One in nine British men have paid for sex, according to a new study.And the likeliest to do so are 25 to 34-year-old single men in managerial or professional occupations, and those who have had a high number of partners.
The
research, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections,
revealed that 3.6 per cent of the 6,000 men surveyed admitted visiting
prostitutes in the past five years.
One in nine British men have paid for
sex, pictured is Billie Piper as Belle de Jour in Secret Diary of a Call
Girl with a client
Lead
scientist Dr Cath Mercer, from University College London, said: ‘The
picture that emerges does not necessarily fit the stereotype of the
lonely older man.
‘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.’
Men
who paid for sex 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 per cent of all reported STI diagnoses in male population.
Men who paid for sex were more than twice as likely as average men to have been diagnosed with an STI in the past five years
They also reported an average of 31.6 lifetime sexual partners - more than twice the average for the male population.
Dr
Mercer said: ‘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.
‘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.’
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 per cent.
Among
men who reported ever having paid for sex, 62.6 per cent 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.’
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