One In 10 British Men Have Paid For Sex, Survey Finds
Someone You Know Has Probably Had Sex With A Prostitute
PA/The Huffington Post UK
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In your social circle there's probably at least one guy who's had intercourse with a sex worker.
According to a new study of over 6,000 British men, one in 10 say they have paid for sex. In addition, 3.6% of the men surveyed admitted going to prostitutes in the past five years.
Single men aged 25 to 34, in managerial or professional occupations and those with high numbers of sexual partners, were the most likely to say that they had paid for sex.
"The picture that emerges does not necessarily fit the stereotype of the lonely older man," said lead scientist Dr Cath Mercer, from University College London (UCL).
"In fact, men who pay for sex are more likely to be young professionals with many unpaid sexual partners. Many report other hedonistic and risky behaviours including heavy drinking and drug taking."
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The findings come from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal), conducted between 2010-2012 by researchers from UCL, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and NatCen Social Research.
A total of 6,108 men aged 16-74 answered questions about paying for sex in a computer-assisted self-interview.
The study focused on men as the proportion of women who reported paying for sex was only around 0.1%.
Men who paid for sex reported an average of 31.6 lifetime sexual partners - more than twice the average for the male population.
They were also more than twice as likely as average men to have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the past five years.
Men who used prostitutes made up 15.6% of all reported STI diagnoses in male population.
"Men who pay for sex are evidently at high risk of infection, but this does not necessarily mean that the STIs are spread through their paid sex," Dr Mercer added.
"Instead, we found that these men report engaging in other risky sexual behaviours, such as having concurrent - or overlapping - partners, and so should be considered a core-group for sexual health interventions and services."
Among men who reported ever having paid for sex, 62.6% had done so outside the UK at least once - most commonly in Europe and Asia.
This may be driven by "hotspots" such as Amsterdam and Bangkok, said the researchers.
"Paying for sex may seem more permissible abroad, at a place removed from the day-to-day lives of most men," Dr Mercer added.
"Paid sex can also be more readily available in certain areas so if men mention to their health professional that they will be travelling to destinations known for sex tourism, and especially those where the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and HIV is high, then it would be opportunistic to have a conversation about safe sex."
In this picture taken on August 18, 2009, a Thai bar girl waits for customers outside a bar in Sungai Kolok, in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat. The sun hasn't set, but already the music is pumping and the disco ball is rolling in the Sumtime Bar, where Malaysian men are enjoying the drinks and women available on this side of the Thai border. (credit:Getty)
Kinshasa, Congo (02 of08)
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A 12 year-old prostitute cries in a medical center in Kinshasa on November 7, 2010 after she was stoned by an other child prostitute. Child prostitutes earn about 2000 Congolese Francs (2,2 USD) for a sexual intercourse. More than 20,000 children live in the street of Kinshasa, a city of about 10 million. About a third have been accused of witchcraft and rejected by their families; a recent development in a disintegrated Congolese society undermined by poverty. (credit:Getty)
Bangladesh(03 of08)
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A Bangladeshi sex worker takes an Oradexon tablet in a government-registered brothel in Faridpur, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) outside Dhaka on June 20, 2010. Whenever Bangladeshi brothel owner Rokeya, 50, signs up a new sex worker she gives them a course of steroid drugs often used to fatten cattle. For older sex workers, tablets work well, said Rokeya, but for younger girls of 12 to 14 -- who are normally sold to the brothel by their families -- injections are more effective. (credit:Getty)
England (04 of08)
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A newspaper advertising board outside a corner shop in the Lancashire town of Rochdale after nine men were arrested for child sexual exploitation on January 11, 2011 in Rochdale, England. Greater Manchester Police have arrested nine men as part of an investigation into sexual exploitation and questioned on suspicion of rape, inciting child prostitution, allowing a premises to be used for prostitution and sexual activity with a child. (credit:Getty)
China (05 of08)
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This photo taken on June 21, 2011 shows Chinese police (L) watching over a group of massage girls suspected of prostitution during a raid on a parlour in Beijing in a vice crackdown ahead of the celebrations for the founding of the Chinese Communist Party 90 years ago. Rapid social and economic changes have made China 'prone to corruption' and the ruling Communist Party faces a major challenge stamping out deep-rooted official graft, an official said on June 22. (credit:Getty)
Paris (06 of08)
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A man wears a board with a slogan as he demonstrates with prostitutes and members of the Union of Sex Workers (Strass) on June 2, 2012 at the Pigalle square in Paris, to claim their rights to work in dignity and respect. (credit:Getty)
Guatemala City (07 of08)
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Firefighters help a prostitute get out after she got trapped in a tunnel where she remained hidden during an operation against human trafficking at the 'Super Frontera' bar, late on April 21, 2012 in Guatemala City. (credit:Getty)
Nicaragua (08 of08)
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Nicaraguan sex worker and member of NGO Girasoles Nicaragua (Nicaragua Sunflowers), Wendy, waits for clients on a street in Managua on April 18, 2012. (credit:Getty)