ABSTRACT
Women who buy commercial sex are a diverse group. Their background and characteristics are very much ‘a reflection of the general population’, in that some women are single, others married, and some have children. The similarities between men’s and women’s motivations to pay for sex, more commonly so at a particular age, suggests that a life-course approach may also help explain the demand for commercial sex. The extent and regularity of paid-for sex by women was identified by many service providers. Like the characteristics of clients, the reasons why women decide to pay for sexual services are diverse and varied. The desire to pay for ‘sex’ and nothing more was a motivation for some women and couples. Some women and couples paid for sexual services because they wanted physical sexual contact and/or intercourse/oral sex but without kissing, dating, a meal, or any emotional involvement.
