United Kingdom: "Twice As Many" Men Pay for Sex

In surveys of 11,000 British adults in 1990 and 2000, researchers found the number of men paying women for sex increased from one in 20 to one in 10. Yet few are getting screened for STDs or visiting health clinics, according to researchers from Imperial and University College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the National Center for Social Research.

More than one-third of the male clients of female sex workers had 10 or more sex partners in the last five years, and the clients were most likely to be single Londoners ages 25-34. There was no association with ethnicity or class. One-fifth had visited a sexual health clinic, and fewer had been tested for HIV.

"There has been a more liberal attitude towards commercial sex and increasing commercialization of sex," said lead author Dr. Helen Ward. "There are more men with money and more women looking for this type of work." Many of the men travel abroad for sex, and the Internet and cheaper international travel have opened more opportunities to buy and sell sex, she said.

"It does not seem to be exceptional for groups of men to go away with each other for the weekend and have commercial sex," said Ward. "My concern is that if people are going abroad where there might be less safe sex, they really ought to be thinking about the possible risks."

"Men who pay for sex should be the target of health promotion campaigns and screening initiatives," just as officials target sex workers, said Ward. Authorities should educate men generally, through school-based sex education and mass media campaigns, she said.

The full report, "Who Pays for Sex? An Analysis of the Increasing Prevalence of Female Commercial Sex Contacts Among Men in Britain," was published in Sexually Transmitted Infections (2005;81:467-471).

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