Half of sex-paying men 'have partners'
Already having a partner does not deter men from paying for sex
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Monday, 02, Oct 2006 12:01
About half of men who have paid for sex have done so despite already having a partner, new research suggests.
Today's study, published in the Sexually Transmitted Infections Journal, says that one in ten men attending a Glasgow sexual health clinic between October 2002 and February 2004 admit to paying for sex at some point in their lives.
Of this proportion of individuals, 43 per cent said they had paid for sex while romantically involved with someone else.
The research team from the Glasgow-based sexual health centre Sandyford Initiative said that more men paid for sex while overseas than in the UK, while only two per cent said they had done both.
Two-thirds of those who admitted paying for sex said cash had exchanged hands within the last year, with about one quarter saying paid-for sexual encounters were a regular occurrence.
Although 56 per cent revealed they had unprotected vaginal sex with prostitutes despite having a partner at the same time, none of the respondents were found to be HIV positive.
One in five men were found to have offer sexually transmitted infections, however, such as chlamydia.
The study's authors say that the real proportion of men paying for sex is likely to be much higher than one in ten, with many thought to be unwilling to disclose such information.
As to the resonance of today's report, the authors write that "improved awareness among healthcare professional of the importance of detailed documentation when men report paying for sex could help to enhance knowledge of prostitution and thereby improve services to those directly and indirectly involved in the sale of sex".