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Colombia’s ‘webcam models’ denounce abuse in online sex industry

They say studio owners in Colombia often prey on women from poor backgrounds, single mothers and the less educated

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Model coach Darling Leon on a webcam coaching call in Bogota. She provides a service to help others better navigate the webcam modelling system – teaching them what to look for in a work contract, for example. Photo: AFP

Filming in dirty, bug-infested rooms with scant breaks and shared sex toys: Colombia’s “webcam models” are speaking out about abuse in one of the world’s top providers of adult webcam content.

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Despite their clients being thousands of kilometres away – mainly in the United States and Europe – 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.

“They forced us to do 12 hours (of broadcasts) a day. If not, they took a percentage of my money,” Paula Osorio, 25, told AFP at an upmarket webcam studio in Bogota, recounting her start in the industry at another, lower-end adult platform five years ago.

“I started working there to earn enough to eat, and they took advantage of that because I had nowhere else to go.”

Gold Line Studios model Paula Osorio recounts her start in the webcam industry at another, lower-end adult platform five years ago. Photo: AFP
Gold Line Studios model Paula Osorio recounts her start in the webcam industry at another, lower-end adult platform five years ago. Photo: AFP

Sex work is legal in the South American country, which has a high rate of informal employment – about 55 per cent – and a low minimum wage of around US$320 per month.

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