Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info. A woman who was groomed into prostitution after signing up to become a sugar baby on Seeking. Megan King says she joined the website when she was a year-old single mother who was working part-time, to raise money for a master's degree, but she was soon coerced into selling her body for sex.
The controversial website allows young men and women to create an account, speak to 'sugar daddies' or 'sugar mommies', exchange photographs and arrange to meet up. However, Megan claims that it is used by men to prey on vulnerable young women who are often desperate for money.
Thousands of students at UK universities have signed up to become sugar babies, and hundreds of them are living in Leeds. It seems really stupid now. I didn't realise the level that was expected. A lot of it is about inflicting sadistic stuff on girls and students who are vulnerable. It's all pretty extreme. She added: "Most of the men had wives, girlfriends and other lives, but it's a hidden way of communication, so it goes from chatting on Seeking.
Megan, now 26, said that when she first signed up, men would send her money for photographs and arrange to meet up, but she backed out of several of these meetings at the last minute because she felt it would be "too risky". However, one man seemed to be more charming and open. He gave her his number and even offered to show his driving licence before he asked her to come and work for him. I was on my own, had been driven there late at night and didn't really know where I was.
It was also just me there with these two men. Megan said the pimp, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took her to have sex with other men over a period of eight months and she became "trapped" in a cycle of self-loathing and misery. She managed to escape from that murky world, with the help of a friend who converted her to Christianity, and she now works for an exit support service that helps other women working in the sex trade. The mother-of-one is also working to raise awareness of the risks that come with being a sugar baby.
