How the Internet Changed Public Perception of Call Girls in Dubai

Before the internet, if you heard someone was a call girl in Dubai, it was usually through whispers in back alleys or rumors passed along in private circles. There was no public record, no reviews, no way to verify anything. Today, that same person might have a profile on a website, a WhatsApp number, even a curated Instagram page. The internet didn’t create the sex trade in Dubai - it made it visible. And visibility changed everything.

What the internet did to secrecy

In the early 2000s, working as an escort in Dubai meant staying hidden. Women operated through word-of-mouth referrals, trusted intermediaries, and cash-only transactions. Getting caught meant deportation, fines, or jail. The risk was high, and the reach was low. Only a handful of people knew who was available, and even fewer dared to ask.

Then came smartphones and messaging apps. Suddenly, you didn’t need a middleman. You didn’t need to be in a specific neighborhood to find someone. You just opened an app. Websites like Classifieds.ae, Facebook groups, and later private Telegram channels became the new marketplaces. Profiles included photos, rates, availability, and even personality descriptions. The service became productized. And when something becomes a product, people start treating it like one.

From shame to normalization

The stigma didn’t vanish overnight - but it started to crack. In the past, being seen with an escort was a secret shame. Now, it’s a private choice. Many expats and locals alike no longer see it as a moral failure. They see it as a transaction, like hiring a personal trainer or a house cleaner. The language changed. People stopped saying “call girl” and started saying “companion,” “escort,” or “independent service provider.”

A 2023 survey by a Dubai-based research group found that 42% of expats aged 25-40 believed that adult services in Dubai were “no different from other service industries,” compared to just 17% in 2015. That shift didn’t come from government policy. It came from exposure. The internet made the invisible visible, and once something is visible, it’s harder to ignore - or demonize.

How profiles changed trust

Trust used to be built through personal connections. Now, it’s built through reviews. Women offering services began collecting feedback - not from law enforcement, but from clients. Comments like “clean, punctual, respectful” or “great conversation, no pressure” became common. These weren’t just testimonials; they were reputation systems.

Some profiles even included background checks, medical certificates, and verified IDs - not because the law required it, but because clients demanded it. The internet turned an underground market into a service economy with customer expectations. You wouldn’t hire a driver without checking ratings. Why would you hire an escort any differently?

This also meant women gained more control. They set their own prices, chose their clients, and refused requests they didn’t like. No more pimps. No more hidden fees. No more being forced into situations. The internet gave them autonomy - even in a place where the law still criminalizes their work.

The dark side of visibility

But visibility isn’t always freedom. The same tools that empowered women also made them easier to track. Police began monitoring online platforms. Scammers created fake profiles to steal money. Some women were blackmailed after clients saved their photos or messages. And because the work is illegal, victims couldn’t go to the police without risking arrest themselves.

In 2024, Dubai authorities shut down over 120 online escort listings in a single month. They didn’t arrest the women - they arrested the website operators. The message was clear: the service might be tolerated, but the platform is not. The internet gave women a voice, but the law still doesn’t recognize it.

How locals see it now

Emiratis rarely discuss this openly, but attitudes are shifting. Younger Emiratis, especially those educated abroad, are more likely to view the issue through a lens of personal freedom than religious taboo. A 2024 study by the American University in Dubai found that 31% of Emirati university students believed adult services should be decriminalized if regulated - up from 8% in 2018.

This doesn’t mean they support it. But they no longer see it as a moral crisis. It’s a social reality. And like traffic jams or housing prices, it’s something people learn to live with - even if they don’t like it.

The role of media and pop culture

YouTube documentaries, TikTok stories, and even podcasts have started covering the lives of women in Dubai’s escort industry. Not sensationalized. Not moralizing. Just telling their stories. One viral video showed a woman explaining why she left her job as a nurse to become an independent escort: “I made more in one week than I did in two months. And I got to choose who I worked with.” The video got 4.7 million views. Comments were split - some called her a victim, others called her smart.

Mainstream media still avoids the topic. But the conversation isn’t happening in newspapers anymore. It’s happening in DMs, in WhatsApp groups, in private forums. And that’s where real change happens - quietly, without permission.

What’s next?

The internet won’t legalize prostitution in Dubai. That’s not going to happen anytime soon. But it’s already changed how people think about it. The next step might not be legalization - it might be indifference. When something is so common, so normalized, so visible, the law starts to look out of touch.

We’ve seen this before. In places like Amsterdam and parts of Germany, public perception shifted long before the law caught up. Dubai might be next. Not because of protests or politics - but because a generation grew up with a phone in their hand and no shame in using it to find what they need.

The internet didn’t invent the demand. It just gave people a way to meet it - safely, quietly, and without asking for permission.