{{Short description|People purchasing the services of sex workers}} '''Clients''' of prostitutes or sex workers are sometimes known as '''''johns'''''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of JOHN |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/john |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> or '''''tricks''''' in North America and '''''punters''''' in Britain and Ireland. In common parlance among sex workers as well as with others, the act of negotiating and then engaging with a client is referred to as ''turning a trick''.<ref>Drexler, Jessica N. "Governments' role in turning tricks: The world's oldest profession in the Netherlands and the United States." Dick. J. Int'l L. 15 (1996): 201.</ref>
Female clients are sometimes called '''''janes''''',{{cn|date=June 2024}} although the vast majority of prostitution clients are male in almost all countries.
==Lexicology== There are many terms for clients, including '''''whoremonger''''', '''''sex-buyer''''', British slang such as ''punter'', terms for those in a vehicle such as '''''kerb crawler''''', as well as Caribbean slang terms for female clients of gigolos such as '''''milk bottle''''', '''''longtail''''', '''''yellowtail''''' or '''''stella'''''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Belliveau |first=Jeannette |title=Romance on the Road: Traveling Women who Love Foreign Men |date=2006 |pages=319–339}}</ref>
The term ''trick'' is sometimes associated with North America and ''punter'' is associated with the term for sex workers' clients in Britain and Ireland. These slang terms are used among both prostitutes and law enforcement for persons who solicit prostitutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adult Industry Terms and Acronyms |url=http://forum.myredbook.com/dcforum2/DCForumID15/2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209113009/http://forum.myredbook.com/dcforum2/DCForumID15/2.html |archive-date=9 February 2010 |access-date=23 May 2010 |publisher=Forum.myredbook.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The term ''john'' may have originated from the frequent customer practice of giving one's name as "John", a common name in English-speaking countries, in an effort to maintain anonymity. In some places, men who drive around red-light districts for the purpose of soliciting prostitutes are also known as ''kerb crawlers''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Street prostitution |url=https://www.mylawyer.co.uk/street-prostitution-and-kerb-crawling-a-A76800BD35159/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=mylawyer.co.uk}}</ref>
== Motivation == Studies reveal that most clients seek out sex with prostitutes to satisfy otherwise unfulfilled sexual desires or simply as a means to establish social bonds with women.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bindel |author-link=Julie Bindel |first=Julie |date=2010-01-15 |title=Why men use prostitutes |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jan/15/why-men-use-prostitutes |access-date=2020-03-23 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Other reasons include "sexual experiences (such as threesomes or kink) that aren’t easily available to the men; because the men feel they are unattractive and can’t find a woman to have a relationship with; because the men are seeking a space where their sexual desires or interests won’t be shamed; because the men don’t have time or emotional availability for a relationship; because they are disabled; or because they desire sex without emotional involvement."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/women-who-stray/201807/is-paying-for-sex-a-disease |title=Is Paying for Sex a Disease? |last=Ley |first=David J. |date=3 July 2018 |website=Psychology Today |publisher=Sussex Publishers |access-date=23 December 2024}}</ref>
==Demography== According to Sabine Grenz of the University of Gothenburg, clients come from all socio-economic classes, and include "stockbrokers, truck drivers, teachers, priests or law-enforcement officials."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Westerhoff |first=Nikolas |date=1 October 2012 |title=Why Do Men Buy Sex? |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-men-buy-sex-2012-10-23/ |website=Scientific American}}</ref> As such, "There are no social characteristics that basically distinguish johns from other men."<ref name=":0" />
According to Megan Lundstrom of Free Our Girls, 80% to 90% of clients are married men.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Greeley police receive 'education' in online sex business |url=https://www.greeleytribune.com/news/local/greeley-police-receive-education-in-online-sex-business/ |website=www.greeleytribune.com|date=8 May 2015 }}</ref> According to a study by Health and Social Life, 55% of clients are married or cohabiting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Sarah K. |date=10 December 2004 |title=On the Prowl |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/api/content/af31b8f6-391e-11e4-afeb-22000a4f82a6/ |website=richmondmagazine.com}}</ref> Only 39% of clients are aware that one could contract an STI from being fellated.<ref>Gurd, Amy, and Erin O’Brien. "Californian ‘John Schools’ and the social construction of prostitution." Sexuality Research and Social Policy 10.2 (2013): 149-158.</ref>
According to Melissa Farley, executive director of Prostitution Research & Education, 60% of clients wear condoms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Bend police investigate 'oldest profession' with new online twist |url=http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2009-05-13/news/26764046_1_craigslist-oldest-profession-prostitutes-and-pimps |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121210/http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2009-05-13/news/26764046_1_craigslist-oldest-profession-prostitutes-and-pimps |archive-date=2019-01-19 |access-date=2019-01-18 |website=schurz-southbendtribune}}</ref> A survey in Georgia found that 83% of clients would be deterred from purchasing sex if they were outed (name and shame) on billboards which included photos and names.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2016 |title=Rosario: Great sex-trafficking bust, but what about the 'johns'? |url=https://www.twincities.com/2016/10/06/rosario-great-bust-but-what-about-the-johns/}}</ref> According to a study by Shared Hope International and Arizona State University, 21.6% of clients had professions commonly perceived as one of a position of authority or position of trust such as law enforcement, attorney or military personnel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Study: Soliciting sex from minor nets little prison time |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/25/sex-from-minor-nets-little-prison-time/14595893/ |website=USA TODAY}}</ref>
In Canada, the average age of a client is between 38 and 42 years old who has purchased sex roughly 100 times over their lifetime. Roughly 70% have completed university or college and earn over 50,000 Canadian dollars a year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blowing the whistle on human trafficking " StraightGoods.ca |url=http://sgnews.ca/2013/06/12/blowing-the-whistle-on-human-trafficking/ |website=sgnews.ca}}</ref>
The clients of prostitutes in most countries are overwhelmingly male.<ref name="bishop" /> The most common age cohort of clients in developing countries are vicenarians (those in their twenties).<ref name="bishop">Bishop, Stacey Jacqueline. "Livability is the victim of street prostitution": the politics of the neighborhood and the rightward turn in Vancouver's west end, 1981-1985. Diss. Arts & Social Sciences: Department of History, 2013.</ref>
==Finances== The affordability of prostitution greatly varies from region to region. The prices are lowest in areas where it is legal due to competition within the sex trade that seek to court both sex tourists and local clients.<ref>Lee, Julak. "Determinants of Johns’ Decision Making: An analysis of a Sex Tourism Web Forum." Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal 5.6 (2018).</ref> ''Time'' magazine has described Germany as the "Cut-Rate Prostitution Capital of the World", in reference to the lower charges.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Tuttle |first=Brad |title=Germany Has Become the Cut-Rate Prostitution Capital of the World |magazine=Time |date=18 June 2013 |url=https://business.time.com/2013/06/18/germany-has-become-the-cut-rate-prostitution-capital-of-the-world/ |via=business.time.com}}</ref>
When the clientele of prostitutes in a specific locality begins to attract modest amounts of newcomers of middle-class or upper-class status, the subsequent cost hike is known to reduce the use of such services by less affluent local prospective clients.<ref>Roberts, Ron, et al. "Participation in sex work: students' views." Sex Education 10.2 (2010): 145-156.</ref> In jurisdictions where penalties for buying sex are high, fines imposed on clients can also put low-income clients of prostitution in financial ruin.<ref>Monasky, Heather. "On Comprehensive Prostitution Reform: Criminalizing the Trafficker and the Trick, but Not the Victim-Sweden's Sexkopslagen in America." Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 37 (2010): 1989.</ref>
==Maltreatment and victimization== When the interaction between the clients of prostitutes and sex workers occurs in countries where brothels are illegal, the prostitution trade usually transpires in areas with high amounts of crime, a predicament that puts clients at risk of becoming victims of crime or becoming entangled in the crime in some other manner.<ref>Jones, Peter, and Karen Groenenboom. "Crime in London hotels." Tourism and Hospitality Research 4.1 (2002): 21-35.</ref> According to Chris Atchison, a former sociology instructor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, and founder of John's Voice, clients are verbally abused, robbed and physically assaulted at a rate of 18%, 14% and 4% respectively.<ref>Atchison, Chris. "Report of the preliminary findings for Johns’ Voice: A study of adult Canadian sex buyers." ''Downloaded September'' 30 (2010): 2015.</ref> In Ireland, there was a significant increase in physical attacks on sex workers by clients after the passing of laws banning the purchase of sex.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gallagher |first=Conor |title='Dramatic rise' in attacks on sex workers since law change |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/dramatic-rise-in-attacks-on-sex-workers-since-law-change-1.3208370 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref> Clients also sometimes fall victim to extortion, scamming and blackmail.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Ed |last=Crump |date=1 February 2019 |title=Triangle men blackmailed after seeking sex online; 3 suspects arrested |url=https://abc11.com/5116942/ |website=ABC11 Raleigh-Durham}}</ref>
==Perceptions== The manner in which clients were viewed has varied throughout human history depending on location and era. In some periods of history, clients were viewed as enablers of an evil practice, viewing them as furthering a trade that enabled infidelity and eased the breaking of covenants between committed partners. At other times, particularly during times of war, or other events which segregated the sexes, there would be increased sympathy for clients, particularly if service persons threatened to sever their genitals or castrate themselves to attain anaphrodisia if prospective clients were chastised.<ref>Chimakonam, Jonathan Okeke, and Sunny Nzie Agu. "The Epistemology of Womanhood: Ignored Contentions among Igbo Women of Eastern Nigeria." Thought and Practice 5.2 (2013): 57-79.</ref> In contemporary times, clients are sometimes viewed as enablers of human trafficking and child trafficking due to boosting their demand. Female clients have been purported to be viewed less negatively than male clients, possibly due to a perception of novelty that produces curiosity rather than moral judgment.<ref>Bernstein, Elizabeth. "What's Wrong with Prostitution--What's Right with Sex Work--Comparing Markets in Female Sexual Labor." Hastings Women's LJ 10 (1999): 91.</ref>
==Legal treatment== {{Main|Prostitution law}} The manner in which clients are treated by the law varies by jurisdiction and country. The laws which are most stringent against clients have gradually been referred to as the Swedish model, which is also called the Nordic model or Sex Buyer Law. This is in reference to the law passed in Sweden in 1999 wherein the buyer, rather than the seller of sex is penalized. Although Sweden was the first country to criminalize clients rather than prostitutes, this influenced similar legislation elsewhere. Other countries that have since adopted this model include Norway in 2008, Iceland in 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldberg |first=Michelle |date=8 August 2014 |title=Swedish prostitution law is spreading worldwide – here's how to improve it - Michelle Goldberg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/08/criminsalise-buying-not-selling-sex |via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> Canada in 2014,<ref name="StatCan">{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Mary |last2=Rotenberg |first2=Cristine |title=Crimes related to the sex trade: Before and after legislative changes in Canada |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2021001/article/00010-eng.htm |website=Statistics Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref> and Israel in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mualem |first1=Mazal |title=Israel shifts blame for prostitution from sex workers to clients|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/07/israel-justice-minister-ayelet-shaked-prostitution-law.html |website=Al-Monitor |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref> Some analysts have argued that laws criminalizing clients rather than prostitutes is peculiar in Western as well as other legal systems, claiming that throughout Western history, there is no precedence of a purchaser of a controversial service committing a greater infraction than the purveyor.<ref>Chu, Sandra Ka Hon, and Rebecca Glass. "Sex work law reform in Canada: Considering problems with the Nordic model." Alta. L. Rev. 51 (2013): 101.</ref> The efficacy of the Nordic model has also been heavily disputed (see Nordic model approach to prostitution#Criticism).
In Germany, clients of sex workers are required by law to wear condoms.<ref>Cohen, Bernard. "Police Enforcement of Street Prostitution as a Quality-of-Life Offense: New York City, United States, and Frankfurt am Main, Germany." Deviant Behavior (2018): 1-18.</ref> In Israel, a law proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked in June 2018 would include fines.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pileggi |first=Tamar |title=Justice minister presents legislation to fine johns who hire prostitutes |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/justice-minister-presents-legislation-to-fine-johns-who-hire-prostitutes/ |website=The Times of Israel |issn=0040-7909}}</ref> In 2018, France increased the penalty against buying of sex to a fine of up to 1,500 euros ($1,700).<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 November 2018 |title=Art, politics mix at first French sex worker festival |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181104-art-politics-mix-first-french-sex-worker-festival |website=France 24}}</ref> In Italy, a fine of up to 10,000 Euros was proposed in 2016 for frequenters of prostitutes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 July 2016 |title=Italy mulls fines of up to €10k for prostitutes' clients |url=https://www.thelocal.it/20160715/italy-mulls-10000-fine-for-clients-of-prostitutes |website=www.thelocal.it}}</ref>
==Campaigning== Campaigners against the criminalization of clients include Irish law graduate Laura Lee.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Henry |date=9 February 2018 |title=Irish sex worker and campaigner for rights of prostitutes dies, aged 39 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/feb/09/laura-lee-irish-sex-worker-and-campaigner-for-rights-of-prostitutes-dies-aged-39 |access-date=21 February 2019 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> In some nations where prostitution is legal such as the Netherlands, rather than being viewed as accessories to human trafficking, clients are called on to join efforts to eradicate its practice by being asked to look out for signs of abuse.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kate |date=10 December 2018 |title=New campaign against teen prostitution |url=https://eindhovennews.com/news/2018/12/new-campaign-against-teen-prostitution/}}</ref> In France, some opposition to the fining of clients has come from sex workers unions such as Strass, who argue that initiatives to fine clients make sex work more dangerous as it forces the trade to go underground and due to increased secrecy and less transparency.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 September 2013 |title=Sex workers' anger over a new plan to fine clients |url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20130919/sex-workers-anger-over-new-plan-to-fine-clients |website=www.thelocal.fr}}</ref> In 2023, advocates for the decriminalization of sex work in Canada had their constitutional challenge dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Desmond |title=Disappointment, joy after Ontario court dismisses sex workers' Charter challenge |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sex-workers-1.6970016 |website=CBC News |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref>
In 2018, Pope Francis described clients of prostitution as criminals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pullella |first=Phillip |date=19 March 2018 |title=Exploiting Women for Prostitution a Crime Against Humanity: Pope |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-03-19/exploiting-women-for-prostitution-a-crime-against-humanity-pope |access-date=21 February 2019 |website=US News}}</ref> In the U.S. state of Arizona, some police forces have adopted fake online advertisements which are police generated in order to lure prostitution clients.<ref>Dodge, Mary, Donna Starr-Gimeno, and Thomas Williams. "Puttin’on the Sting: Women Police Officers' Perspectives on Reverse Prostitution Assignments." International Journal of Police Science & Management 7.2 (2005): 71-85.</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Prostitution}} {{wiktionary|Thesaurus:prostitute's client}} *History of prostitution {{Clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite book |author-last=Makepeace |author-first=Clare |year=2011 |chapter=Punters and Their Prostitutes: British Soldiers, Masculinity, and ''Maisons Tolérées'' in the First World War |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0E5ARiVe9YUC&pg=PA413 |editor1-last=Arnold |editor1-first=John H. |editor2-last=Brady |editor2-first=Sean |title=What is Masculinity?: Historical Dynamics from Antiquity to the Contemporary World |location=London and New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |series=Genders and Sexualities in History |pages=413–430 |doi=10.1057/9780230307254_20 |isbn=978-0-230-30725-4}}
{{Prostitution}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Prostitution