• men trade resources for sexual access with women

• prostitution = extreme version of short-term mating game

cross-cultural:

• may not exist at all in some societies (e.g., foragers)

• sex ratio influences extent

• more likely when men outnumber women

• e.g., frontier towns

• migration - men away from "home" - e.g., in developing countries, migrant farmworkers, military

• prevalence in U.S. 5 times greater in 1912 than now

• prostitution probably has decreased since beginning of sexual revolution in 1960s/70s

• women having sex earlier, more often, and w/ more men than in previous generations = more sexual opportunities for men

• current prevalence rate = 23/100,000 or approx. 55,000 women in last year

• most = adults (< 5% under age 18)

• most work on streets - for visibility

• mobile - to elude police, find other prostitution opportunities

• career length - about 5 +/- 2 years in North America and Europe

• other reasons for prostituting:

• flexibility of work schedule

• thrill of fast life

• in some societies, family decision (to earn $ for family)

• prostitutes demographically similar to nonprostitutes, except:

• single parent family
• child abuse/neglect

• drug use, esp. injection drug use (precedes prostitution in most cases)

• early onset of drug use

• early consensual sexual debut

• high mortality

• 99 deceased prostitute women from sample of nearly 2,000 who worked in Colorado Springs, 1970-2000

• homicide = 20%
• suicide = 2%
• drug/alcohol overdoes = 22%
• chronic alcoholism (e.g., liver failure) = 10%
• AIDS = 7%
• accidents = 9%
• strokes, heart attacks, etc. = 13%
• other = 16%

• > 1% of all prostitutes in sample murdered

Prostitution's role in STD transmission
 

• i.e., prostitutes are central to sexual networks

• linked to many others

• fewer steps away from others

• serve as bridges between persons otherwise unconnected

Clients
 

• multiple partners

• physical attractiveness

• youth

• brief partnerships w/ a minimum of investment

• difficult to assess because men are reluctant to admit contact with prostitutes

• McKeganey & Barnard

• more clients identified on repeated questioning in surveys

• men more likely to admit being a client in response to self-administered interview via computer/headphones  self-administered questionnaire

• 2.5% of U.S. males age 15-19 acknowledged ever visiting a prostitute in 1995
• 4-38% of adult men in N. American and European countries reported ever visiting a prostitute

• prevalence much higher in developing countries

• displaces from one area/venue type to another

• men arrested for patronizing prostitutes sent to program instead of court

• goal: decrease demand

• curriculum features ex-prostitutes and other speakers:

• negative consequences of prostitution on local neighborhoods

• desperate plight of prostitute women

• risks for STD/HIV

• recidivism of participants similar to previously arrested clients overall - program likely ineffective

• intensive social, health, and mental health services

• few used services, despite considerable assistance & encouragement

• addictions and other problems too severe

• prostitution as extreme expression of evolved short-term mating strategies

• reasons for engaging in prostitution (women and men)

• cross-cultural and historical variation

• prostitute women - characteristics of work patterns/careers, risk factors

• male clients - characteristics, careers

• interventions - policing, john school, social services for prostitutes, legalization