What we know about men who buy sex.Dr Teela SandersUniversity of Leedst.l.m.sanders@leeds.ac.uk : What we know about men who buy sex. Dr Teela Sanders University of Leeds t.l.m.sanders@leeds.ac.uk UKNSWP Annual Conference
6th October 2006
Britannia Hotel, Manchester
Aims of the presentation : Aims of the presentation Brief over-view of the literature on men who buy sex from female sex workers
Evaluation of rehabilitation programmes
Why the re-focus on ‘kerbcrawlers’ in policy?
The impact of criminalisation?
Prevalence of Men buying sex : Prevalence of Men buying sex National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles
1990 – 2000 from 2% to 4.2% (Johnson et al 2001)
8.9% in Greater London
Ward et al (2005) survey of 6,000 men in 1990 andamp; 2000 in UK.
1990, 5.6 % had purchased sex
2000, increased to 8.8%
10% (n=267) of population in sexual health clinic survey in Glasgow had purchased sex (Groom and Nandwani, 2006)
All statistics are under-representation
Global view of prevalence : Global view of prevalence
Sweden: 13% (Ekberg, 2004)
Australia: 15.6% (Rissel et al, 2003)
Spain: 39% (Leridon, et al 1998)
Thailand: 73% (Anderson andamp; O’Connell Davidson, 2003)
Why the increase? : Why the increase? Increase in divorce / decline in marriage
Growth in adult entertainment industry
Availability andamp; visibility
Growth of Internet and global communications
Increase in travel
Increase in amount of adult time spent alone
Increased cultural acceptance / less stigma
Change in sexual morality attitudes?
Scott (1998) still high condemnation for extra-marital affairs
Who are the men that buy sex? : Who are the men that buy sex? Across socio-economic groups
Professional, managerial and manual jobs
Full time employment
Marital status: majority in long term partnerships (Gibbens andamp; Silberman, 1960, Groom andamp; Nandwani, 2006)
No criminal record (Hester andamp; Westmorland, 2004)
Age – clients more likely to be over 39 years (Sullivan andamp; Simon, 1998)
Facts correspond with large scale surveys from USA (Monto, 2000).
Motivations for buying sex : Motivations for buying sex Attraction of the illicit encounter (McKeganey andamp; Barnard, 1996)
No sexual activity / isolation / loneliness (Campbell, 1998)
Different sex acts from regular partners
Different women
Uncomplicated / non-emotional
Convenience / simplicity
Regulars – repeat customers
Companionship, socialising, time (Lever andamp; Dolnick, 2000)
Different markets = different clients : Different markets = different clients Differences between men who go to different markets
Different motivations / type of service
Men rarely go to both street and indoor markets (Benson andamp; Matthews, 1995; Groom andamp; Nandwani, 2006)
Perceived risks of street (drugs/violence/danger) (Sanders, 2007)
Expansive range of markets
Perceptions of lap dancing /Amsterdam / stag night very different from street
UK men buying sex abroad (Netherlands, Thailand, Spain, Germany)
Re-framing who is the ‘problem’ : Re-framing who is the ‘problem’ 1980’s + men who buy sex problematised
Small number of communities dominate parliamentary debates (Kantola andamp;Squires, 2004)
Increase in laws against ‘the kerbcrawler’
1985 Sexual Offences Act - shift in who was the problem
2001 Criminal Justice andamp; Police Act - kerbcrawling an arrestable offence
2003 Criminal Justice Act - conditional cautioning
Peak between 2000-4: 993 men arrested (2002)
Coordinated Prostitution Strategy: Tackling Demand : Coordinated Prostitution Strategy: Tackling Demand Enforcement of existing laws for kerbcrawling
Addressing concerns from communities
Informal warning / court diversion / prosecution
Crackdowns, zero tolerance decoys, supporting naming and shaming, media coverage, driving licenses revoked, fines, rehabilitation programmes
Rehabilitation programmes: A coherent approach? : Rehabilitation programmes: A coherent approach? Court diversion schemes
Success of UK programmes based on low re-offending rates
Strategy ignored evaluations / evidence
No evidence that programmes in North America have lasted more than 2 years
Range of reasons for ineffectiveness
Evaluation of Effectiveness : Evaluation of Effectiveness Re-offending cannot be used as an effectiveness measuring tool (Monto andamp; Garcia, 2000)
Recidivism not due to programme – other factors lead to behavioural change
Some evidence of attitude changes but not behaviour (Wortley, et al 2002; Kennedy et al, 2004)
Resource intensive – Clubs andamp; Vice: 12 crackdowns a year yields 25-35 arrests each time. 20 officers needed for each week long crackdown.
Criticisms of the programmes : Criticisms of the programmes Bias programme content – 1995 radical feminist campaign in San Francisco (Campbell andamp; Storr, 1998)
Not balanced view of law or prostitution (Van Brunschot, 2003)
Against legal theory andamp; due process (Brooks Gordon, 2006)
Damage of shaming schools – confrontational shaming ritual (Sawyer et al, 1998)
Need for wider educational awareness programme with all men
Impact of tackling demand? : Impact of tackling demand? Still legal to buy sex: confusion
Mixed messages: condoning or enabling commercial sex?
No awareness of impact of crackdowns / zero tolerance on sex workers or industry
Temporal, spatial and tactical displacement
Impact of naming andamp; shaming on families
So…….? : So…….? Will the Strategy reduce demand?
Up against multi-million £ and $ industry and an embedded commodification culture
Slide16 : Anderson, B and O’Connell Davidson, J (2003) Is trafficking in human beings demand driven? A multi-country pilot study. International Organisation for Migration,
Benson, C., andamp; Matthews, R. (1995). Street Prostitution: Ten Facts in Search of a Policy. International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 23, 395-415.
Brooks-Gordon, B. (2005). Clients and Commercial Sex: Reflections on Paying the Price: A Consultation Paper on Prostitution. Criminal Law Review, 425-443.
— (2006). The Price of Sex: Prostitution, Policy and Society: Willan Publishing.
Campbell, R. (1998). Invisible Men: Making Visible Male Clients of Female Prostitutes in Merseyside. In J. Elias, V. Bullough, V. Elias andamp; G. Brewer (Eds.), Prostitution. On Whores, Hustlers and Johns (pp. 155-171). New York: Prometheus Books
Slide17 : Campbell, R., andamp; Storr, M. (2001). Challenging the Kerb Crawler Rehabilitation Programme. Feminist Review, 67, 94-108.
Ekberg, G. (2004). The Swedish Law that Prohibits the Purchase of Sexual Services: Best Practices for Prevention of Prostitution and Trafficking in Human Beings. Violence Against Women, 10, 1187-1218.
Fischer, H., Webster, C., andamp; Wortley, S. (2002). Vice lessons: A survey of prostitution offenders enrolled in the Toronto John School Diversion Program. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 44, 369-402.
Gibbens, T., andamp; Silberman, M. (1970). The Clients of Prostitutes. The British Journal of Venereal Diseases, 36, 113-117.
Groom, TM and Nandwani, R (2006) Characteristics of men who pay for sex: A UK sexual health clinic survey, Sexually Transmitted Infections, 82, 5, pp364-367
Hester, M., andamp; Westmarland, N. (2004). Tackling Street Prostitution: Towards a Holistic Approach. London: Home Office.
Johnson, AM., Mercer, CH, Erens, B etal (2001) Sexual Behaviour in Britain: partnerships, practices and HIV risk behaviours. Lancet, 358, pp 1835-42
Slide18 : Kantola, J., andamp; Squires, J. (2004). Discourses Surrounding Prostitution Policies in the UK. European Journal of Women's Studies, 11, 77-101.
Kennedy, M. A., Klein, C., Gorzalka, B. B., andamp; Yuille, J. C. (2004). Attitude Change Following a Diversion Program for Men Who Solicit Sex. Journal of Offender rehabilitation, 40, 41-60.
Leridon, H van Zessen, G., Hubert,m (1998) The Europeans and their Sexual Partners in Hubert, M, Bajos, N and Sandfort, T (eds) Sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS in Europe, London UCL Press
Lever, J., andamp; Dolnick, D. (2000). Clients and Call Girls: Seeking Sex and Intimacy. In R. Weitzer (Ed.), Sex for Sale (pp. 85-100). London: Routledge.
McKeganey, N., andamp; Barnard, M. (1996). Sex Work on the Streets. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Monto, M. (2000). Why Men Seek Out Prostitutes. In R. Weitzer (Ed.), Sex for Sale (pp. 67-83). Routledge: London.
Monto, M. A., andamp; Garcia, S. (2001). Recidivism Among the Customers of Female Street Prostitutes: Do Intervention Programs Help? Western Criminology Review, 3.
Rissel, C.E., Richters, J., Grulich AE., et al Sex in Australia: Experiences of Commercial Sex in a Representative Sample of Adults Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 27:191-7
Slide19 : Sanders, T (2007) Paying for Pleasure: Men who Buy Sex Cullompton, Willan
Sawyer, S., Rosser, B. R. S., andamp; Schroeder, A. (1998). A Brief Psychoeducational Program for Men Who Patronize Prostitutes. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 26, 111-125.
Scott, J (1998) Changing Attitudes to Sexual Morality: A Cross-National Comparison, Sociology, 32, 4 pp 815-845
Sullivan, E., andamp; Simon, W. (1998). The Client: A Social, Psychological and Behavioural Look at the Unseen Patron of Prostitution. In J. E. Elias, V. L. Bullough, V. Elias andamp; G. Brewer (Eds.), Prostitution: On Whores, Hustlers and Johns (pp. 134-154). Amsherst, NY: Prometheus.
Van Brunschot, E. G. (2003). Community Policing and 'John Schools'. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthroplogy, 40, 215-232.
Ward, H., Mercer, CH., Wellings K et al (2005) Who pays for sex? An analysis of the increasing prevalence of female commercial sex contacts among men in Britain. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 81:467-71