Sex work is a controversial topic. Some people think it’s immoral, some think it promotes the exploitation of women, and some people think it’s actually in support of women’s rights to their own bodies.
But at the end of the day, sex work is a job just like any other. And some women in the sex work industry argue that because they can set their hours, screen clients, and earn money doing something they love, it’s even better than working a regular nine to five.
Websites like Backpage.com provided sex workers a safe platform for them to advertise their adult services. But in 2018, a law meant to curb sex trafficking and prostitution was passed, causing the shutdown of Backpage and dozens of sites just like it. Here’s what you need to know about Backpage, what happened to it, and a few Backpage replacements.
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What Is Backpage.com?
Backpage was one of the United States’ largest websites for online classifieds, second only to Craigslist. It was launched in 2004 and quickly rose in popularity thanks to its “alternative” categories like personals, erotic services, artists, and more.
Although you could find postings of all kinds, Backpage.com was most known for its sex work ads, ranging from erotic massage to escort services. This platform allowed sex workers to find a lot of work with little effort, post/read reviews about clients, and communicate with other people in the industry – making it much safer than working the street.
What Kind Of Services Could You Find On Backpage?
Whether you were searching from Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, or Canberra, you could find local listings of all types. You could find job postings, furniture sales, personal ads, and much more on Backpage.
Most people went to Backpage for its adult services section. This section contained a wide variety of postings from professional BDSM practitioners, erotic masseuses, escorts, sugar babies, cam girls, and other kinds of sex workers. While most sex workers posted under “women seeking men”, there were listings for all genders and orientations. There were female to female, male to male, and male to female services as well, although significantly less popular.
Is Backpage Still Around? What Happened To It?
In April 2018, Backpage’s users were surprised that the site was not working. The site had been a target of anti-sex work groups and law enforcement for years, but Backpage.com was finally shut down by a new law designed to curb human trafficking and child prostitution.
The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) became law last year, resulting in the takedown of dozens of sites that were suspected of facilitating or supporting sex trafficking. This included classifieds and personals sites that hosted ads for sex workers, like Craigslist Personals and Backpage.
Many people were affected by the site shutdown, including former Backpage executive Michael Lacey who was charged with human trafficking for knowingly facilitating prostitution on his site.
Although sex trafficking of adults and minors is a real problem, and it is possible that some of Backpage’s ads were for trafficked persons, there was a lot of pushback to the shutdown from sex workers themselves.
According to people in the sex work industry, FOSTA-SESTA actually hurt the already-vulnerable women and men in sex work by removing one of the few safe platforms they had. Backpage gave them a safe and independent way to work. They could choose when to work and with whom, vet potential clients with other sex workers, and earn a steady income as an independent contractor (versus working under a pimp or madame who would take a cut of their earnings).
If you visit Backpage.com today, the site is completely inaccessible, save for a notice from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation about the seizure of the site. This caused sex workers and clients to scramble to other Backpage alternatives, like the ones we list below.
Backpage Alternative Websites
Locanto
Locanto is one of the latest Backpage replacements to move in after FOSTA-SESTA was signed into law. The site is available in dozens of countries around the world and has listings for jobs, events, real estate, and more. Head into the personals section and you’ll find ads for dating, casual hookups, and yes, sex work.
Skokka
Skokka is different from other classifieds in that it’s strictly an “erotic personals portal” for dating and adult services. Choose from categories like Escorts, Swingers, and Transsexual to find what you’re looking for.
Cracker
It’s not difficult to find “luxury companions” and professional dominatrixes on Cracker. Some categories have more posts than others – you’ll have the best luck under the Dating section or Escorts category.
Punter Planet
Punter Planet is a forum site dedicated to Australian escorts and sex workers. You can browse through a directory of nearby escorts, read reviews from other clients, and connect easily with your SWer of choice.
Crockor
Crockor is a free classifieds site based in Australia, so it’s unaffected by the US FOSTA-SESTA laws. If you live in a major city, you’ll find hundreds of postings under the adult services category, with most falling under escorting or erotic massage.
We were originally going to include Swagmates, one of Australia’s premier adult services sites, on this list, but the site is no longer up and running. Instead, check out Twitter – tons of sex workers operate on the platform. Bonus: you get daily updates and photos as well!
Conclusion
Regardless of what you think about sex work, these platforms provide sex workers with a safe way to engage with clients. It is possible to fight sex trafficking without hurting adult services providers, and it starts with listening to the people actually affected by these laws: sex workers themselves.
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