The news that OnlyFans will ban sexual content from its platform from 1st October 2021 is the latest development in the trend of sex workers being excluded from online platforms and financial services.
There are many sex workers who depend on OnlyFans as a platform for the majority of their income. There are others who use OnlyFans as a supplement to income from other sex work, or more mainstream jobs. The Covid-19 pandemic has only increased the number of those turning to OnlyFans and other online platforms to ensure that they earn enough money to survive and support themselves and their families. Sex workers who had been able to transition to online work may now face financial pressure to return to in-person forms of sex work, increasing the risks they take and jeopardising their safety. Sex work has gone from being in a highly visible position to being once again pushed back into hidden margins.