A profile of the clients of male sex workers in three Australian cities

Abstract

Objective: This paper describes the profile of clients as reported by 186 male sex workers in three Australian cities. Method: The data were collected using a diary which was completed after each commercial sexual encounter with a male client over a two week period. The data reported in this study are based on reports from 2088 sex encounters and a profile of 1776 clients. Results: The findings reveal, for example, that the most common source used for recruiting clients was advertisements, followed by escort agencies, although there were differences between the three cities; the majority of the clients were in their 40s but clients of street workers were younger; clients were most often classified as 'middle class', with differences by source of client recruitment; less than half the clients were identified as being gay and a significant number were identified as bisexual or straight; alcohol and drug use took place in a small percentage of the encounters; most workers had some information about their clients, such as occupation and home number; violence was infrequent; and unsafe sex was requested in a minority of the encounters. Conclusion: Overall, the results reveal that clients of male sex workers are a highly heterogeneous group. Implications: The paper highlights a number of issues which can further promote safety and public accountability in male sex work.