as stipulations for their “services" and what is being dubbed “compensated dating" is gaining steam, a Sin Chew Daily report said. The paper said there were numerous postings from such girls, who gave personal details, terms and conditions and the services provided, including sex. Susanne doesn't consider what she does sex work. “It is a way to make ends meet and date some people. Why not get paid to do it if we can?" The “call girl" services are independent and appear to be individual girls offering their time for pay. According to Susanne, there are forums online where girls who participate in the services get together and discuss their experiences. “If a guy doesn't treat us well, we list him and all the other girls know that he is not to be trusted," she said. “We also talk about how to protect ourselves." That includes the girls' choice of condoms, what hotels are best to choose in different cities and how to avoid being caught by police or being forced offline by Facebook authorities. She said the key to the work is not posting any naked pictures on her account. “We have learned that the men will contact us to ask questions and then we send photos to them to allow them to choose. Then it happens," she said. However, other young Malaysians are frustrated that the “compensated dating" has resulted in their accounts being messaged repeatedly by strange men asking for sex, their cost and other harassment. “It is really sad that this is happening," said Kuala Lumpur social worker and recent university graduate Anita Fooh, who told Bikyamasr.com that “sex work is sex work whether they like it or not, the problem is they feel as if they have no choice and are in such debt that it is debilitating them so they turn to a quick and easy way to make money." Fooh called on the government and social services providers to develop action-plans to assist young girls in debt so they don't turn to sex to make money. “It is extremely dangerous to see young women selling their bodies for money in today's world and when the government promises to help people on their debts."
