Perception of Sex Buyers by Young Spaniards

Abstract

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The aim of this research is to broaden the knowledge on the social perception of people who pay for commercial sex. An online questionnaire was distributed to 3126 young people in Spain. Respondents did not have a common perception about people who pay for sex, although several considered that a rich-buyer is associated with “partner”, “money”, “education” and “Spanish”; a risky-buyer meets the variables of “satisfying their domination needs”, “reaffirm masculinity”, “is violent” and “do not want to use preservative”; a low-status buyer has “limited money”, “is an immigrant” and “has a low level of education”; an insecure-buyer presents variables indicating that he is “insecure with the opposite sex” and “dissatisfied with their partner”; and a single-buyer “has no couple” and “is single”. These perceptions help to improve awareness campaigns against human trafficking and sexual exploitation and increase the visibility of the responsible parties who pay and encourage these crimes.