Despite their clients being thousands of kilometers miles away β mainly in the United States and Europe β many webcam sex workers say they have suffered physical and emotional mistreatment.
Some studio bosses in Colombia, they say, prey on cis and transgender women from poor backgrounds, with low education levels, or single mothers trying to make ends meet. Tens of thousands of Colombians are estimated to be employed in the sector, broadcasting adult content to clients around the globe. In general, platforms keep between 50 and 65 percent of what viewers pay, according to HRW, but in Colombia many sex workers claimed to get as little as 30 percent of the earnings.
Tania Rios, a mother of two small children, told AFP she has had many bad experiences that she preferred not to recount. In its report based on interviews with sex workers in the cities of Bogota, Cali, Medellin and Palmira, the HRW said it was alerted to models working hour shifts without breaks and coerced into degrading, traumatizing or painful sex acts at some studios.
Investigators contacted four platforms named in the report, three of which said they had measures in place to combat human trafficking and child sex abuse, but denied responsibility for abuses at studios where the content is filmed. Ex-webcam model Darling Leon, 28, created a service to help others better navigate the system β teaching them what to look for in a work contract, for example.
HRW said in its report it was not calling for the criminalization of the webcam industry or studios, but for the industry and government to address abuses and root out exploitation. Sometimes models are fined for taking breaks to eat or go to the toilet. One platform did not reply at all. But the demand for workers β including men β has only continued to grow.
