Some researchers say johns seek intimacy on demand. Others believe that these men typically want to use and dominate women. By Nikolas Westerhoff. Arthur is an alleged john, a man who patronizes prostitutes.
After his arrest on September 5, , a photograph of this year-old appeared on the Web site of the Chicago Police Department. Arthur not his real name was far from the only person so branded on this Internet portal. In the U. Experts believe that about 10 percent of these arrests are of the sex patrons, almost all of whom are men.
Overall, an estimated 16 percent of men pay for sex in the U. And a study published in of street prostitutes and 83 call girls in Los Angeles led by sociologist Janet Lever of California State University, Los Angeles, suggests that 28 percent of men who patronize prostitutes and nearly half of those who employ call girls buy sex regularly, with the rest being occasional customers.
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The proportion of patrons seems to vary considerably by country and by study. Prostitution is legal in both countries. And according to HYDRA, a Berlin-based organization that provides legal advice and other aid to prostitutes, up to three quarters of men in Germany, which also has legalized prostitution, have paid for sexual services.
