Real Men Don't Buy Sex

Human trafficking is considered the third most profitable activity after drug and arm dealings, generating estimated $9.5 billion annually. Of that, $4 billion are generated from sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children. Unfortunately, there is a demand for this type of activity as behind of every case of commercial sex is a man who is ready to pay for it.

Two agencies, Eaves from London, UK, and Prostitution Research and Education from San Francisco, US, released a Men Who Buy Sex research report in 2009, in which they interviewed 103 men in London who purchased sexual services. Although the number of interviewed men is not high, the study still revealed some thought-provoking trends about “the invisible subjects of the sex industry” as described by Marttila in 2008. The report revealed that men, who buy sexual services range from 18 to 70 years of age, are of different ethnicities and nationalities, various income levels, various education levels, and have various religious backgrounds. Over half of the interviewed men were either married or in a relationship. The men were aware of the negative effect of prostitution on the exploited women. Additionally, about half of the men knew about pimping and sex trafficking, but only five of the interviewed men reported suspicious activities to the local law enforcement because of the fear of exposure. Over 70% of the men in the study said that they had feelings of guilt and shame about buying sex, yet will continue to do so in the future because they see themselves as “sex addicts.” Top reasons to discourage the purchase of sexual services included public exposure such as addition to a sex offender registry, letters sent to family and places of work, etc., according to the interviewed men. Most of the men said that lack of the enforcement of laws enables them to continue participating in commercial sex industry.

But if you think that this only happens in other countries, consider the following study by the Shapiro group. In the fall of 2009, they conducted a survey of men who were seeking to buy sexual services with adolescent females through websites like Craigslist in Atlanta, Georgia. To ensure honest responses, the study was masked as an Internet ad, offering purchase of sexual services with very young girls. The trained operators conducted pretend interviews with men who responded to the ad, ending the phone calls on premises that the advertised adolescent girl was not available. The results showed that men who are purchasing sex with adolescent girls are between ages 18 and 67, most being 30-39 years of age. Additionally, close to two thirds of these men were from what is considered suburbs of Atlanta. Based on the study’s observations and estimations, 7,200 men buy sex with adolescent girls every month statewide, while over 27,000 men tend to do so several times a year. Additionally, the study revealed that 42 percent of men who responded to commercial sex ads were either seeking an adolescent girl or were willing to ignore indications that they were purchasing sex with a girl under 18 years old. The study also pointed out the involvement of Craigslist website in the commercial sex trade and exploitation of children. Ads placed on Craigslist received three times more responses than identical ads placed on other websites. Although Craigslist officials claim that control mechanisms are in place to prevent sexual exploitation, these mechanisms were avoided with minimal manipulation of wording in the ads, and the ads continued to remain on the website, generating client response.

US Department of Health and Human Services defines sexual exploitation of an individual under 18 years old as sex trafficking. Additionally, there are federal and state laws that clearly criminalize sexual acts with minors. However, as it has been shown in Atlanta, these measures are not enough to deter men from seeking to purchase sexual services with adolescent girls. These men create the demand for sex trafficking children in Atlanta. But it is just one example of what is going on in this country. We can no longer pretend that human trafficking and modern day slavery does not affect us. It is happening in our country, in our neighborhoods, right this minute. The stereotypes of people who seek to purchase sexual services are broken. It is time to open our eyes to the reality of child sex trafficking in this country.

But not all men are like the ones described above. Not all men seek to buy a human being to satisfy their sexual urges and feed their pornography addiction. Not all men, when asked for help by a clearly frightened and exploited woman or child, instead, engage in sexual activity and continue to provide the demand for sex trafficking. Not all men blame the sexually exploited women and children for the problem of prostitution. There are men that have moral values and recognize when injustice is taking place. Moreover, there are men who are willing to stand up and defend the oppressed, used, exploited women and children. Those are the real men. Such is a story of The Defenders USA, formed by men in 2006. They work to stop the demand for sexual exploitation of women and children by educating and raising awareness about the crimes of the commercial sex industry. They ask other men on their website to take a pledge against using any form of commercial sex, to hold their friends accountable, and to protect those around them. Additionally, The Defenders USA works together with Shared Hope International to help women and children rescued from sex trafficking build new lives. These are the real men. One of the slogans on their website is that “Real Men Don’t Buy Sex.” It says a lot about honor and respect between men and women. Real men see women and children as human beings, not as objects of instant gratification.

The fact that the men who were interviewed for the report on Men Who Buy Sex are so concerned about their anonymity speaks volumes about their character. My call to them and to those who are like them is to own up to their transgressions, to stop creating the demand for sexual exploitation of women and children, and to stand up and defend the oppressed. This is being a real man.

For more information, visit:

http://www.thedefendersusa.org/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jan/15/why-men-use-prostitutes

Source:

“Men Who Buy Sex:Who They Buy and What They Know.” 2009. Eves, Prostitution Research & Education.

http://www.thedefendersusa.org/

“Men Who Buy Sex with Adolescent Girls: a Scientific Research Study.” 2009 The Schapiro Group.

Sex Trafficking Fact Sheet. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

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