Men who pay to have sex are more likely to have committed or commit rape and other aggressive sexual acts , according to a new study carried out by experts from the University of California, Los Angeles (USA).
1,200 men of similar age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status participated in the study . All were guaranteed anonymity and were interviewed for at least two hours by the experts. Of the 1,200, 101 men who declared that they regularly pay for sex and 101 men who had never requested prostitution services were selected.
“ Our results indicate that men who purchase sex share certain key characteristics with men who are at risk of committing a sexual assault . Both groups tend to have a preference for impersonal sex, a fear of rejection from women, a history of having committed sexually aggressive acts, and hostile male self-identification (narcissistic personality, hostility towards women, or desire to have power over them ). Those who buy sex, on average, have less empathy for women in prostitution and see them as intrinsically different from other women ”, clarifies Neil Malamuth, co-author of the study.
“We hope this research will lead to the rejection of the myth that sex buyers are just sexually frustrated good guys ,” says Melissa Farley, study leader.
Several risk factors were emphasized throughout the study, including antisocial behavior, preference for impersonal sex, treatment of sex more like a sport than part of an intimate relationship, and hostile masculinity.
The study has been published in The Journal of Interpersonal Violence .
