A new council report has revealed the latest count of sex workers in the city, 13 years after Oxford City Council to set up a specific task force to tackle a rise in prostitution.
The most recent data, collected between December 2016 and July 2018, found that there were 46 known sex workers in the city.
A newly-released report, which detailed the statistic, states: “The prevalence of sex work is believed to have risen alongside austerity, benefit sanctions, and increased housing costs.
The city's illegal sex trade has now mostly moved from the streets to behind closed doors, authorities say.
Prostitution has evolved purely from street work to a vast network of websites and online escort services.
One particular site listed more than 160 results for escorts in Oxfordshire.
Mr Chapman said there has been a decline in the number of identified sex workers in Oxford since 2007, but that the number of off-street sex workers is 'unknown'.