Men who buy sex prove sexually coercive.

PositionProstitution

Men who buy sex have less empathy for women in prostitution than men who do not purchase sex, according to a study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. The research, coauthored by UCLA's Neil Malamuth, also found that men who buy sex are more likely to report having committed rape and other aggressive sexual acts.

"Our findings indicate that men who buy sex share certain key characteristics with men who are at risk for committing sexual aggression," says Malamuth, professor of communications studies and psychology. "Both groups tend to have a preference for Impersonal sex, a fear of rejection by women, a history of having committed sexually aggressive acts, and a hostile masculine self-identification. Those who buy sex, on average, have less empathy for women In prostitution and view them as intrinsically different from other women."

In other studies, a lower level of empathy among men has been associated with sexual aggression toward women. Whether prostitution is a job or sexual abuse long has been debated. The new findings support the view that prostitution is more like sexual abuse. "We hope this...

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