Sex worker
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A sex worker in Germany

A sex worker is a person who earns money by providing sexual services. The term was coined by American prostitute-activist Carol Leigh in the 1970s as a political term. [citation needed] It is sometimes used as a synonym or euphemism for prostitution, but most scholars define it to include individuals who perform sexual or sexually oriented activities in the sex industry, such as strippers, erotic massage therapists, pornography actors and actresses, live sex shows, webcam shows, and phone sex operators (Weitzer 2000).

Depending on regional law, sex workers' activities may be regulated, controlled, or prohibited. For example, prostitution is illegal in many countries, but is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, and Germany. In most countries, even those where sex work is legal, sex workers are stigmatized and marginalized, which can prevent them from seeking legal redress for discrimination (e.g., racial discrimination by a strip club owner), non-payment by a client, assault, or rape.

Sex worker advocates argue that sex workers should have the same basic human and labour rights as other working people (Weitzer 1991). For example, the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour calls for the legalization of sex work, the elimination of state regulations that are more repressive than those imposed on other workers and businesses, the right to recognition and protection under labour and employment laws, the right to form and join professional associations or unions, and the right to legally cross borders to work. Also, the legalization of sex work would allow it to be carried out in better organized circumstances (e.g., legal brothels), where regulations (e.g., requiring condom use and regular health checkups for sex workers) could reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The growth in sex tourism has led to a corresponding growth in the sex industry in some countries. Illegal sex tourism with under-age boys and girls has become a notorious problem in Costa Rica and Thailand. Legal (above the age of consent) and consensual sex industries make a significant contribution to the local economies of some urban centers. The Hamburg Reeperbahn is a licensed and taxed prostitution zone serving tourists from all over the world.

Sex industries tend to thrive around military bases. The British naval port of Portsmouth had a flourishing local sex industry in the 19th century, and until the early 1990s there were large red light districts near American military bases in the Philippines. The notorious Patpong entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, started as a rest and recuperation (R&R) location for US troops serving in the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.

The euphemism adult service provider is sometimes used for sex workers. Another example of the euphemism treadmill, according to Theodore Dalrymple, is that "medical journals fear to print the word 'prostitute' and use the euphemism 'sex worker' instead."

Performance evaluations of the different local sex workers can be found at various escort review boards worldwide. Escort review boards are online-forums, which are used primarily to trade information between potential clients and sex workers. In addition, escort review boards are used to advertise the various services of sex workers.