What we know about men who buy sex. Dr Teela Sanders University of Leeds UKNSWP Annual Conference 6 th October 2006 Britannia Hotel, Manchester

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 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 & 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 Sweden: 13% (Ekberg, 2004) Australia: 15.6% (Rissel et al, 2003) Spain: 39% (Leridon, et al 1998) Thailand: 73% (Anderson & O’Connell Davidson, 2003)

Why the increase? Increase in divorce / decline in marriage Growth in adult entertainment industry Availability & 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? Across socio-economic groups Professional, managerial and manual jobs Full time employment Marital status: majority in long term partnerships (Gibbens & Silberman, 1960, Groom & Nandwani, 2006) No criminal record (Hester & Westmorland, 2004) Age – clients more likely to be over 39 years (Sullivan & Simon, 1998) Facts correspond with large scale surveys from USA (Monto, 2000).

Motivations for buying sex Attraction of the illicit encounter (McKeganey & 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 & Dolnick, 2000)

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 & Matthews, 1995; Groom & 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’ 1980’s + men who buy sex problematised Small number of communities dominate parliamentary debates (Kantola &Squires, 2004) Increase in laws against ‘the kerbcrawler’ 1985 Sexual Offences Act - shift in who was the problem 2001 Criminal Justice & Police Act - kerbcrawling an arrestable offence 2003 Criminal Justice Act - conditional cautioning Peak between : 993 men arrested (2002)

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? 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 Re-offending cannot be used as an effectiveness measuring tool (Monto & 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 & Vice: 12 crackdowns a year yields arrests each time. 20 officers needed for each week long crackdown.

Criticisms of the programmes Bias programme content – 1995 radical feminist campaign in San Francisco (Campbell & Storr, 1998) Not balanced view of law or prostitution (Van Brunschot, 2003) Against legal theory & 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? 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 & shaming on families

So…….? Will the Strategy reduce demand? Up against multi-million £ and $ industry and an embedded commodification culture

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