London: Greek austerity has driven young women to the point where they are selling sex for the price of a sandwich, a study has found.
Sociology professor Gregory Laxos and his team at Panteion University in Athens found that young Greek women had now overtaken Eastern European women as the dominant group in the prostitution industry, metro.co.uk reported.
The researchers compiled data on more than 17,000 sex workers operating in Greece and found that sex in Greece was some of the cheapest on offer in Europe.
“Some women just do it for a cheese pie, or a sandwich they need to eat because they are hungry,” Laxos was quoted as saying.
Prostitution rates have fallen from 50 euros for a half-hour sex session to as low as two euros.
More alarmingly, Laxos and colleagues found that the number of young women, who are the ones offering the cheapest rates, appears to be rising.
“They are growing at a steady and consistent pace,” he added.
Most women entering the sex industry are between 17 and 20.