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full screen Photo: Krister Hansson
For six years, Lisa, 22, sold sex via Tinder.
Through the dating app, she was constantly able to get in touch with new customers and for her it became like a “drug”.
– On dating apps there are normal people who may still be interested, she says.
Today, Lisa lives in a small apartment with her partner in a medium-sized Swedish city. She rotates three jobs to make ends meet.
But life wasn’t like that before. Then she had hundreds of thousands of kroner in her account and could earn even more quickly.
Lisa tells Aftonbladet about how for several years she sold sex via dating apps and how she ended up in an addiction.
For a period, she says she was seeing between two and three people every week – until one meeting made her stop.
“All ages and shapes”
Lisa tells us that it started when she was young and unwell. She was around 14 years old.
– I started partying and many guys said like “I’ll drive you home if you do something for it”. And then you didn’t have to pay.
– It felt very innocent.
The first time she took cash she was 15 years old and after that it took off.
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full screen Photo: Private
Lisa says she soon realized she could easily make a lot of money. Initially, she met people her own age. But it spread to men of “all ages and shapes”, she says.
– I have met everything from 18-year-olds to 92-year-olds of all different ethnicities with different desires. Some you realize when they come that they are people you know. An acquaintance’s father came once, she says and continues:
– I was very prepared for him to turn the door, but he didn’t. It’s horrible to know he has a child that I knew about.
She says she met security guards, lawyers, doctors, some police.
– It really could be anyone.
“Swiped on everyone”
She handled her meetings and business all by herself via various dating apps – most notably Tinder. It was the easiest way to proceed, says Lisa.
She created a profile that stated what she wanted. It said what she offered, her age and that you should contact her on Snapchat, she says.
Once the profile was out, she knew she had about an hour. Eventually enough people would report her and the profile would be deleted.
– Then I swiped at everyone who came up. In an hour I could have a lot of people who were interested in buying services, she says.
When she met new men and her account was closed, she just changed her phone number and created a new one. That’s how it went for several years.
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full screen Photo: Private
Lisa tells us that there are many sites on the Internet for sexual services. But most people who buy there are “really sick in the head”.
– On dating apps there are normal people but who may still be interested.
– It was very simple and it went very quickly.
Tinder: “Strongly encourages them to report”
All forms of sex trafficking are prohibited on Tinder, the dating app announces on its website.
In an email to Aftonbladet, Tinder writes that any kind of solicitation of both prostitution and advertising of various types of paid services is a violation of their rules and can lead to profiles being removed.
“If users encounter someone who violates our rules, we strongly encourage them to report this via the self-reporting tool in the app, and our team will take appropriate action,” it writes.
Aftonbladet has taken part in several chats with customers that Lisa has been in contact with.
Stefan Adamsson works against international serious organized crime at the police in the West region. More specifically, he is coordinated against human trafficking.
The police have been aware for some time that sexual services are sold on dating apps.
– We know that it occurs. But I don’t have exact information on to what extent. But we have heard about it over time, he says.
The difference with selling it on dating apps is that you reach a new customer group, he explains.
– There will be exposure in a wider forum there. Some men who have thought about it may be tempted to buy sex and exploit another human being.
But the risk for those who sell sex, he believes, is the same as on escort sites.
– Those girls live a dangerous life, he says.
The meeting made her leave
Lisa tells us that life as a prostitute quickly turned into darkness for Lisa. She says that she lived with constant anxiety before every meeting. When she would meet someone new, she never knew who it was or if she would make it out alive.
– I was heavily medicated. I couldn’t go to a meeting without popping pills.
She says she kept it all to herself. Neither her parents nor the school knew what was going on.
The years passed and when she moved away from home at the age of 18, it escalated further and the abuse became more severe. A meeting, which was her last, made her leave that life behind for good, explains Lisa.
– What happened in there meant that I would never be able to come back to it. That’s where it broke, she says.
Never enough money
Lisa describes prostitution as a drug, as an addiction. Even though she has now left that life behind, the first thought when the money runs out, and in weak moments, is to go back.
– It’s still something I struggle with. First thought when I don’t have money is to go there, because I know how easy it is. And no matter how much money I had, it was never enough.
She got out a year ago, she says. She deleted everything and changed her number. Some have tried to contact her, but she describes herself as “spared”.
Now she has started over and wants to help other young girls who find themselves in the situation she lived. Her dream is to get started with lectures and support others by telling her story.
– It feels like I’m heading in the right direction and moving forward. I have felt a huge relief.