Webcam models: prostitution or formal work? - Other Cities - Colombia - ELTIEMPO.COM

“I had seven hours working and I didn't even have half of what I had to do daily to say it was a good day, but when it was almost eight o'clock, a man from Spain paid me for a private meeting. I didn't have to take off a single piece of clothing, I just wanted to talk. For a 40-minute chat he paid me 1,000 tokens –virtual currency of webcam pages–, around 100 dollars”, says Paulina *, a webcam model for five months.

The webcam modeling 'industry' in the country has made a lot of noise. Many take it as a demeaning job, while others see it as an alternative with good financial gain and that helps thousands of women achieve economic independence. And although it is an activity that began to have a new air a few years ago, this market has been in Colombia for more than two decades, which ranks as the second largest supplier of models in the world. The country occupies 33 percent of the market; the first is Romania. (You may be interested in: The seamstress of sex workers) “17 years ago, Colombia only had 1,000 to 2,000 women in this market. Today there may be more than 40,000, which come to produce more than 200 million dollars a year, ”says Juan Bustos, a model advisor, to EL TIEMPO.

Today there may be more than 40,000, which produce more than 200 million dollars

It is known that this work has always been classified as an industry related to the sexual market, which generates divided opinions about whether the women who carry out this work exercise a form of prostitution or not. But before entering the discussion, it must be taken into account consider why women agree to work in studios to start in the world of webcam modeling. "If there are women or people who get naked or do worse things on social networks, why not do it for money?" , says Jennifer Melo, who has been a webcam model for a year. In most cases, the common denominator is to attribute to the State the lack of possibilities to access a formal job. “I am a webcam model because this gives money. The labor issue in Colombia is disastrous, that is the main promoter so that there are more and more women in these practices, "adds Melo. Getting money quickly and easily is the argument that has led thousands of women to be victims of networks of sexual exploitation, which create studios as a facade that do not comply with the facilities or with the health conditions to ensure the protection of the models. (Also read: 'I paid for my studies by prostituting myself. Now I regret it') The cities in which the majority of these cases occur are Bogotá and Medellín, where more than 50 percent of the women who dedicate themselves to this practice are concentrated. “I was in two studies before arriving at the current one where I am, and in both I had very bad experiences: they pressured me to do some specific tasks, they forced me to work for more than 10 hours, and before I left I found out that they were uploading videos of my sessions to some porn pages without my consent feeling”, said Isabela* for EL TIEMPO, a webcam model for two years. Added to these statements are those of many other women, between 19 and 35 years old, who were victims of fraudulent studies. This is precisely what different organizations and people who are against these practices refer to. “Bringing a user to a public room exerts a psychological pressure on them that is not taken into account. In addition, there are post-activity blackmails, such as grooming or sexting, or cases in which their image is stored and sold without consent or any compensation," says Claudia Yurley Quintero Rolón, a human rights defender. Computer Crimes Unit of the National Police: “Many women who are part of webcam modeling have been victims of sexual exploitation; the common denominator of these cases is that they reach 'garage studios'”.

Many women who are part of webcam modeling have been victims of sexual exploitation

According to official figures, in Bogotá out of every 10 studies, only two are legal, which means that 80 percent would be without any type of regulation or control . There are many eyes that focus on whether this industry is a cradle of sexual exploitation or not, and they also wonder if it is a legal task to have a study. The answer lies somewhere in the middle: it is not legal to have a webcam model studio, but it is not illegal either. This is confirmed by Rafael Morales, operational manager of one of the most renowned studios in Bogotá: “The market for webcam models is illegal. , the State has not created regulation in this regard, but justice has not prohibited it either. Morally it can never be legalized. Studios, like ours, are governed by various statutes of different laws so that they meet the requirements to continue operating.” In addition, he adds that “ the imaginary of the people must be changed. Good studios are responsible for training and advising the models , it should be considered a job like any other. Additionally, it always seeks to minimize the possibility that the girls are extorted, it is always transmitted on pages outside the country. This work has a background that few people imagine. The models affirm that working in a serious and legal place gives them the possibility of fulfilling objectives such as buying a house, setting up a business or paying for their career, but at the same time they are aware that it is a temporary job.

“One in the studio is one person and outside of it is another. The girl who enters this activity does it for a certain time to be able to set up a business or something like that, it is not that one is going to dedicate herself to this all her life, ”concludes Jennifer Melo. According to Morales, this is an aspect that should be emphasized when talking to the models, "social awareness is important, this work is not just about getting naked and that's it, the client must be persuaded, but it is very essential that the girls have Of course, this activity is something temporary, something to meet an objective that needs economic muscle,” he says. Many questions are generated about this market, both from the point of view of models and from society: will webcam modeling one day be considered a formal job? Will it continue to be an industry that generates so much money annually?

It is not known for sure which of the parties will be right about whether it is prostitution or a formal job, but in the meantime, the 40,000 women, men and transsexuals who profit from this economic activity will continue broadcasting from the more than 2,000 studios that they can exist throughout the country, protected by law.

During the two decades that this market has been running, hundreds of models have passed through the different pages that thousands of users frequent, but they are not always looking for a woman behind a screen. Currently, the users of these platforms try to find different alternatives to satisfy their claims; Due to this, the presence of men, couples and transsexuals in the different model pages around the world has begun to gain strength. In Colombia it is very difficult to measure the presence of models in figures, but it is said that 90 percent are women; 5 percent couples; 3 percent, men, and only 2 percent, transsexuals. Given the constant growth of the industry, in 2017 the first university for webcam models was created, Universidad Juan Bustos, which is located in Medellín and was founded by the renowned advisor Juan Bustos.