A look at the world’s oldest profession during the holidays.  Read the whole article at The BBC…

Christmas under city’s red lights
By Tom Bishop

Most of us look forward to a rest over Christmas but thousands of Londoners will work during the holiday season – including many of the city’s sex workers.

In 2008 the sex worker has been portrayed as the exploited victim of trafficking and as the high class escort Belle de Jour, played by Billie Piper in ITV1’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

But London’s massage parlours, saunas, brothels and streets are the work places of a much wider range of women and men.

The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW) includes middle-aged parlour owners, men who sell sex to men and girls who work on the street with drug addiction problems, among its members.

And, like all workers, they face extra financial pressure at Christmas, says IUSW spokeswoman Catherine Stephens.

“January is usually quiet so many sex workers will work more during November and December to get extra money for their kids’ presents,” she explained.

Very few women work on the street on Christmas Day as clients are unlikely to be there, Miss Stephens said.

“But massage parlours have been known to get incredibly busy on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

“I guess some men feel they have been cooped up with their family for 36 hours and want to get out.”

It is not illegal to sell or pay for sex in England but many activities associated with prostitution – such as running a brothel, persistent kerb-crawling and advertising in phone boxes – are illegal.