Buyer Beware: A study into the demand side of the sexual exploitation industry is a research paper that was

done by Dr. Susan McIntyre and published in November 2012. In her study Dr. McIntyre interviewed 20 men who had purchased sex in the past. The majority of the subjects were found through Prostitution Offender Programs (including the John School run by the Salvation Army in Winnipeg). Other subjects were found via Sexual Addiction groups and word-of-mouth in Alberta. Dr. McIntyre states that the following represents the significant findings of the study: 1. Cruising is an early warning indicator of becoming a consumer of sexual services. 2. Being a consumer of sexual services is an individual, secret activity. 3. Forty percent of consumers begin this activity while under the age of 20. 4. Over half of consumers in this study had a family member with a history as a consumer. 5. Some consumers interpret this activity as intimacy, even as a pseudo dating activity. 6. After the completion of the act they have purchased, many consumers feel guilty and depart as quickly as possible. 7. Many consumers felt spiritually harmed by the activity of purchasing sexual services. 8. The opportunity to relapse into sexual addiction is limitless and is present everywhere in society. 9. Everyone interviewed identified damage and losses for both consumers and sex workers. 10. Over half of those interviewed had been charged with a prostitution related offence. 11. There is confusion among those interviewed about our law in Canada as to what is and is not legal where purchasing sexual services is concerned. 12. Consumers identified that there are effects on a persons personal, social, and professional life as a result of being a consumer. 13. Those interviewed revealed a recurrent attempt to quit after each time they purchased sexual services (p. 9-10). This research provides insight into how people became involved in this activity, what their experience looked like, how it impacted their lives, and how they feel about it after trying to quit, but cannot be construed as an analysis of the thoughts and beliefs of current users. While this study is an interesting read and contributes to the very limited knowledge base that exists regarding the demand side of sexual exploitation, it is by no means a definitive examination of the men who purchase sex. First of all 20 participants is an extremely small sample size. By using such a small sample size McIntyre limits the range of experiences and perspectives of those men who purchase sex. My second and main concern with the research is that all the men who were interviewed had either been charged with a prostitution related offence or were attending sexual addiction groups or therapy. There was no involvement from men who were still actively engaged in the purchasing of women in the

sex trade. For example, McIntyre asked the men what they would say to someone who was about to purchase sex for the first time and all 20 responded that they would warn against it. One could expect that if McIntyre had interviewed 20 men who are still actively involved in the sexual exploitation of women, and did not see their activities as a problem, that they would have very different responses. It is interesting to compare the responses that McIntyre receives to the book The Johns: Sex for sale and the men who by it by Victor Malarek. In this book Malark explores the world of johns and in one part goes online and observes what they write to each other on message boards and the posts that Malarek cites paint a very different view of their activities. For example Rocky says There is nothing more natural than two adults having consensual sex, even if one of them has to pay for it (p. 97). Or Loaded who says I feel no guilt whatsoever. I am getting what I need and I am helping them get what they need. No one is being hurtIf it wasnt me, it would be someone else. I do no t believe that God would send me to hell for acting on my natural instincts (p. 98). In conclusion, while there are insights to be gleamed from the research, due to the limited number of participants and the lack of variance in experience and current involvement, it is hard to extrapolate this data to the john population as a whole. Rather, this is an examination of one sub-group of johns. The demand side of sexual exploitation definitely needs more research to better understand this population and the culture of johns so that effective prevention and education programs can be created. I do agree with McIntyre that it is only by reducing demand that we will be able to truly see reductions on the supply side. Jared Folkerts October 2013 Malarek, V. (2009).The Johns: Sex for sale and the men who buy it. New York: Arcade Publishing, Inc. McIntyre, S. (2012).Buyer Beware: A study into the demand side of the sexual exploitation industry . Retrieved from: http://www.hindsightgroup.com/Resources/Documents/Final%20Report%20Nov%2015%20%20FINAL%20(with%20TC).pdf